Shirt fit guide

*This post is dedicated to a friend of mine who has been fearful one too many times that a guys shirt button may pop off and shoot directly at her!*

Some guys wear shirts that are so wrong that I've been desperate to write this post for a long time. Follow these simple rules and its actually quite easy not to look like a douche in a shirt.

People may opt to buy a shirt that fits in most places and then get certain parts of the shirt tailored. If you're spending $150+ on a shirt, it might as well fit right. So find a shirt that fits well off the rack or drop some serious coin on a full tailored shirt.

An important thing to keep in mind is that brands will often design shirts for specific body types. Learn which brands lend themselves to your body type. Furthermore, brands tend to change their sizing every season or so, therefore it's always best to check that the current season's extra small has the same measurements as last season's extra small.




Collar: Point collar & button down collars are the best for more casual button up shirts. They look good when worn with ties as well. Cutaway or spread collar shirts are suitable for wider ties. I would avoid cutaway collars for casual occasions as they are too 'John Travolta' in the absence of a tie.

Taylor Lautner below wearing a cutaway collar shirt with a tie:

Buttons: A good fitting shirt should be able to be buttoned up comfortably all the way to the top button. There should be enough room around your neck for your forefinger and index finger, even though most guys will leave the top button undone for a comfortable look. Depending on the shirt, you might want to wear the shirt with the buttons done up all the way (even without a tie) to bring out the lines and detail of the shirt. Having the top 3 or 4 buttons of your shirt undone, should be absent from anyone's play book - leave the cleavage for the ladies to play with.

Width: A shirt should be wide enough so that the buttons on the shirt are under no ounce of stress at all when you're wearing it in the relaxed position. You should also be able to stretch your arms out to the side greater than a 180 degree angle and the buttons shouldn't look like they're about to pop. Similarly, you should be able to 'hug yourself' comfortably without any major stress on the shirt. A common error guys make is going for a slim fitting shirt, when in fact the shirt is way too slim.

Zac Efron misses the mark here, posing in a shirt that's too small with buttons under stress:

Length: A shirt should be long enough so that you can reach up with both arms with the shirt front and back still covering your upper body. Any less and you might as well be wear a mid drift top! A good shirt length also makes the shirt more versatile, allowing you to tuck it in when required. Shirts that aren't long enough are difficult to keep tucked in even with a belt.

Sleeves: Shirt sleeves should have enough room in the sleeves for you to be able to flex those guns (or sticks in my case) in their full range of movement. The cuffs shouldn't extend any shorter than at the wrist and no longer than where the base of your thumb meets your hand. French (or double) cuffs are strictly for formal occasions, while the button (or barrel) cuff is suitable for any event. There should also be enough room in the arm hole areas so that your armpits aren't grinding on the seams of the shirt.

Example of nice casual shirt fit sported by Andrew Garfield:

- A.C.