Help with first MTM

[bvbellomo]

I wanted to try MTM, proper cloth gives the advice:

You have a shirt that fits, but don’t trust your ability to measure: Mail us a shirt to copy

If you’ve never had a shirt that fits right and you have a unique shape: Measure your Body


Good advice, but I've never had a good fitting shirt and don't trust my ability to measure. Mostly I am worried about a huge error - I will give the width of a body part when they want the circumference, or vice versa and end up with an 18 inch or 72 inch waist.

If I post measurements here, can someone do a sanity check? I am not that unusual, if our society was in better shape, I could be called average. But off the rack shirts have too much extra fabric around the middle or are too tight in the shoulders. I am not looking for a perfect fit on the first shirt, just something wearable and eventually to make small adjustments and buy near perfect MTM shirts the rest of my life.

 

[jaxenro]

Go to your friendly local tailor you frequent and ask their help

 

[bvbellomo]

Tailor, yes I think our town had one between the fletcher and the blacksmith. But I haven't seen them around for the last hundred years or so.

 

[jaxenro]

Alterations shop then. The ones that take up your sleeves and such. Print out the form you need to fill in and bring it in.

If you don’t have one you frequent, like mine know me by sight, then offer them a couple bucks to help you

 

[breakaway01]

I have never ordered from Proper Cloth but the instructions and videos look very straightforward. That being said, I agree with @jaxenro that to be sure, I'd recommend visiting an alterations tailor. I live in a relatively small city (100K people) and there are at least 5 alterations tailors here that I can think of off the top of my head. Failing that, have a friend measure you with the help of the videos on their website. Don't try measuring yourself.

 

[bvbellomo]

There are a few dry cleaners that do repairs and will shorten a cuff if needed, most don't speak English very well. There are places like "Men's Warehouse" and wedding places that will measure - I've had less than great experiences measured for weddings. Rather than try to pay them to measure me to buy from what they probably see as a competitor, I did my own.

I started with Proper Cloth, and felt pretty good except for the arm width. I have very skinny arms for a guy who benches 265lbs, but compared to the general population, my arms are average. The minimum proper cloth would do is 8.75 sleeve width, and I measure shirts with sleeves wider than I want at 8 inches. So I wasn't sure what I was doing wrong.

I tried Luxire, used the same measurements with a 13 inch arm circumference. But they want a "bottom circumference" which is poorly explained on their site and could be the width around the top of my thighs, my butt, or lower waist, on me, these are very different numbers. I put 39 inches, which should be safe with a 36 waist tucked in.

In the end, I went with Luxire only because it was $35, vs twice that for proper cloth. Seems better than spending time finding a place to measure me, paying them too, and still having a good chance the first shirt won't be the way I want. I think the second shirt will be easier, as I will be making adjustments to numbers I already have based on how it fits.

 

[jaxenro]

When I did shirts I used Natty Shirts if you buy 5 @ $30 you get a 6th free plus they send a “try shirt” first so you adjust the measurements

 

[bvbellomo]

When I did shirts I used Natty Shirts if you buy 5 @ $30 you get a 6th free plus they send a “try shirt” first so you adjust the measurements

I would have done this if you posted it last night, but really isn't that much better. Best case is $150 gets me 5 perfect shirts and I know my sizing. But I've heard nothing about Natty before your post and am skeptical of the quality of a $30 MTM shirt, and worst case is $150 just to know my size which may or may not carry over to other vendors. And if my first impression of the trial shirt is that it feels great and looks great, I may easily decide it is too restrictive for movement in a few weeks, wrinkles in the wrong way, or has excess fabric somewhere I don't want - then I am stuck with 5 shirts I don't want.

The way I did it, worst case is I get something that is so completely wrong the only thing I learn is everyone telling me not to measure myself was right - but I am only out $35. And while I've read both very good and very bad reviews about Luxire, I know measurements will carry to Proper Cloth and probably other vendors. When I like a shirt, I can wear it as long as I want before ordering another.

 

[bvbellomo]

https://propercloth.com/i/9bln2y- heres a link to $20 off first shirt at proper cloth. great experience so far with them

I saw that coupon. Did you pick 8.75 or larger sleeve width?

 

[jaxenro]

Natty does singles as well

I have a review posted here somewhere so I won’t repeat it but I have a half dozen from them and will probably order another six

 

[bvbellomo]

It finally arrived!

Not bad for a first try measuring myself. This is definitely something I can wear. It fits better than it looks because:
1) I made no attempt to smooth wrinkles after being shipped from India. It isn't so much bunched up because it is the wrong size, as it is just bunched up. I need to repost after ironing.
2) The sleeves are pushed up a little. They might be a little long, but aren't bad if I pull them down. I'd still go a quarter inch or half inch shorter and go wider on the cuffs, especially around a watch.
3) These pants and belt are too big, so it isn't tucked right.
4) I still have too much belly. I need to keep losing weight rather than change the shirt for this.
5) I could make the bottom a half inch narrower.

It definitely feels better than the shirts I have now.