dress shirts - tall and skinny
Hello, looking for recommendations on where I can go to get fitted for a dress shirt. It doesn’t have to be MTM or anything but I’ve had trouble finding something that fits. I’m 6’4” 165 lb, 30” waist in Levi’s, probably a 37~ sleeve length. Very long torso and wide ish shoulders. Closest I’ve had is Charles Tyrwhitt extra slim, but it is too short in the rear so it doesn’t stay tucked and the sleeves are a bit short. If I try to stretch even a little bit, I feel like the seams will pop in the armpits and the shirt will come untucked. I got fitted in store for a 15.5/36 extra slim. Thought it would work but doesn’t. Size up and slim fit felt baggy and also short.
I am just getting these for work so it’s just business casual, functional. I am dreaming of a shirt that doesn’t come untucked and sleeves that actually sit where they should. Let me know if I can add measurements or anything else that might help. I can’t afford a tailored MTM shirt and don’t even live near a tailor that would do that. I live in the northeast US. I’d pay up to $100 per shirt if they’re going to fit
16 Replies
if you have a shirt that you like the fit of, take all the relevant measurements and use that to compare against a size chart or provided measurements
Great idea but unfortunately I don’t. It’s always been a battle between long enough but so wide it just billows on my waist and I look like a muffin top, or too short
Try TM Lewin. They do 38 sleeves and IME fit a little longer than Tyrwhitt.
This also becomes easier if you become slightly less worried about the perfect slim fit. A bit of extra fabric means you're less likely to pull the tuck out with slight movements etc, allows for more freedom.
Remember getting darts added to take the waist in slightly is easy to learn or cheap to get a tailor to do.
Source: 6'2 with a 36 chest, 28 waist, 15.5 neck and 37ish arms.
Thank you. I’ll look into TM Lewin. You’re right on the slim fit. Seems like it’s kind of recoiled and the CT shirt fit me way too tight in the chest and shoulders but fine in the waist.
I’m ok with it not being slim, but one RL shirt I had which had the perfect length really could have fit 2 of me width wise lol
It doesn’t help that my work pants are on the slimmer end. I lost 50lb rapidly last year so I panic bought Uniqlo chinos :eg_laugh:
How much are you looking to spend? Proper Cloth does custom shirts for $150. My measurements aren’t as varied as yours but they are my go to
150 is a stretch tbh. They aren’t for fashion and I just want something that fits. But I know my measurements are wacky so i might have to. I also checked with TM Lewin and looks like they don’t have what would be my size
15.5/36 is taller than average but you should still be able to find dress shirts off the rack. You'll get the best bang for your buck buying secondhand, you should be able to find options on eBay.
Just because you're slim doesn't mean you have to get a slim fit--that depends on how you want it to look. If you can't find something off the rack that fits you exactly how you want, it will be more cost effective to buy a shirt with the right collar and sleeve size in a looser fit on eBay and get it tailored than to go mtm.
If your shirts keep coming untucked, you might want to try pants with a higher rise.
Thanks. Anyone have a pic reference of how much billowing someone skinny should expect? Sometimes the torso area on a shirt or 2 that I have looks ok tucked, then in the back it looks like a giant poof
(Both shirts were already taken in but I lost some weight)
Also, I only wear pants with higher rise than average already. Not total high rise since those are hard to find but more than normal
There's not one right answer, you have a range of ways clothes can fit depending on what you want. I'd say something like this: https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1116800072093532191/1289276871908921456 would be a pretty safe classic fit, there's still some extra material at the waist when you tuck it in and that allows you to move around.
You can go looser than that if you want. Same person, looser shirts: https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1116800072093532191/1284940271766994984 https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1116800072093532191/1294372299578806284
Other examples, you can see there's a range of fits depending on the effect they want: https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1116800072093532191/1266502692482842634
https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1116800072093532191/1255925491307646978
https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1116800072093532191/1247294943555358832
https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1116800072093532191/1236430409307263147
To get the effect you want, you might end up buying something labeled a "slim fit" or a "classic fit" but it's more important to pay attention to how the clothes fit relative to your body
Thanks for the insight
I have lots of big shirts and I do military tuck. Some billowing in the back is unavoidable tho, depending on how snatched you are
I’ve tried it but my pants are a bit big on my waist, maybe by an inch, so it just comes untucked. I lost a lot of weight fast last year
A belt just makes my pants bunch up and hurts my hip bones if that makes sense
Such a struggle 😦
This might be counterintuitive, but wearing higher rise pants in a looser cut might help. If it's cut looser then the bunching from your belt will look more natural and the higher rise means the belt sits at a more comfortable spot.
i've come to embrace that bunching, especially in a pleated pants where the effect is compounded; wearing an undershirt (and finding the right sized pant) can help the discomfort that may arise
I haven't tried every pair of high rise or anything haha but I specifically sought out high rise cut to do that and I just end up having to bunch the pants to my waist.. wish I had a good pic to illustrate
I do wear an undershirt. I've tried tucking into my underwear too (heard that as a tip lol)
next and only ting I can think of is to get darts in this one shirt I have, pray it fits, measure it and seek out others
fwiw these fits are all of me and the last fit is a pair of prl andrew chinos one size up from normal (32 waist normally vs 34x31 chinos); they are prolific and inexpensive on ebay and the rise is generous
for shirts, i empathize (15.5/35.5). the blue shirt linked is a j.press slim fit ocbd (check their measurements because there's some QA weirdness going on lately) but usually i go secondhand get shirts altered as needed