BoO: Help Me Understand

[MIKE_JE]

Originally Posted by kgmessier

Admittedly, I have a pretty small chest, so not much drop from chest to waist. I'm 37-38 chest and 31-32 waist with a cloth tape"”only a 6" drop"”so I feel like I'm somewhere between a small and a medium in most shirts, particularly those with a slim fit. I've never even tried on a BoO shirt, never mind purchased one, so I'm not sure where I fall on their fit scale. Seems like I should be a medium, but I'm really not sure.

- Keith

All I can say is that shirt fits you pretty loosely compared to the intended fit of BoO. So, if you want a slimmer fit, which is sort of the point of BoO, go with whatever size is smaller. If that is a medium Epaulet, from what i've read here, the BoO shirt should be slimmer. If you want a similar fit to what you are wearing, go with large.

I'm not sure if i'm right about this, but I do know how I like my BoO shirts to fit, and they are slimmer than that.

 

[skunkworks]

kgmessier - For sure you would be a BoO medium.

 

[kgmessier]

Originally Posted by skunkworks

kgmessier - For sure you would be a BoO medium.
This is what I'm thinking. I'd like something a little slimmer that what's in that fit pic. It's nice to have some shirts that fit on the loose side, but I'd also like to have shirts that cut closer to my actual silhouette.

 

[word]

Originally Posted by MSSneaker

I'll add to that...One of my polos started developing two tiny holes where it was rubbing against my belt after only a couple days of wear. I had to fabric glue it to prevent them from expanding. The fabric is as incredible as they say it is, but breaks down easily. Bought these on sale of course, absolutely love them, but I can attest to breakage of BoO.
One of my button ups has a vertical tear in the fabric running along the sleeve placket for about 3/16". Sleeves are already pretty tight and I don't even work out that much. Happened when I rolled the sleeves either directly below my elbow or 4" above it. Not sure when. I stitched it back shut but it kinda sucks. You buy boo for the fit, name and pretty fabrics. That's it. The white buttons are pretty too. Though the back of their shirts are kind of busy. The fake box pleat thing with the darts is too much. But it does keep the shirt from looking too feminine with just darts there.

 

[brad-t]

Maybe I'm wrong but that Epaulet looks too wide in the shoulders

 

[DLester]

Originally Posted by dragonxking

If you were to add darts to Gitman shirts, they'd probably fit just as slim.
Gitman and Band fit nothing alike. Gitman has an open back pleat. Band back pleat is sewn down. Fit is completely different, darts wouldn't change that. I look fine in Band; I look like a jackass in Gitman.

Originally Posted by Uncontrol

Maybe I'm wrong but that Epaulet looks too wide in the shoulders
An inch too wide on each side.

 

[MIKE_JE]

Originally Posted by Uncontrol

Maybe I'm wrong but that Epaulet looks too wide in the shoulders

Yeah IMO he should be wearing a size small in epaulet.

 

[APK]

A shirt's shoulders should hit right where your shoulder and arm meet, right? The pattern makes it tough for me to see exactly where it hits his body, but the seams do look a bit droopy.

 

[kgmessier]

Originally Posted by Uncontrol

Maybe I'm wrong but that Epaulet looks too wide in the shoulders

Originally Posted by DLester

An inch too wide on each side.

Originally Posted by APK

A shirt's shoulders should hit right where your shoulder and arm meet, right? The pattern makes it tough for me to see exactly where it hits his body, but the seams do look a bit droopy.
I think maybe I should be buying small in Epaulet. It would be half an inch shorter on each shoulder. It's an inch shorter pit to pit as well, so I'm a little concerned about the chest fit and feeling like it's pulling when I move my arms. Worst-case scenario, I just send it back and exchange it for the next size up.

 

[max_r]

probably not a viable solution for a high quality shirt like epaulet, but on a few cheap shirts I have that got too tight in the chest but fit elsewhere, I cut off the top two buttons and moved them over. gained about .25" to .5" of clearance. not much, but it helps if there's a slight pulling.

 

[Mauro]

you need to go and get measured. Then you will know what size you really are.

buying gitman, BoO, Epaulet, WvG, or any other shirts with out knowing your size is just dumb.
When buying a slimmer shirt measurements are everything. If you are buying a regular shirt going with "I think I am a medium" is fine because od allowence "industry standard" When you start buying slim shirts looking at your measurments and the shirt measurements are key.

