Showing arm muscles?

I was wondering, what do you people think of shirts showing your biceps/triceps when arm is curled? When standing straight up with arms hanging down, the fabric is hanging nice and loose and no muscle is showing, but when I curl my arm the fit is just tight enough to see the contour of my biceps and triceps. The cloth isn't stretching, but I can feel the cloth against my skin and the muscles are clearly visible. Also, when I cross my arms the back of the shirt snugs my back somewhat tightly. Again, the cloth isn't stretching, but I can feel it "hugging" my skin. With arms hanging down the back looks fine and I think if I sized up the excess fabric/drape from my upper back to lower back would look odd. Does this mean my shirt is too tight, or is this fit fine? This is how most OTR "slim fit" shirts fits me and I need the "slim fit" for the length and waist suppression, so if the fit described is no good I might have to consider MTM or bespoke. Also, I'm wondering about the same fit on outerwear (i.e. a cotton jacket). Is it OK then? I'm considering getting this jacket, but the largest size fits me as described above:

I think its more about how it makes you feel, obviously certain types of clothes make you look more muscler or fat or what ever but i cant see it being a bad thing. It doesnt seem to matter that much?

What you describe seems fine but it's hard to tell. If it's pulling at the chest or back, then you probably need to up a size and get a tailor to alter it. It is not a terribly difficult operation to get an OTR shirt and get them to take in the sides and length. If you need to wear an OTR dress shirt with a tie, you should consider the collar size first.

It does however become weird if you try to flex or curl your arms all the time, either deliberately or subconciously, to bring out the contours of your arms. You should always wear your clothes in such a way that you almost not conscious of it's presence and that you are fully comfortable in any common and naturally occuring body and arm position.

Originally Posted by upnorth

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What you describe seems fine but it's hard to tell. If it's pulling at the chest or back, then you probably need to up a size and get a tailor to alter it. It is not a terribly difficult operation to get an OTR shirt and get them to take in the sides and length. If you need to wear an OTR dress shirt with a tie, you should consider the collar size first.

I haven't worn a tie in years, but I'm considering starting again. However, I have yet to find an OTR shirt that fits me in the neck without being very baggy (i.e. they are not slim fit). The slim fit shirts don't fit me in the neck (I can't comfortably button the upper button, second button is no problem) and I usually have to go for the largest size (XL), so sizing up is actually not an option. I have had a couple of OTR shirts taken in at the waist, which turned out OK, but I just wanted to check people's opinions on the arms before buying more and having them altered (the shirts, not the arms... ).

Originally Posted by upnorth

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It does however become weird if you try to flex or curl your arms all the time, either deliberately or subconciously, to bring out the contours of your arms.

Hehe, no. I don't do that. I just don't want people to think I'm buying too small clothes to show off my arms, but I also don't want to be swimming in fabric. I hate the boxy feeling of regular fit shirts.

Originally Posted by upnorth

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You should always wear your clothes in such a way that you almost not conscious of it's presence and that you are fully comfortable in any common and naturally occuring body and arm position.

This is mostly true for the shirts I currently own. I only notice it when I'm stretching out my arms to wash my hands in the bathroom and when I sit with my elbows on the table, resting my head in my hands (which I probably shouldn't be doing anyway).

Guess I should stick with the current fit and have the waist altered, but I think I need to go MTM if I want to start wearing a tie.

This sounds like a job for Glennie.

Oh, and to answer seriously, I think - as long as it's appropriate for the situation - whatever makes you happy. I wouldn't get my suits tailored like that for an interview, but for more casual clothes, whateve floats your boat.

How come Vox, a.k.a. THE GUN SHOW, hasn't posted in this thread as yet?

All in the attitude

Can be ok, or just wrong

When that starts to happen, I give the shirt (or jacket or whatever) to one of my skinny cousins. But I need to be able to wave my arms around and haul equipment.

Originally Posted by johnny_flapjack

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Oh, and to answer seriously, I think - as long as it's appropriate for the situation - whatever makes you happy. I wouldn't get my suits tailored like that for an interview, but for more casual clothes, whateve floats your boat.
Yeah. I see your point. As I noted, I don't have that fit for suit jackets, for the same reason I don't like it on outerwear (I tried on the jacket I posted again today and decided not to get it since it was too small in the arms/chest), I don't think it looks "professional". Ideally I would want my shirts slightly wider in the arms, but since we are talking about $20 H&M shirts vs. MTM/bespoke, I can potentially save a lot of money given the fit is aesthetically and socially acceptable. Oh, and by the way, I am nowhere near as big as those guys posted above. I'm 6'3" tall, 16.5" neck, 42" chest, 36" waist and 14" arms, which apparently is not a common build. Most shirts that fit in the chest are either too short, too wide or both, and most shirts that fit in the length are either too tight in the chest, too tight in the arms or both, in addition to often being too wide in the waist.. Maybe I could measure one of the H&M shirts after having it altered by a tailor and adjusting the measurements to order MTM online. Isn't it rather ironic that a $20 H&M shirt fits me better--and shrinks less during washing--than a $200 "fitted" designer shirt? I remember once buying a $180 "high end" shirt that fit me perfectly (short of some excess fabric around the waist), only to discover that it shrunk during the first wash and has since been too short to be wearable. It's so annoying when you ask them in the store if the fabric will shrink and they just say "No, these shirts don't shrink. They are high quality." I wash them on 30C on the most gentle program, and they still shrink, even if the label says washable at 40C... Wish I had saved the receipt so I could go get my money back.

Originally Posted by zatarregaza

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Sorry, I don't have any advice to give. I would like to know more about this jacket though. You got a website you can point me to? Thnx

It's in H&M's Spring 2009 collection. For $70 I think it's a nice deal if it fits you. Try browsing for it at www.hm.com. I can't provide a direct link since I can't find it online at the moment, which is a bit odd, seeing as the image is from the web shop...

Thanks for the quick reply. My exchange brother from high school is from Norway. I was hoping to not have to resort to having him look for this jacket there for me.