Dress Shirts for a small man

[wing]

I want nice dress shirts--one in every solid color, and maybe some with cool patterns, etc.--but the problem is, they never fit me. all the shirts in stores are ALWAYS too big. They have all this extra fat and length. The smallest ones have arm lengths that are still longer than my hands with the cuffs reaching past my fingers.

I've found the size I can get away with the most is a 15 neck and 34 "chest." but even when I try on 15's at 34-35, they're way too big, and the arms are totally way too long. They could even be shorter with 34.

So my problem with all of this is:

1) Why is it the smallest clothing companies have is not that realistically small, but they have sizes that could fit killer whales? I mean, they rarely get smaller than "medium" but don't hesitate at all to carry XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXLLLLL with neck sizes like 500 inches. I mean come on?! Are there really far more fat tall dudes than there are smaller guys?

2) In the similar vein as my complaint above: why are there Big & Tall stores all over the place, but absolutely no Short & Small stores? Women have their Petite Sophisticates and other such stores; what about men?

3) I do fit kid's shirts, and would shop there no problem, except for the simple fact they only offer two colors: white, and light blue. That is all.

4) What do genetically small cultures do to shop in America? ie: asians, etc.

5) Am I really the only small man in the entire universe? Because the way most of these clothing companies don't even offer shirts smaller online or by special order is truly strange to me.

So if I were to buy slightly oversized dress shirts, how difficult could it be to alter them with one of those hand sewers you can buy at walgreens for $15? (hint: ask your wives, girlfriends, mothers, daughters, etc.)

Sorry to whine about it. I just get frustrated when I go to a store like I did this weekend where everything was 80% off (equating to nice shirts being like $4) but no size being smaller than "fat ass lard" and going up larger from there.

[Mr. Dipity]

no size being smaller than "fat ass lard" and going up larger from there.

Get with the program, boy.

Or move out of Texas.

[cassettefetish]

ummm.... not easy to alter

not at all.

Have you tried looking online for some stuff? I know that kind of sucks...


I don't really have your problem. I'm more on the killer whale side of the size chart... lol

[cgarges]

I feel your pain.

I recently learned that Levis changed the true length of their inseam measurements. I learned this after buying four pair of non-returnable jeans from a Levi's outlet that was going out of business. I've been buying the same size jeans for YEARS and they pulled this on me.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[rhythm ranch]

I've found the size I can get away with the most is a 15 neck and 34 "chest." but even when I try on 15's at 34-35, they're way too big, and the arms are totally way too long. They could even be shorter with 34.

The sizes listed on men's shirts are:

1st Number = Neck
2nd Number = Sleeve length

So in your example above, the shirt was a 15" neck (good for you) with 34" sleeves (much too long for you). You need to look for 15/32.

The circumference of the neck generally dictates the size if the body of the shirt:

A rough guide -
14-14 1/2 = Small
15-15 1/2 = Medium
16-16 1/2 = Large
17-17 1/2 = X-Large

If you want shirts to fit more snuggly, you should look for "fitted" dress shirts, which are cut with a more tapered silohuette.

Hope that helps.

[ubertar]

I hear ya. Pants are a bitch too. They're all too long and I have to cuff them up. There's never anything shorter than 30. They have smaller waist sizes, but the length is still always 30 or more. In Seattle there's a clothing store for smaller men called Wallaby Junction or something like that. I went in there once, and even they didn't have pant lengths shorter than 30. And kid sizes don't work because they don't do them by waist/length like adult sizes.

[Flight Feathers]

dude, i hear ya. i'm sorta tall and skinny, so i need long sleeves AND slim cuts, which just don't seem to exist. why are americans so fucking huge? i tried on a small shirt at the GAP and it was like wearing a fucking parachute. american eagle smalls actually fit me well.

