The Definitive Guide to Slim Fit Shirts

Hi ppl. I got a question on tailoring to slim fit. I had a kinda oversized polo shirt so i decided to bring it to a local tailor to alter it to fit me better. I told her to bring in the sides and narrow the sleeves so that the armhole would be brought up as well. Basically the problem was that the tee was too baggy around the sides and the armhole was too big. The shoulder was only slightly big so i did not ask her to alter that area. So she managed to narrow the waist and sleeves as i requested as shown in the picture below by the arrows. The dotted lines represents the outline of the shirt originally. However, the problem is that the armpit and chest area (circled red) seems to bunch up quite a bit after the alteration. So im wondering if this was inevitable? Especially since when i requested quite a lot of shrinking? Pit to pit shrunk by about 4 inches i think. Can it be resolved if i asked to bring the shoulder and chest area (as highlighted by the yellow line) inwards? Thnx in advance!

Originally Posted by Normal Male

Click to expand...

I'm not sure if the term "Banana Republic" is acceptable on this forum, but they make excellent slim fit shirts.

Yes, they may look good but their quality, both in terms of fabric and workmanship, is crappy. Once in a while, their items will last.

Sanfort is a gud brand. Look out for this itallian brand and u'll love it

I just picked up 3 of the BB Extra-Slim Fit shirts. I'm 6'4" and about 200 lbs. so while I am quite tall I would certainly not consider myself skinny. These shirts fit me like a glove. So while they may not be the holy grail for the seemingly large number of very skinny people on this forum, they are a marked improvement over the Regular Slim Fit.

Originally Posted by Biggskip

Click to expand...

I just picked up 3 of the BB Extra-Slim Fit shirts. I'm 6'4" and about 200 lbs. so while I am quite tall I would certainly not consider myself skinny. These shirts fit me like a glove. So while they may not be the holy grail for the seemingly large number of very skinny people on this forum, they are a marked improvement over the Regular Slim Fit.

Can you provide measurements for shoulders, chest, and waist?

We (Proper Cloth) recently updated our system to allow even slimmer shirts to be specified - now going down to collar sizes of 12, chest width of 16.5 and sleeve width of 6.25. I don't think you can ask for much slimmer than that. http://propercloth.com

RE: lazybum yeah - this is pretty much unavoidable - because to slim up the sleeves and chest, you actually need more fabric in the bottom of the armpit of the sleeve. The best way to narrow the chest of a shirt is to unstitch the entire back panel, narrow it and stitch it back, but you're still going to pull the bottom of the arm eye in a little strange - especially if you try to take that much fabric out. Never heard of altering a polo shirt before. I hear that Bonobos makes a nice slim fit polo. Check them out http://www.bonobos.com/store/cat/polos

Originally Posted by Mr.P

Click to expand...

How are the new Extra Slim-Fit shirts from Brooks Brothers?
Would love to see the specs on the brooks brothers golden fleece slim fit.

hmm. I've been all around trying on shirts at several places but cannot seem to get a good fit. I'm a fairly built guy (broad shoulders, built chest, wide back) and cannot seem to get a good fitting shirt off the rack. Every shirt I get is usually a S or XS and usually it fits good up top but towards the bottom, it gets baggy and boxy. Sometimes, even too long (I'm 5'6 and my pants sz. is a 30).

Any recomedations or am I going to be stuck tailoring my shirts all the time?

Has anyone tried TM Lewin's Buckinham shirts? I'm interested but don't want to order without getting a gauge.

Well I ordered 7 Buckingham shirts in a 15/34. We'll see how they fit. I'd like to keep 4 of them at least. 20GBP a pop + 8GBP shipping.

Virtually all the shirts I buy need to be taken to a tailor for adjustment - I buy 14.5 or 15 inch Ralph Lauren and Eton slim fits and get about 1 or 2 centimetres taken of each side. However, Uniqlo have just launched a new range by Jill Sander and I thought I would take a look. The shirts are of pretty good quality for the £29 they cost - and the fit is very slim. I have bought several XS size, and the chest and waist fit perfectly. The neck is too tight - but I moved the top button by 1/2 centimetre. I am very pleased indeed.

Originally Posted by Seph

Click to expand...

RE: lazybum

yeah - this is pretty much unavoidable - because to slim up the sleeves and chest, you actually need more fabric in the bottom of the armpit of the sleeve. The best way to narrow the chest of a shirt is to unstitch the entire back panel, narrow it and stitch it back, but you're still going to pull the bottom of the arm eye in a little strange - especially if you try to take that much fabric out. Never heard of altering a polo shirt before. I hear that Bonobos makes a nice slim fit polo. Check them out http://www.bonobos.com/store/cat/polos

It can be done, there are at least 4 ways of altering the fit of a polo shirt:

1) taking in the sides
2) taking in the circumference of the sleeves
3) adding darts to the back
4) shortening the sleeves

I've had the first 2 options done on a Lacoste polo shirt, and it whilst it fits well, it's probably the least used polo shirt in my closet. In all honesty, it's better / faster / cheaper just to find a brand that fits you well and purchase polo shirts from them.

^ Welcome back!

Brooks Brothers Customer Service emailed me some measurements for the extra slim fit.

Extra Slim Fit
16.5" Collar
47.5" Chest
45" Waist

It's a total loss, if your neck is 16" or more and you don't have a 40" waist. The drop is pretty low for an extra slim fit shirt. I thought the standard drop for men was 6", because most men's suits have 6" drop.

I wish a USA store would sell euro fit dress shirts with collar sizes larger than 16".