Dress Shirts Give Me Pain

[EuropeanInterloper Redux]

Dear all,
Today marks the day when I almost found myself giving up on the men's shirt. I have search far and wide, from base OTR to more substantial MTM, and even had one bespoke shirt altered, and have yet to find a shirt that does not hurt my neck and back.

More specifically- approaching one hour of wear, shirts start to make my neck very sore, which in turn leads to shoulder and back pain. I have tried shirts with loose-fitting collars, shirts with split yokes, shirts with a great deal of blousing at the back, and shirts made to suit my proportions (I have an unusually large drop, slanted shoulders, and my shoulders are disproportionately wider than my chest).

If I had to describe the pain, it feels a bit like my neck is being pushed forwards by the collar.

Has anyone ever experienced this feeling? Or perhaps new approaches to a potential solution to my problem?

My most recent MTM shirt was made by D'ypres (or whatever it's called) via Bergdorf; three fittings including one by the D'Ypres rep himself.

Help!

EI

 

[Tumbleweed]

Call it a wild stab in the dark, but I think the problem is with your neck and not the shirts. Have you seen a doctor?

 

[edmorel]

honestly, this sounds more psychological than anything unless you feel the same way with sweaters/polo shirts/jackets.

 

[alexei]

Maybe you have some form of Sensory Integration Dysfunction. In children, sometimes collars, especially with tags, can cause pain due to tactile hypersensitivity. Occupational therapies for it are fun (uhh... for kids anyway) - like wearing a weighted vest or digging around in cotton balls, corn kernels, etc. I guess with SID you would have noticed this problem before now though. Good luck (and I don't think it's the shirts).

 

[orthofrancis]

Interesting theory, but what about if he slouches his shoulders foward while wearing the dress shirt. The shoulders will move forward, and thereby pull on the collar, which puts the force on his neck.

Easy solution, find a shirt you don't care about, and make a vertical cut down the center thru the collar past the yoke.

I guess also buying shirts with bigger sleeves, and loser chests will also give you more room for the shoulders to move forward.

Dress shirts will also cause this, since the fabric does not typically stretch, and thus the force is transferred to your neck.

Question to help rule out herniated cervical(neck) discs. DO you have numb fingers, when you bend your neck down?

 

[Shirtmaven]

with out seeing how the shirts fit on your neck, it is hard to make conjecture.

It is possible that a shirt could be made with much more curve in the collar band. something that could not be done by Y'pres shirts. though it is expensive MTM. they could not make this adjustment.
Altering someone else's bespoke shirt is also the wrong thing to do.

Carl

 

[LookSharp]

Is this the first time you've worn them? When I first started to have to wear shirts for school as a kid they made my neck very sore - it just stopped after a while as the skin just gets used to it. You could also have a laundry detergent allergy that's more noticeable in the neck due to the rubbing and increased contact.

Even now, any new footwear, however perfect the initial fit, will cut my heels to shreds but after a week of being slowly broken in they'll be fine.

 

[EuropeanInterloper Redux]

Personally I wonder if it's because my neck forms an angle from my body which is unusual and cannot be accounted for by MTM in the D'Ypres style because their model doesn't allow for changes in that area. With the weather I recently took to wearing a fairly thick scarf under my jacket; I noticed that this creates somewhat the same feeling of my neck being forced forward-- this seems to me to reinforce the idea that it is the placement of the "neck hole" (excuse the sartorial jargon) relative to the yoke etc. that is causing me pain.

Maybe if I go to Charvet and challenge them to make me a shirt that won't hurt I can find a way to get them to make a sample shirt for free...?

... But probably not.

Oh well, until my chiropractic sessions become overwhelmingly frequent, I suppose I shall have to just stick with my shirts.

What a pain in the neck.

EI

(Couldn't resist; sorry)

 

[Azure]

I can´t wear 5 cm tall collars.only 3,5 or 4 cm.

Them makes me vomit. real!

 

[2fingers]

Seems like you have tried everything so I would guess that the problem is not with the shirts but with your neck and poise. Try Alexander Technique (Google it) it's really very effective.

 

[a tailor]

sounds as though you have an erect posture. the shirt needs to be cut that way.

 

[BruceWayne]

Originally Posted by EuropeanInterloper Redux

Dear all, Today marks the day when I almost found myself giving up on the men's shirt. I have search far and wide, from base OTR to more substantial MTM, and even had one bespoke shirt altered, and have yet to find a shirt that does not hurt my neck and back. More specifically- approaching one hour of wear, shirts start to make my neck very sore, which in turn leads to shoulder and back pain. I have tried shirts with loose-fitting collars, shirts with split yokes, shirts with a great deal of blousing at the back, and shirts made to suit my proportions (I have an unusually large drop, slanted shoulders, and my shoulders are disproportionately wider than my chest). If I had to describe the pain, it feels a bit like my neck is being pushed forwards by the collar. Has anyone ever experienced this feeling? Or perhaps new approaches to a potential solution to my problem? My most recent MTM shirt was made by D'ypres (or whatever it's called) via Bergdorf; three fittings including one by the D'Ypres rep himself. Help! EI
Could you please maybe post a picture (or a few) of what you're talking about? This might aid you a bit more in your search for help with this issue. By the way, I'm sorry to hear about your pain and hope you'll be able to find a comfortable solution to this problem.

 

[Despos]

Originally Posted by a tailor

sounds as though you have an erect posture. the shirt needs to be cut that way.

The shirt goes against your posture and creates a pressure point. Go see Carl at Cego for a more accurate diagnosis. These type of fitting issues need to be seen by the pattern maker/ shirt maker. Sending orders in by who knows who is hit or miss. You need a more experienced fitter to correct this.

 

[bowtielover]

It sounds to me like you have the wrong size. try going up some in the shoulders this will take some tension out of the neck and will not feel so tight on you. It will also relieve tension in the back having more shoulder room.

 

[cksnipe]

You might have a thyroid problem. Have you ever gotten it looked at by an endocrinologist?