Let's Discuss Dress Shirts - Custom Sizing
 

I have a question that relates to a problem where finding off-the-rack dress shirts that fit me with-out extensive tailoring involved.

I'm built kinda............ like a gorilla. I'm 5'-11", 218lbs, 38" waist and wear a 44 reg jacket or slim-fit 46 reg jacket. I don't know what my chest size is, but that's the jacket sizing that fits me. My neck is @18.5" and my shirt sleeve length needs to be 35/36" as I have a long reach for my height.

And herein lies the problem. ..............I like my clothes to fit me, not hang off of me. When looking to buy nice dress shirts - most stop at 18" neck and 34/35" sleeves. I have a few Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors slim-fit shirts that are in that range but I cannot wear a tie because the neck is only 18".

So to have anymore nice dress shirts where I can't completely button to then wear a tie is useless.

I have checked many of the better men's brands and all seem to go big-n-tall after 18" neck sizing. I'm neither 'big' or 'tall' so those shirts are set for dudes that have 48" waistlines and up.

I frequent my local Macy's and really can find a very nice selection of quality men's clothes - but this shirt thing is killin me. I've looked extensively online but am coming up empty.

I see where there are custom tailored shirts available from scratch but most seem to start @$200 + each which for me is out of my budget per shirt. Anyone have this issue? Or sources to find what I'm looking for?

My difference from the rack is I have a long body and short legs. Have to go to a tailor and get my trousers hemmed. To get shirts that fit I have to get the tall shirts with the correct neck size and then have the sleeves shortened. Just live with the shirts being a little to big around.

You need to have your shirts made for you. I quit buying clothes off the rack years ago and the difference is dramatic. The price will depend on the fabric you select.

JR

I keep looking for a short fat guy store to open up.

Have you tried Uniqlo? They have a customized dress shirt that allows you to pick the fit, sleeve length, collar size and more. The shirts are pretty good quality and for 30 bucks you can't beat the price!

Good luck!
Michael

I had a similar thread recently if you search, some really good suggestions along with Tabs telling me to search my local Goodwill for some expensive brands that I’ve never heard of. I’m going to give these guys a try, prices less than most made to measure and with good reviews.

https://www.mtailor.com

I wear dress shirts every day and am very hard to size, so this is an issue that is very important to me. I have discovered that you don't need custom shirts. What you do need is a short that is fitted to your body shape and measured to the exact inch rather than half inches (34/35) or 35/36) as are sold in all department stores. I literally cannot fit into a single shirt sold at Macy's and can barely find a size that fits at Sak's or Nordstrom's, even if I want to pay their outrageous prices.

The solution is Brooks Brothers' regular wrinkle-free dress shirts.

Men's Dress Shirts | Non-Iron Shirts | Brooks Brothers

They come pre-sized to fit extra slim, slim, regular and large body styles and fit to the inch on both neck and arm length. They fit me almost as well as my real custom shirts. Usually they're around $85 a piece, but if you watch the sales you can either get 4 for $200 or a significant percent off for buying multiples. They're actually a good value at regular price but they're a great value if you can get them for $50 a piece. My closet is full of them. I stock up when they're on sale and I hardly buy anything else, even for my sons as they enter the professional world. By the way, I'm a perfect 16 neck and 36 inch sleeve. It's almost impossible to find that combination anywhere else.

Go get measured by someone who knows what they're doing and try a few on to see what fits best. I'd be surprised if you needed to go anywhere else.

Thanks! I'll look those up. I'm ok with $85+ for a shirt if the fit is good and the fabric is quality.

It sounds like what you really need is a made to measure shirt. You take measurements based on how/where they tell you to measure (if it's online). Then you get to pick the fabrics, and they adjust their pattern to match your measurements and make you shirts. If you like them, they keep your measurements, and they just crank out shirts when you want them.

Brooks Bro also does made to measure, but I think you may need to go to a trunk show to get that option.

So Brooks bros seem to have some in my sizing - not a lot of choices - but at least some.

The Uniglo site only goes to 18" neck in a slim fit........................

I have the opposite problem, or used to. Neck: 16.5 Sleeve: 33-34. My waist used to be 30 or so, and mens' shirts used to feel like wearing a tent. I'm fixing that problem slowly by adding additional girth around my waist. My pants and belts are all shrinking. :D

Try Charles Tyrwhitt. They are running a special right now - 3 shirts for $99.95. High quality -normally they are $100/$110 each. They have a varied assortment of sizes - they have a Classic fit 19" neck with 35" sleeve on their site.

https://www.ctshirts.com/us/mens-shirts/classic-fit/?prefn1=season&prefn2=status&prefv3=19%22&prefv1=S S18&prefv2=new%7Ccontinuity%7Cterminal&prefn3=widt h&tib=TIB-shirts-classic-fit

Brooks Brothers are the only shirt that fits me properly..

I remember getting measured for a shirt and the rather flamboyant gentleman that was helping me say, "Oh, you're one of those".

Typically off the rack shirts that fit me in arm length and shoulders are too small at the collar. If they fit in the collar, I could be twice as big around in the middle and still have room!

Of course he was! - made me laugh !

Brooks Brothers has the 4 for $200 sale going on right now. I'd be surprised if you didn't find a fit and size that didn't fit you perfectly and they stay nice forever. I'm wearing one now. White, slim fit, point collar, wrinkle free.

One of the secrets is to get measured properly and try on a couple to make sure the measurements match up. I can't tell you how many different sizes I've been told I should wear before I finally made sure they did it right.

+1 for CT shirts.

+1 for Charles Tyrwhitt. They're reasonably priced, offer a wide range of sizes and cuts and free and easy returns and exchanges. I have similarish stats to the OP and wear a 17/34 extra slim fit.

Made to measure shirts are great. I had ten shirts made for me in Thailand ten years ago and I still wear two of them. The others wore out after six plus years. I think I paid $15 per shirt.

If you are ever over in Asia/India, I highly recommend getting shirts made. Don't get pants or suits though. They really love that tight Euro pants fit and the jackets take real skill to make.

I am lucky that off the rack shirts and suits fit me well. 17" neck, 34/35 sleeve, 42L jacket (6'-2" 205 lbs)