So, this post is about how to wear your shirts. Herein lies a set of tips on shirt cut and fit that will help you to look your best.
Fashion Tip: Torso Fit. Depending on the look you’re going for, you may want your shirt to be a bit looser, or a bit tighter. For example, if the rest of your clothing is of a relaxed fit, you will probably want your shirt to be the same. However, most of the time you want your shirt to be as fitted to your torso as possible. You should be able to pinch no more than 1 inch of fabric on either side of the shirt, for the entire trunk of your body.
-If you are slimmer, buy shirts that are advertised as ’slim fit’ or possibly ‘vintage fit’ (?? doesn’t make sense, but I’ve seen it used before). For t-shirts, American Apparel carries many well-fitted basics, and H&M, Zara, and Tristan&America all carry well-fitted dressier numbers (as well as some casual threads).
- If you have a more muscular build or a “V” shape, you may be fine buying a Large or XL fitted or semi-fitted shirt. However, in extreme cases you may have to buy a regular or ’standard fit’ shirt, and have it tailored to your body. This isn’t cheap, but get it done for your dress shirts. You’ll look much sharper this way.
-If you have a larger figure, chances are you’ll want a standard fit shirt. For dress shirts, Banana Republic, Club Monaco, and Tommy Hilfiger all carry shirts that will fit even some of the largest frames out there. Even if you have a big frame, you don’t want the shirt to be hanging off of you. Make sure it fits reasonably well around the torso, maybe giving yourself up to 2 inches of fabric that you can grab on each side of the shirt.
Fashion Tip: Sleeve Length. When wearing a dress shirt, sleeve length isvery important. Ideally, a sleeve should fall far enough past your wrist that it can be seen with a jacket on (more on jackets to be posted), without covering your hand.
-When your hand is relaxed at your side, the cuff of the sleeve should extend up to one half-inch past your wrist, but no more. You can get away with shorter – as long as the cuff comes down to your wrist, you’ll be fine.
-Should you get hot while you’re out and about (or in a stuffy board meeting), you can roll up your sleeves and fasten the cuffs at the elbow. This still looks stylish, but is also practical.
Fashion Tip: Buttons. As long as you’re reasonably young, reasonably attractive, and have reasonably tame chest hair, there is no reason you can’t undo the top buttons of any button-down shirt, creating a small “v”. This is inadvisable, however, for more formal situations. If you’re going to the bar, out with friends, or in a semi-formal situation the undone button makes you look and feel a lot more relaxed. Not to mention stylish. However. If your chest hair is out of control, you must trim it or get rid of it completely before you even think about undoing that top button.
Well, that’s about it for shirts. Stay tuned for what to wear over them. Oh, by the way…. Who wants a cape?!? I WANT A CAPE! (see the last sketch. How cool would that be.) Over and out!
-Fashion Hobo.
March 3, 2008 at 4:37 am |
hi there Fashion Hobo – Capes? Haven’t you seen the movie – “No Capes. NO CAPES!” Edna Mole – The Incredibles. BTW there was a Seinfeld Episode where George’s father was seen on several occasions talking to a man with a cape. Jerry, Elaine and George were trying to guess who the mystery person was. A cape – very unusual. Turned out it was his lawyer
March 4, 2008 at 9:46 am |
bahaha… definitely need to watch that Seinfeld. PS. it’s Edna Mode, methinks. That way, if I go to law school then I’ve got yet another great reason to break convention and wear a cape!!!
(I still want a cape. I think I may endeavour to make one.)
June 11, 2008 at 4:48 am |
your design nice i like them thanx
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