shirt Talk: fit

I tried to write this as a part of the coming shirt presentation but as usual, there was just too much information to convey.  

The quest for the right fit has never been an easy one and additionally preferences changes over time. One thing is for sure, nothing fits right off the rack and frankly that should never be the expectation. 

First of all, I’m writing with regards to off the rack with alterations shirts. 

Secondly, some of the shirts (like the one here) are pictured before alterations, so the puckering is do to applying the military tuck.

A note since last article

When writing the previous post, in general, most of the shirts I owned until then did not have my preferred fit. I had postponed getting quite a few of my shirts altered for a while and to be honest one of the reasons was laziness (which is very unlike me) due to the situation in the world the past year or so. In addition, it can sometimes be difficult to stand your ground when requesting certain alterations to be done, when you’re conveying your wishes in your third language.

After the last shirt Talk article I finally summoned the courage to also get some of my shirts from United Arrows and Sovereign that had been lying around altered. Although these shirt models are more conventional than the Ring Jacket and Errico Formicola shirts, the fit I opted for this first round of alterations was a semi-fitted look. 

The fit

As opposed to my jackets which I don’t like to be button-popping fitted, I want my shirts to sit nicely along the upper body. I want to eliminate most of the excess fabric in the back and the bulge in the front of the shirt. Seems pretty simple of a request. But it isn’t really.

With linen shirts I have come to terms with the rather stiff fabric inevitably bulging and to be fair I think linen should flow a little. Secondly, I have become far more lenient with regards to my mentioned preferences the more I realise that you don’t necessarily need a picture perfect fit all the time. We are moving beings after all.

Among the many aspects to take into consideration, the two that has affected my decisions the most are the initial fit/cut of the shirt, and the fabric. 

For instance, some linen shirts you could taper down to a compression shirt and it would still bulge in the front. On the other hand, some lighter cotton shirts might have quite a lot of excess fabric while still providing a perceived lean fit and nice drape. If you’re not sure how this works, I would either rely on the experience of the staff at the store or you could experiment along the way to gain that knowledge for yourself.

For me, getting the desired result, the two most common alterations usually does the job: narrowing the sides and adding darts. Pretty much what you would expect. 

Sometimes only one of these alterations might be necessary, but again, that comes down to the fabric and the fit of the shirt off the rack. 

Current style

All this being said, as I lean more towards the Neapolitan style, recently also in the shirt way, I’ve come to realise that some compromises might be ideal. I’m not saying that this needs to be the case for absolutely all of my shirts but as a note to myself, moving away from fitted shirts might sometimes be a wise move.

The sleeves on the shirts I prefer nowadays (first and foremost the Ring Jacket shirts) have a relaxed fit to them, further emphasized by the shirring under the shoulder fold. If I was to taper these shirts too much the proportions would look off. The conclusion here is to taper them enough to eliminate fabric bulging out, but without making the shirts too fitted.

Shirt Conclusion

As it stands, my Ring Jacket shirts fits more or less the way I want them to with them being the style of shirt they are. Besides sleeve length, the alterations done on these are tapering down the sides, but not adding darts. 

The Errico Formicola shirts are closer to the fit I described earlier off the rack: closer to the body and more tapered sleeves. With these I only altered the sleeve length, as the off the rack fit is quite close to my preferences. I’m still on the fence on whether to add darts to these because they do tend to bulge around the waist still.

The United Arrows and Sovereign shirts are what I would call a moderate fit. Both body and sleeves are not too tapered nor too loose. The alterations done on these was a taper along the side and adjusted sleeve length. 

This note on the current status is mostly for me to gather my thoughts and to be able to go back to if I feel that further alterations be needed. Also, for when I post an outfit with a certain shirt you will know which alteration was done.

So there it is. This article might seem pointless to some, but if it somehow helped the people whom specifically asked, it was more than worth it!