[JohnDavisNYC]

i buy womens clothes alot of the time... all my sweaters and zip up jackets and stuff, and some of my winter coats are womens... i seem to be able to find plenty of t-shirts that are both designed for men and fit me, however.... but i'm kinda tall and skinny, too (although i've got my winter fat rocking these days... no thanks to the massive ammounts of beer....) the only good button down shirt i own was made for me by a designer friend of mine, so it's fitted. the problem for me is always that the torso fits, but the sleeves are a few inches too short and the neck is kinda small. i guess i'm wierd or something, tho.

john

[jmiller]

My only dress shirt is a Priests clerical shirt, made by a comany called "Friar Tuck". No Kiddin'. It came with the plastic white thing that fits in the collar but of course i never wear that. So without it, it just looks like a nice but kinda unusual looking button down shirt. I like it. I think mine's a small. I got it at some bible store in Van Nuys.

I don't know who these mythical people are that they make clothes for these days. I can never find anything that fits right. I wouldn't think i'm built in any unusual way- i'm average hight, slender, not buff, not fat, i'm skinny but not ridiculously skinny. My brother in law is over 6 feet tall and skinnier than i am, and everything he wears looks awesome. I went to a hip store the other day where he shops and everything made me look like a huge dork.

[llmonty]

I've found the size I can get away with the most is a 15 neck and 34 "chest." but even when I try on 15's at 34-35, they're way too big, and the arms are totally way too long. They could even be shorter with 34.

The sizes listed on men's shirts are:

1st Number = Neck
2nd Number = Sleeve length

So in your example above, the shirt was a 15" neck (good for you) with 34" sleeves (much too long for you). You need to look for 15/32.

The circumference of the neck generally dictates the size if the body of the shirt:

A rough guide -
14-14 1/2 = Small
15-15 1/2 = Medium
16-16 1/2 = Large
17-17 1/2 = X-Large

If you want shirts to fit more snuggly, you should look for "fitted" dress shirts, which are cut with a more tapered silohuette.

Hope that helps.

ding ding ding - all of this is the best advice you will get.

the only other idea is that if 15 is your neck size but it isn't horribly snug and you don't wear ties often is to go down a size to 14.5. the bad thing is if it is a 100% cotton it will likely shrink. i am 6 feet tall and have a 15.5 - 16 neck and i can't wear 34-35 sleeves - 33 is for me. so 32 may work for you. sometimes i have seen 31-32s as well. a good department store should have lots of the sizes you need.

[drmorbius]

Try to find a uniform outlet store. These sizes rarely change because the goal is not to "flatter" fat shoppers by lying about what is a S, M, L etc., but instead to outfit workers properly. The shirts might have weird ass loops and shit on them.

[Stephen B.]

Wing, you're in Houston, right? Get yourself over to the Galleria and go to the Thomas Pink store. You will find shirts that fit. They are British and actually cut their shirts smaller than most people, and they all look great. Of course, I happen to fall somewhere closer to the killer whale sizes, but I know they have what you need. Might want to wait for a sale, though.

[spankenstein]

I'm in the same boat here. I'm not tiny (I put on a few pounds when I quit smoking) but often times mediums are too big, especially in a button up or a polo. I don't have problems with dress shirts but everything else is a pain. It's really frustrating to go in and see 8 billion L, XL, XXXXXXXXL, and one freaking medium. Maybe I should just lay around and eat so I can purchase clothes that fit

[Rigsby]

I too feel your pain. In most senses i'm a perfect 15 and a half, any shirt that size will fit me absolutely perfectly except i won't be able to do the top button up. A 16 is fine in the neck and too big elsewhere. I don't think i have a particularly fat neck, so what's up with this? Luckily i rarely need to do the top button up anyway.

[llmonty]

I'm in the same boat here. I'm not tiny (I put on a few pounds when I quit smoking) but often times mediums are too big, especially in a button up or a polo. I don't have problems with dress shirts but everything else is a pain. It's really frustrating to go in and see 8 billion L, XL, XXXXXXXXL, and one freaking medium. Maybe I should just lay around and eat so I can purchase clothes that fit

I am always having this sizing conversation with my family around the holidays - when not gift given actually fits. I am pretty average sized - 6 feet tall, 168 lbs. More often than not, these days I am a large in alot of shirts (that are not sized by number) especially sweaters and polo shirts. If I am a large, what the hell to other people wear - guys who are say 5'10-6'2 and like 180-210. Not enormous people - but I assume they must be XL. weird.

so is medium the new small?