Dress Shirt - Fit

Fit

In the US, ready-to-wear sizes of dress shirts traditionally consist of two numbers such as 15½ 34, meaning that the shirt has a neck 15.5 inches in girth (measured from centre of top button to centre of corresponding buttonhole) and a sleeve 34 inches long (measured from midpoint of the back and shoulders to the wrist). However, to reduce the number of sizes needed to be manufactured and stocked, an average sleeve length is sometimes given in the form 15½ 34/35 (indicating a neck 15.5 inches in girth and a 35 inch sleeve). Since the cuff frequently features two buttons, the cuff diameter can be reduced so that the cuff does not come down over the hand, allowing the shirt to fit the shorter length. Since the sleeve and neck size do not take into account waist size, some shirts are cut wide to accommodate large belly sizes. Shirts cut for flat stomachs are usually labeled, "fitted", "tailored fit" "athletic fit" or "trim fit". The terms for fuller cut shirts are more varied ("Traditional", "Regular" etc.) and sometimes explained on a shirt maker's website. Additionally, "Portly" or "Big" are often used for neck sizes of 18 inches or more. Very casual button-front shirts are often sized as small, medium, large, and so on. The meaning of these ad-hoc sizes is similarly not standardized and varies between manufacturers.

In the bespoke (custom-made) industry, where each shirt is made from an individually drafted pattern, these sizing problems are avoided, but there are still different ways making the shirt fit. While many choose to cut the sleeve long, and have the cuff catch on the hand to regulate its length, some prefer the much harder option of using a high armhole and carefully tailored shape, so that the cuff can be loose and still sit in exactly the right place wherever the arm moves.

Made-to-measure shirts may not fit quite as well as bespoke, but can provide a similar degree of customisation and fit at a lower cost.