I have several Columbia tee shirts that fit really nice but more recently my wife bought me some Columbia PFG polo shirts that fit really weird. Tail is real short and comes untucked all the time. I posted a while back about pants zippers getting shorter and I think it’s just an overall effort to make manufacturing costs less…very disappointing.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1687524039.jpg

You need to be wearing smalls. Are you wearing smalls? You're short and thin. I generally wear a medium or large (it varies depending upon the shirt manufacturer).

And even then, some shirts seem to be made for the avg American girth which means that you may swim in them.

This. People don't like to wear a "small" shirt because it's not macho, I guess, but for the most part these shirts have similar lengths and sizing is based much more on girth. I'm 6' and 170lbs and I almost always end up wearing a small shirt, unless it's specifically a slim fit shirt then I'll go to a medium for a touch more length.

I have noticed that some brands have started to go with slimmer fit t-shirts, especially in the shoulder and sleeves. When they fit a bit more snugly in the shoulders and upper biceps with a straight drape from there it's a lot more flattering even for guys with a bit of weight.

^^^ The chest area is already borderline too small in the mediums.

The worst of it is...I can have four diff brands of t's all in med...and they all fit differently.

Tailored to not fit anyone, perfect

Right. I'm ' bit over 6'1" and have varied between 185-200 over the years. For many years, I mostly wore XL. I think they were smaller back then, but when they started getting bigger, I kept buying them. It was weird when I realized that most of the time Med fit much better. It felt very weird to be buying Med shirts, but then I usually don't really care what anyone thinks.
Where I'm usually screwed is in anything with a long sleeve. Slim fit helps there. I try everything on before I buy because you never know. And then after the first wash, it's still a crap shoot.

Absolutely. You really have to try everything on these days. And then after the first wash you still might be screwed.

Alright well.....maybe your tee shirts are trying to tell you to sit up straight, shoulders back, chin up. Same as Yoga instructors teach.

Also, tee shirts can be modified using scissors. Maybe the neck and sleeve hems are just too constructing. Maybe the world would appreciate seeing more of your skin and muscles. ;)

I think you're probably right that the sizes have gotten larger. I bet thirty years ago I'd be a medium or large, but now I'm a small because...well...everybody else got bigger. ;)

Yeah long sleeve has to be slim or skinny fit if you're not overweight, or else you end up swimming in the shirt. The fast fashion brands tend to be better for this, but quality isn't always great. For anything professional I've 100% turned to custom shirts, as even slim-fit dress shirts off the shelf are still tailored for extra room in the waist. There's not a single brand I can think of that has a dress shirt that will fit my waist and my neck and shoulders. Forget the sleeves--those will be rolled up to the elbow in defeat.

Totally agree. I'm retired now, but I rarely if ever found a dress shirt that fit me through the chest and arms and was not too roomy in the waist. I have long arms, I think. When I first started wearing dress clothes in the early 1980s, I had a 29" waist. Today.....34.

But I also find that roomier tee shirts are more comfortable. "Large" works. Even XL, for wearing around the house. With my pajama pants. ;)

And finally, FWIW, I came to love wearing braces (suspenders) for dress. The ladies like them, and they allow the pants to be an inch or two larger in the waist. Making dress clothes feel as comfortable as pajama pants. Good dress slacks, which cost $200 new, with the silk or satin lining, can be found at thrift stores for $9. Tight weave wool. Their performance overall is VASTLY superior to cheap dress pants. I should teach a seminar for young professional men. Good shoes are another important lesson.

I'm having the similar issues as described in this thread. Neck opening either too big or after a very short period of wear they stretch out or almost fold over and loot like crap. I used to like the cut of the Haynes Beefy Tees (I believe was the name) with the neck that was more substantial if not quite mock turtle.

For my daily with suits, I wear v-neck t-shirts. Having real problems finding decent shirts in that arena. I start out with L and try to get them snug, but after a few laundries they barely tuck in and the sleeves get short and balloon out away from my arms.

I love Blip Shift but their short sleeves are going downhill. Shrink and crap neck openings. So I've switched to the long sleeve shirts from them. But even those are hit or miss. The last 3 I've gotten have had poor stitching under arms to the point of having a hole where the stitching missed in production. One had a bunching around the neck opening like it was a factory second.

I mostly depend on one company for my T-shirts. That's Duluth Trading. They run big, so I order medium instead of the normal large. They're good quality, fit & construction. The only negatives are being a bit long, and they seem to fade a bit over time. I don't buy any without a pocket.

I've had decent luck and like Paul Fredrick and Charles Tyrwhitt dress shirts. The only issue with Charles is the slim is still fairly wide in the mid-section and the extra slim doesn't come big enough for my size. But the overall quality is nice.

My whole life quite a few shirts give me the whillies, is like the arm pits are 6 inches too low. Cant lift my arms and the back drapes free, tight in the pecs. Drove my parents crazy when i was a kid because i wouldnt wear thr badly fitting clothes. I thought this was a fact of dress shirts and jackets but met an actual tailor that said i have ‘square shoulders’. He told me to go try shirts at nordstrom and indeed they found me shirts that fit really well for $175/pop.

I dont think theres any conspiracy, lots of body types.

Wrt sizing: i usually wear an xl but i once bought an italian cycling jacket, the size that fit tight while riding was the 4xl!

I haven't tried Paul Fredrick, but I wasn't a fan of my Charles Tyrwhitt shirts. I've been using Proper Cloth for a few years, and while it took a few shirts to get the right size they've been reliable since then. Good quality as well.

I think the CT shirt was too thin? Can't remember. I don't like skin/undershirt showing through.

I find my gut pushes on the shirt and then it feels tight on the shoulders.

That always seems to be an issue with white dress shirts. Maddening. Some are nearly see thru, which is just gross on men. Women on the other hand....

:)

Proper Cloth has a few white fabrics that are near opaque without being uncomfortable or frustratingly wrinkly. I've been happy with them.

I am 5'11" and have to wear xl in order for the shirt to be below my beltline and fit my shoulders, but the rest of it is baggy. Have tried many different brands.