Shirt Sleeve Length

[ajmanouk]

I went to my tailor and he said that my sleeves are exactly a 37 in terms of length. So this being said I have two questions about sleeve length of dress shirts.

1. If I were to buy a Brooks Brothers dress shirt with 37 sleeve length, would washing it in cold water and hang drying still cause the sleeves to shrink a bit?

2. I have seen some shirts that do not specify a sleeve length, but rather are labeled as "16/41" (16 being my neck size). Does the 41 have anything to do with sleeve length?

Thanks in advance!

 

[ter1413]

Remember..even if you are a 17/37, etc, EVERY shirt is not cut the same. I wear a 17/34 and Pink(as an example) shirts fit me right and others don't. Trial and error!

 

[cbbuff]

41 is the 16" measured in cm. It has nothing to do with sleeve length.

 

[SirGrotius]

I asked a similar question recently. BB shirts do not shrink if you wash them in cold water, i.e., take care of them. Check with the particular manufacturer about their sleeve lengths. For instance, I wear Thomas Pink 15" and the sleeve length isn't labelled but I know it to be 34" from their website.

You've got some long arms, btw. You should be careful with buying shirts online. Can't really get away with something too short!!

 

[ajmanouk]

Thanks for the advice, guys. I feel like a total prat for not knowing that 41 is just 16 inches in CM haha. It sucks that I am a 37 sleeves but a 16 neck. I will have to go to 16.5 or MTM...but don't have the budget for it.

 

[Ataturk]

Some cotton shrinks less than others, but it all eventually shrinks from washing and drying, no matter how you do it. You shouldn't buy a shirt that's "just barely" long enough out of the bag, or after being washed once or twice. It won't stay there.

There's also enough variation between brands (and individual shirts by the same retailer!) that if one just barely fits, the odds are many won't. So you should err on the side of caution and go for longer sleeves.

On the other hand, a shirt sized 37 tends to be longer than a tailor's 37 measurement. So it may fit you fine after all. The only way to find out is to buy a 37" sleeve shirt from a brand you're considering and see how it fits.

 

[Harold falcon]

Originally Posted by ajmanouk

Thanks for the advice, guys. I feel like a total prat for not knowing that 41 is just 16 inches in CM haha. It sucks that I am a 37 sleeves but a 16 neck. I will have to go to 16.5 or MTM...but don't have the budget for it.

You and me both buddy. I have to go MTM all the time. BB doesn't generally stock any 37s less than 16.5. That seems to be the cut off for a lot of makers.

 

[cbbuff]

Originally Posted by ajmanouk

Thanks for the advice, guys. I feel like a total prat for not knowing that 41 is just 16 inches in CM haha. It sucks that I am a 37 sleeves but a 16 neck. I will have to go to 16.5 or MTM...but don't have the budget for it.

The good news is that you can find them in B&S and there won't be a lot of competition for that size, so you can probably swing a sweet deal on a nice shirt.

 

[Archibald Longfellow]

Originally Posted by ajmanouk

I will have to go to 16.5 or MTM...but don't have the budget for it.

Doesn't it matter what quality you're after. I've seen MTM shirts for under $40 delivered and there are some decent quality ones around $75 and certainly less than $100.

True you can pay $200 plus for a MTM shirt but you can easily pay that for RTW as well. If you're only paying $50 for an off the rack shirt why pay too much more for a MTM?

 

[phxlawstudent]

MTM can be had for the price of retail. I no longer see the point of buying otr. Okay, MTM never goes on 70% off clearance of course. Unless the company is just starting out.