I’m not a fashionable person. Most days it’s just a white T-shirt and jeans with some grubby sneakers at home and the whole slacks and dress shirt ensemble at work. Moreover, since I’m usually temping between tours and since temp jobs are, well, temporary, I can get away with wearing the same three dress shirts over and over, as long as the washing machine is working, which, currently, it isn’t.
At any rate, those three shirts are looking a little ratty. And by “a little,” I mean “I get confused for a hobo.” My problem is that I want a shirt that fits me right. I’m a skinny guy and I hate those dress shirts that are all billowy under the armpits: I always feel as if I’m about to catch a glass of wine on the loose fabric and ruin everyone’s afternoon. Plus, loose shirts have a way of making me look, well, like a middle schooler who raided his dad’s closet. Not the vibe I want at work or at weddings or any which place thank you very much.
Thing is: I can’t find any fitted shirts. At least none that aren’t in fancypants clothiers and European shirt stores where they each cost roughly what I make in a week. So, really: what gives? I just want a simple dress shirt that fits me and makes me look not-like-a-clown. Any San Francisco Dopers have any bright ideas? Any online stores? Anything? Until then, I’ll be looking like I wrapped a parachute around my chest.
I’m not a fashionable person. Most days it’s just a white T-shirt and jeans with some grubby sneakers at home and the whole slacks and dress shirt ensemble at work. Moreover, since I’m usually temping between tours and since temp jobs are, well, temporary, I can get away with wearing the same three dress shirts over and over, as long as the washing machine is working, which, currently, it isn’t.
At any rate, those three shirts are looking a little ratty. And by “a little,” I mean “I get confused for a hobo.” My problem is that I want a shirt that fits me right. I’m a skinny guy and I hate those dress shirts that are all billowy under the armpits: I always feel as if I’m about to catch a glass of wine on the loose fabric and ruin everyone’s afternoon. Plus, loose shirts have a way of making me look, well, like a middle schooler who raided his dad’s closet. Not the vibe I want at work or at weddings or any which place thank you very much.
Thing is: I can’t find any fitted shirts. At least none that aren’t in fancypants clothiers and European shirt stores where they each cost roughly what I make in a week. So, really: what gives? I just want a simple dress shirt that fits me and makes me look not-like-a-clown. Any San Francisco Dopers have any bright ideas? Any online stores? Anything? Until then, I’ll be looking like I wrapped a parachute around my chest.
Try the Men’s Wharehouse. I haven’t actually got one from then, but when I asked them for a button hole extender for my neck they asked me why I didn’t just get a shirt that fit. There prices on fitted jackets was pretty resonable BTW.
The magic word seems to be “fitted” or “tailored.”
It may be worth a trip over to Nordstrom, where you can get some one-on-one service from someone who’s familiar with the merchandise. I don’t know your budget, but their “Smartcare” Tailored Dress Shirt goes for $60, and claims “a closer fit, cleaner under the arms and sides.” Relatively pricey, but if it makes you look good and feel good, it’s probably worth it.
Another option is Macys, where the Geoffrey Beene shirts are on sale for $30.
As a customer review for the Beene shirts says:
*""Finally, somebody got it right! This is the shirt designed for the modern man. I’ve been looking for a shirt that fits a man’s body rather than a wine barrel…
Two other reasons I like these shirts so much are that they don’t yellow over time as quickly as the 100% fine cotton shirts, and that the collar is a bit taller (which tends to look better on a slimmer physique unless you have a short neck)."*
Bingo. The Nordy’s shirt is about at the top of my price range (I just don’t use them enough, honestly. Also, I’m cheap. There, I said it). Nice call on the Geoffrey Beane too. The testimonial took the words right out of my mouth, except for the fact they seem to imply the non-modern man was shaped like an orange.
I need fitted shirts, too, but didn’t know where to get them. My problem is that I have a thick neck relative to the rest of my frame (somebody said it’s from all the singing I do, but I’m dubious), so if I can find a dress shirt with a collar I can button, the rest of the shirt billows around my chest and abdomen.
Birdmonster, if you’re open-minded and the right size, why don’t you check out the dress shirt offerings in the boy’s section of Nordstrom? The prices have got to be less and no one will ever know who that shirt was intended for. Also, check out discount stores such as TJ Maxx, Marshall’s, and Ross Dress for Less. All of these stores carry men’s clothing and there are some european designer items that generally run smaller than American manufacturers. Good Luck!
I am also tall, skinny, and possessed of long arms. I have recently been delighted to discover the “trim fit” shirts from Paul Fredrick. I’ve only had them for a few weeks so I can’t attest to their longevity, but they certainly fit very nicely.
There’s also eBay. I have bought several items of used clothing on eBay and been reasonably satisfied. I haven’t gotten a smelly rag yet, most of the time it is just what they advertise it to be, dress clothes that have been worn a few times and either don’t fit the buyer any more due to weight gain/loss (the most common reason). And in other cases, they’re clearance of NWT (new with tag) shirts still in the bag but at a big discount from MSRP.
Just search for “(men,man,mens) shirt (fitted,tailored)” and your shirt size and see what you get.
They’re my favorite shirts and they’re often on sale. The clearance sales are really good, you can get the shirts for as low as $20 each, but you have to act fast or all that will be left are the shirts with the huge/tiny collars and short/really long sleeves.
You can just get a cheap shirt anywhere and take it to your dry cleaner or tailor and have it tailored to fit. This is inexpensive, like maybe $5. My boyfriend, who used to be in the Air Force, would do this with his uniform dress shirts, and it looked so much better.
Paul Fredrick makes pretty good shirts and offers a lot of customization options. They have a perpetual deal where you can get (up to) your first four plain white dress shirts for $20 each–most of their range is $40-60, so it’s about half off, and you can get them fitted.