Getting **** altered and stuff is garbage. Don't just buy something because its on sale. Sometimes that thought process can really **** you and your wallet. The tailor can screw the job up or it might have to be a re-cut in which you are really screwed.

The good thing about Epaulet's shirts and mine ( i would like to think) is the fit consistency. BoO doesn't always offer that and it's upsetting. I haved carried BoO in my store and it bugs me that BoO has fit issues. The margins aren't great and then it ends up going on sale. That's another reason I choose to stick with WvG.Mike is pretty anal about fit as someone should be and that's why people go to him. quality control people!

 

[Epaulet]

^ Thanks Mauro

Been loving the overdyed oxfords that you guys just put out.

I'm a fan of Band of Outsiders. Given the popularity of their shirting, I'm often asked to point out the differences in our fits. Overall, our shirts have a straighter and more traditional slim fit. We've got a longer tail and a higher collar stand.

The Band cut is a pretty unique "shrunken" fit which has high armholes, very slim sleeves, a high-cut tail, large collar sizing, small collar stands, and a slight flare at the bottom. It's a cool look when they're properly fitted, but it's definitely non-traditional. Most customers over 5' 8" find it difficult to keep Band shirts tucked in. If you've got an athletic build, then you'll most likely have to size up for more room in the chest, and you may find the sleeves and armholes restrictive.

In terms of sewing and construction, I'd say that our shirts and Band are about the same. We're both using two of the highest-end workshops in the United States. I'm generally using more expensive fabrics and a higher-quality fusible for the collars & cuffs. Band shirts are so much more expensive than Epaulet because of the distribution structure. Band shirts are sold through stores. Epaulet is sold direct to customers. If I tried to wholesale my shirts to other accounts in the USA, the final retail price would easily be $250+.

Many of my customers own shirts from us, Band, Gitman, and Wolf vs Goat. All of the fits are different, but all of them can certainly work for the same person. Because of my build, Band shirts look crazy on me, but I have a coral-colored cotton Batiste one that I always wear on vacation in the Caribbean. It's too big in the abdomen and too tight in the sleeves, but I look so much like a white Shabba Ranks (in the best possible way) that I still rock it every Summer.

And Keith - onto your shirt fit. I think that the pic you posted looks pretty good. That lawn fabric is very light and has a softer drape than most of our shirts. Having the second button undone is going to open up the shoulders more too. I think that it's a nice tailored fit for you, but isn't the skin-tight one that Band would give you. I wouldn't think that it looks oversized if you wore it in person. I would imagine that our tighter weave shirts - like pinpoint oxfords - fit you a little closer than that one too.

You can definitely try a Small - it looks like the smaller shoulders would work for you. Not sure if you'd find it too restrictive in the chest, but you can always send it back without a problem.

And I agree with the other posters, you'd almost surely be a Medium in most Band shirts. The tail is going to be really high on you - especially on the sides - but that's a part of the Band look. If you find one at a good price, it can't hurt to try it - as there's usually a decent market for them on B&S if it doesn't work.

 

[London]

"I look so much like a white Shabba Ranks"......that has to be the funniest line I've ever heard on this forum!

 

[kgmessier]

Thanks for the detailed post, Mike. Maybe what I need to do is supplement my cardio with the military press to build up my delts.

As for the differentiation among fits, it seems to me Epaulet is a more ideal cut because of the ability to tuck or allow to leave un-tucked. Gitman is a bit fuller, but still slim-fitting. I'd like to try BoO, but I'll wait for a sale or a good deal on B&S. How does Wolf vs. Goat compare with these other cuts? My next shirt order from Epaulet will be a small so I can see how the chest works on me along with the smaller shoulders. Is it worth the money to have my existing Epaulet shirts tailored to have the shoulders narrowed a bit? - Keith

 

[Epaulet]

Oh, and one other thing - the exact position of the shoulder seam differs from person to person. Everyone has a different ratio of chest to shoulder width, so the seam fitting slightly lower on the shoulder isn't necessarily an indication of a poor overall fit for the shirt. Here's a Band of Outsiders example. This guy is a model and buyer for Opening Ceremony and is a seriously slim dude wearing an extremely slim Band shirt. You can see here that his seam is really capping the ends of his shoulders: