Sport shirt sleeves too long: shrink or have tailor shorten them?

[SuitMyself]

I have many long sleeve sport shirts, the sleeves of which are too long for me anywhere from 1.5 inches to about 2.5 inches. Since these are sport shirts and not dress shirts, the sleeve lengths increase as the size of the neck increases. These are all size large (16.5 neck) and the sleeve length that fits me to a "T" is 34 inches.

I know I can easily machine dry these and shrink the sleeve length; this way I don't have to pay a tailor to shorten the sleeves. I have 16 such sport shirts (brands are Duchamp London and Thomas Dean and they're all 100% cotton of course). Yes, the neck will shrink, too, to about 16 (and that's the precise neck size I prefer).

So, gentlemen of SF, what course of action would you recommend? Machine dry to shrink or have a tailor shorten them?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Shirtmaven]

do not put your shirts in the dryer.

the entire shirt will shrink including the tail.

make sure all of these shirts are washed in their usual fashion.. so normal sleeve shrinkage is gone.

then take to your tailor
anything shortened over 1" should have sleeve plackets moved.

 

[ter1413]

Why not buy 16.5/34 to start with?

 

[Shirtmaven]



Why not buy 16.5/34 to start with?

sport shirts are no longer sold with specific sleeve lengths. if there were 2 sleeve lengths 32/33 and 34/35. the first would be too short and the second too long.
most 16.5 size shirts come with at least a 35" sleeve some will even come through at 36.5 before shrinkage.