What is your opinion of shirt darts?

[SkinnyGoomba]

I have them in a few shirts but generally find them to be annoying and uncomfortable if you have to sit down at any point in the day.

To shape a fuller cut shirt I like them, but to make a slim fit shirt into a skin tight fit I dont like them.

 

[jamesbond]

Darts can make a pretty decent fitting shirt into a perfect fitting shirt. And to whoever said they are a sign of bad RTW is baked, Anna Matuozzo prefers darts on most of her bespoke shirts. Carl from CEGO once said that all his fathers shirts had darts. They can be very discreet if they're done on solids.

These days I prefer to get my shirts on deep discount (Borrelli, T&A, RLPL) that I know fit very well except for the chest and waist, I then add darts and shorten the sleeve's for a fit that's as near perfect as one can get. Why pay $350.00 when I can pay @ $100.00 for practically the same shirt? It's a recession after all

.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

FWIW I have a RTW Brioni shirt that was already darted from Brioni.

 

[jamesbond]

Originally Posted by SkinnyGoomba

FWIW I have a RTW Brioni shirt that was already darted from Brioni.

Yup, was it a European market shirt? I remember Ian selling a bunch of darted RTW Barba shirts last year that were made for that market, darted RTW is much more prevalent over there. Most American's think they're feminine or they are too fat to wear darted shirts. Basically if you're in shape and don't have a bit of a belly no RTW shirt is going to fit you well.

Here's a RTW T&A shirt I had darted. you'd be hard pressed to even notice them never mind think they look feminine. I prefer the fit of this shirt to that of my Bespoke T&A's.

 

[sandberg]

I'll take darts over too much fabric. It's a compromise. I try to avoid them with stripes and large checks.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

Originally Posted by jamesbond

Yup, was it a European market shirt? I remember Ian selling a bunch of darted RTW Barba shirts last year that were made for that market, darted RTW is much more prevalent over there. Most American's think they're feminine or they are too fat to wear darted shirts. Basically if you're in shape and don't have a bit of a belly no RTW shirt is going to fit you well.

Here's a RTW T&A shirt I had darted. you'd be hard pressed to even notice them never mind think they look feminine. I prefer the fit of this shirt to that of my Bespoke T&A's.

I bought it from Saks so I assume that's not the case.

I dont find that to be true at all, I have a drop 8 and find that I have no issue finding RTW that fits, I simply buy slim fitting shirts. I find that most people who claim their shirts dont fit well are buying the wrong size to begin with. If you like a little room around your collar than your shirt will fit big.

 

[jamesbond]

Originally Posted by SkinnyGoomba

I bought it from Saks so I assume that's not the case.

I dont find that to be true at all, I have a drop 8 and find that I have no issue finding RTW that fits, I simply buy slim fitting shirts. I find that most people who claim their shirts dont fit well are buying the wrong size to begin with. If you like a little room around your collar than your shirt will fit big.

Strange, seeing that you're quite skinny that RTW would fit well. This is not the case for most of the people I've talked to that try to dress well and are in good shape. Even slim fit shirts are rather blousy on me and I think I know the correct size collar to buy

.

 

[Gus]

I'm wearing a RTW shirt today with darts. It is my best fitting RTW. The fit is dead-on and a lot less than the cost of a MTM or bespoke/custom shirt.

I have MTM shirts that fit as well that did not require darts.But they were double the price.

 

[Tobacco Man]

Don't like them. I think they make a shirt look cheap, and kind of feminine. And they're not necessary if you're getting a MTM shirt. Go with moderntailor. They're just as inexpensive as RTW shirts...

 

[Stylistix]

Question: Where do you place the 2 vertical darts on the back of the shirt, relative to each other and the shirts width?

From the picture quoted below, the 2 darts divide the shirts back (width) into three equal parts (almost).

(I think) placement affects the curvature / fit of the back so am wondering if there is an optimum / correct placement for darts on shirts. Post of pics of other OTR / RTW darted shirts would be great as well.

Originally Posted by jamesbond

 

[454Casull]

I like them a lot. It's hard to get the small of my back to show properly otherwise.

 

[Coronaeus]

If it were not for darts, I'd be wearing tents for RTW shirts. I have a 17.5" neck but only a 42" chest. This means I can buy 16/16.5 shirts and not be able to do up the neck button and have the second button pull, or buy 17.5 and swim in the shirt. I've yet to find an off the rack dress shirt that fits me without darts, even among the slim fit offerings. Some of the larger fitting Italian shirts are totally unwearable for me, even with darts. Brooks Brothers never fits - even the extra slim offerings....

I'd prefer not to have to use darts, but I do not have that choice unless i want to get my shirts MTM (I am in the process of doing this for the first time with a local outfit called Speier and Mackay because I get measured in person. So, maybe, if I am happy, darts will be a thing of the past).

 

[ThatGuy]

Darts look good on me. Broad shoulders. Strong v-taper.

Looks really crap on skinny guys with an extra fitted fit.