The Definitive Guide to Slim Fit Shirts

Hey itskub,

I usually get the dress shirts (for me, 15.5 34-35). But I wonder if that's going to be long enough for you, at 6'3".

I've had good luck finding them at Bloomingdale's in the $50 - 75 range, although the solid white and solid blue usually get snapped up right away when they go on sale.

If Theory doesn't have a long enough sleeve, you might want to try Z Zegna dress shirts. They go on sale at Bloomingdale's fairly regularly, they have a pretty good slim fit, and the sleeves are longer. In fact, I can't wear them because they're too long.

Okay, so not slim fit dress shirts per se but I've just had a batch of shirts back from my alterations seamstress. They are TM Lewin, Thomas Pink, Tyrrwhitt and even on Pierre Cardin which was the worst culprit being big enough in the trunk to fit two of me in. So to test the water, I had them taken in - not being tailor, I couldn't tell you what was involved but apparently the back would have been taken apart, and the front around the armholes, and the sleeves slimmed down too. The price varied according to the work 20usd to 30usd. A lot of money for these sort of shirts (but I was experimenting) and very close to Janzten prices for new shirts. However, the difference is amazing - they fit better than my single Janzten shirt. It probably wouldn't really be worth it for these sort of shirts pricewise but I'll probably go ahead and have some better shirts taken in in the future - I've gained a bit of weight back (long shifts, going hungry and eating poorly).

Anyway, so basically, you need to find a good seamstress/ tailor.

I think all of my tops have been tailored. I tried to do it myself, but its definately not as simple as you would think.

As for theory, the shirts are fitted, not quite slim. Also the material seemed a bit stiff , like the shirts from Express.

Though the pants I love;the fit and their designs are really what Im looking for. Im keeping an eye out for my size on ebay.

As of late I have found Benetton's and Zara's shirts to fit quite slim, with a certain linen Benetton I picked in Rome being slim not only on the body, but in the sleeves and cuffs as well.

Jon.

Hello all - a bit late to the discussion I'm afraid.

I still have the chart but I can't say how current it is. I don't expect T&A and T.M. Lewin to have changed their standards but the rest of the bunch may have. Anyway, I've mostly been buying Swedish shirts lately so I can't really say.

This is probably the chart I posted, if I can make the new forum software behave...

Björn

A shirt you may want to add to this is Roda. I hate to be a shill since I am currently selling two of these shirts but they are very slim fitting and well made and, more importantly, cheap. A 15.5 has the following measurements:

20 inches across the armpits (40 inch chest)
19 inch armhole
38 inch waist

Mastai Ferretti MTM, the shirts are really cheap for MTM and ofcourse they fit great. You won't find any hand made details but if it's all about the fit his shirts are great.

Picked up a Polo RL "Made in Italy" the other day at Steinmart. Size was 15.5 with no sleeve measurement. Again all it said below the typical Polo tag was "Made in Italy" in cursive.

Usually even the "custom fit" offerings from polo are a little baggy for me so I assumed that this would be more along the lines of the "classic fit" and would be extremely baggy on me. To my surprise it was almost a perfect fit in shoulders, body, and arms (I'm a 34/35). Significantly slimmer even then the 15.5 "custom fit" shirts I own.

Best part was with all the markdowns it was only $19.98. Given the retail was $165 I got almost 90% off. If anyone else comes across more of these I would certainly be willing to pay a finders fee.

Originally Posted by nate10184

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Picked up a Polo RL "Made in Italy" the other day at Steinmart. Size was 15.5 with no sleeve measurement. Again all it said below the typical Polo tag was "Made in Italy" in cursive.

Usually even the "custom fit" offerings from polo are a little baggy for me so I assumed that this would be more along the lines of the "classic fit" and would be extremely baggy on me. To my surprise it was almost a perfect fit in shoulders, body, and arms (I'm a 34/35). Significantly slimmer even then the 15.5 "custom fit" shirts I own.

Best part was with all the markdowns it was only $19.98. Given the retail was $165 I got almost 90% off. If anyone else comes across more of these I would certainly be willing to pay a finders fee.

What color was the label? Was it black?

Jon.

The best fitting OTR shirts for me are Barba, Zara, Martin Margiela, Steven Alan, and Band of Outsiders, all of which are slim fitting and the latter three have pretty decent construction as well. Some of the more conservative offerings from Zara might be suitable for business, the other three are more for casual wear. Barba certainly works for business wear. 46 chest, 34 waist, 17.5 neck.

Originally Posted by nate10184

Click to expand...

Picked up a Polo RL "Made in Italy" the other day at Steinmart. Size was 15.5 with no sleeve measurement. Again all it said below the typical Polo tag was "Made in Italy" in cursive.

Usually even the "custom fit" offerings from polo are a little baggy for me so I assumed that this would be more along the lines of the "classic fit" and would be extremely baggy on me. To my surprise it was almost a perfect fit in shoulders, body, and arms (I'm a 34/35). Significantly slimmer even then the 15.5 "custom fit" shirts I own.

Best part was with all the markdowns it was only $19.98. Given the retail was $165 I got almost 90% off. If anyone else comes across more of these I would certainly be willing to pay a finders fee.

I've seen these too at a Ralph Lauren outlet store. It was on clearance for $25. The one I saw had a small stain on it, so I didn't get it. But I do remembering that the fit was AWESOME.

Some of the Borelli shirts fit me like a glove. Another one that does it for me is YSL. One that caught my eye lately is Grifoni. The shirts they make are pretty toight.
All my shirts are made for european market though.

Too Hard form me to figure out cause they work for me but where do these dimensions fit?

Starting from size 37 to size 42

doesn't seem like they slim too much from chest to waist, maybe a boxy look?

The Bagutta shirts they currently have on Yoox are very good slim shirts to buy. The quality is very good for the 60-70 dollars you spend on one, single needle stitching, shell buttons, nicely shaped collars and cuffs. The fabric is very nice, very comfortable.