Measuring fit at buy when you'll refit afterwards?
Hello there! I'm FtM and I've reached the conclusion that, since I'm small-bodied and retail sizes tend to get too big on me or cling to my hourglass shape, it would be better for me to give every piece I buy to a seamstress to adjust for my measurements. I'm talking about short-sleeved garnments for the most part.
However, I have no knowledge on the matters of tailoring and I'm unsure on what I should prioritize when looking to buy the original piece. I think that I should prioritize shoulder fit because it does seem harder to change when compared to length or sleeves, but am I right on this?
24 Replies
That seems to be the consensus alright. Length next after shoulders, as if there's pockets or details etc can end up off balance if shortening a piece
What kind of garments are you talking about? Shirts? Sport coats?
t-shirts and button-downs with short sleeves
It's unlikely that you actually need these tailored. T shirt and button down shirts are forgiving fit wise, just err on the side of bigger rather than smaller and you're good
The whole "shoulder seams must hit perfectly on your shoulder bone" is outdated advice
Believe me I'm 161cm and no retail here sells XS size
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where should they go then?
Hanging off the shoulder a bit is totally fine, that's how all of my favorite tees fit
This is so true!!! I'm someone who can get obsessive over fashion rules and I need to remind myself that it's okay if it's oversized and it can look good
I wanna recommend the brand Under 510 for clothes because their fit is amazing for shorter men like us. I'm also a trans man as well. Both & is a good brand for transmasculine folks but it's pricey
With sport coats and suits the fit is less forgiving so that's when you'd want to get your shoulders matching as close as possible
Unfortunately it's cheaper for me to buy medium-weight cotton and ask a seamstress for a custom T-shirt than to import something from Both& and that's before applying freight and taxes if I went that route :(
Ohhh yeah Both & is very expensive
Agree with GSH here, tailoring everything seems like overkill. Leaning into overisize and boxy silhouettes can be both fun and can relieve your dysphoria more than fixating over how a shirt exactly conforms to your body (source: been there.)
no seriously I mean average retail S size goes past my entire fly binderless š
99% of my shirts do the same! You can tuck it in, diy hem it or if you really want to get someone else involved tailor it
Just personally that's not a big concern to me, and I am shorter than you
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part of it is that I'm a showoff and everyone on my class uses oversized lol
but thanks
I'll look into ways to make it intentional
Yeah tailoring everything adds up
I had two pants tailored(hemmed and tapered) and it was like $86 for both
They were jeans
And regular fit. I probably wasn't used to regular fit at the time because I was coming from women's clothes which tend to be slimmer fit and skin tight at times
I think it's important to get something like a suit tailored or something you really value but you don't need to tailor everything.
I'm also trans btw and I'm around 5'4 so I'm short too. If a shirt is long on you definitely try tucking it in! It looks nice and actually helps you look more put together
Haha fair. Though again I think it is very achievable to get that fitted look even with shirts that are long by just tucking em in.
^^
For example, this shirt is a bit oversized on me and long. I tried tucking it in and it looks good
It's not like overly big but a little roomy which I like to have a variety of fits
Yeah, especially with button down shirts it looks very odd (imo) if it hits your belt exactly without a bit of pants tuck in
Looking good!
Exactly. And I know a lot of trans ppl who tuck button up shirts in because they struggle to get it over their hips at times and it's a good look
Since men's shirts are made with narrower hips in mind some transmasc people tuck their shirts in so it doesn't bunch up in that area
And thank you! Shirt is from Charles Tyrwhitt
Thank you folk, you've been very supportive
Although I do suspect tailoring is cheaper where I live because $42 wouldn't be a tailoring/hemming rate but a confection from scratch one
Yeah the tailor I went to did a good job but I wouldn't pay that much again for jeans that could have just been hemmed for way cheaper or even free