What are slim fit shirts?

[Royal_Elegance]

I'm reading people's complaints about the baggy fit of their shirts. Almost nobody seems to be entirely happy even with MTM shirts.

So, I'm wondering if there is an objective definition for slim fit shirts, i.e. how much fabric allowance should be given around your chest, waist, seat and upper arm measurements?

Also, where are the sleeve/shoulder seams supposed to fall?

Is there anything else that defines a slim or properly fitted shirt?

[Cantabrigian]

Some of the is subjective and you will find that different shirtmakers do it differently.

I would say that a slim fit shirt has no more than two extra inches of fabric on each side of the waist.

Personally, I prefer a bit less than that. I've gotten Harvie & Hudson down to about half an inch on each side. The shirt looks really sharp while I'm standing up but the front will gape open a bit when I am sitting down.

Carl / CEGO left about 1 inch, maybe slightly more, on either side. Paris is about two inches, though I hope to talk them down a bit.

On the chest, my metric is that the fabric will not bunch up underneath a jacket.

I prefer the yoke to end at the end of my shoulder bone. I believe, however, that it is standard practice to have the yoke spill over a bit onto the deltoid.

[Royal_Elegance]

Cantabrigian, thanks. 1"-2" on each side sounds almost like a skin tight fit. I can imagine this looks good on athletic and normal bodies only.

Does such a tight fit mean that pleats on the back are a must-have?

I guess the problem you have with the front gaping open when you sit down can be taken care of if you take a waist measurement when you are seated.

Thanks for sharing your experiences from different shirtmakers. In my recent bespoke shirt experience, my tailor simply refused to go anywhere less than 2.5" on each side (my build is athletic) and he refused to give me a plain back (no pleats). It was frustrating but it made me wonder if he was right.

[Cantabrigian]

Don't forget that there is some shrinkage allowance in there. Or is he talking about 2.5" after shrinkage?

I go back and forth on the question myself. I like the way a trim shirt looks standing up and most of the time when I really care how I look I am standing. But, on the other hand, I do spend much more time during the day seated.

If you do take the seated waist measurement, you will get something of a bell effect where the extra fullness meets your trousers.

2.5 is not unreasonable. But I'd have to see how it looked both ways in order to really say if he were right or wrong.

At first I did not care for back pleats but have come around to them. They don't really affect the fit of the shirt in terms of how it looks but do provide an incremental degree of freedom of movement. If you do have back pleats, they need to be done well or else they look awful.

Sounds like your guy was a disappointment all around. When will you get the shirts back to see how they actually turned out?

[Royal_Elegance]

You're right. He turned out to be a really bad shirtmaker. I had him change a few things multiple times but at the end I simply resigned. I actually got the shirt today, washed it and I am line drying it now. The only good thing about this shirt is the cloth. The rest is unbelievably bad for a bespoke shirt:

a) The single needle stitching is very badly executed. You can see spots of exposed frayed edge across the seam on the underside.
b) No split yoke.
c) Collar is too tight.
d) Cuffs are too small. The button is sewn right on the edge of the cuff - no margin left.
e) The plain front (no placket) is executed in the worst possible way: Cloth turned over and held in place with the buttonholes. You can actually see the selvedge on the inside with the frayed edges.
f) The fit is mediocre. Better than most off the shelf shirts but not good enough.
...

It was an unfortunate but overly educating experience. I can now identify a bad shirtmaker within a minute.

This shirtmaker has 30+ years of experience and he is doing well. It proves that most people are really ignorant in judging a shirt's quality and that's why custom clothing is not appreciated as much as it could.

This forum has done an amazing job in raising our sartorial knowledge to an extraordinary level. Many thanks.

[vwguy]

This shirtmaker has 30+ years of experience and he is doing well. It proves that most people are really ignorant in judging a shirt's quality and that's why custom clothing is not appreciated as much as it could.

This forum has done an amazing job in raising our sartorial knowledge to an extraordinary level. Many thanks.

This goes to show, just because someone has been in business for awhile, doesn't mean they are any good. Have you tried the custom shirts thru Lands' End? Seems like you can have them made anyway you'd like and if you're not happy w/ the finished product you can get a full refund.

My biggest complaint (even w/ LE) is that the sleeves are too blousy, we'll have to see how this year's variation of their tailored shirts fit.

Brian

[Untilted]

You're right. He turned out to be a really bad shirtmaker. I had him change a few things multiple times but at the end I simply resigned. I actually got the shirt today, washed it and I am line drying it now. The only good thing about this shirt is the cloth. The rest is unbelievably bad for a bespoke shirt:

a) The single needle stitching is very badly executed. You can see spots of exposed frayed edge across the seam on the underside.
b) No split yoke.
c) Collar is too tight.
d) Cuffs are too small. The button is sewn right on the edge of the cuff - no margin left.
e) The plain front (no placket) is executed in the worst possible way: Cloth turned over and held in place with the buttonholes. You can actually see the selvedge on the inside with the frayed edges.
f) The fit is mediocre. Better than most off the shelf shirts but not good enough.
...

It was an unfortunate but overly educating experience. I can now identify a bad shirtmaker within a minute.

This shirtmaker has 30+ years of experience and he is doing well. It proves that most people are really ignorant in judging a shirt's quality and that's why custom clothing is not appreciated as much as it could.

This forum has done an amazing job in raising our sartorial knowledge to an extraordinary level. Many thanks.

you should try Carl from CEGO.

[kbuzz]

you should try Carl from CEGO.

I am having a much greater appreication for the shirts CEGO made me last year. Seems as time goes on, I just really recognize how well they fit. At first blush they just seemed like anyother shirt. I guess I have just become better educated....but now when i put on a otr shirt it just doesnt have the same feeling as cego. Even if the fabric is better. Fit fit fit fit...then everything else like buttons, stitichng...etc.

[Cantabrigian]

TPK, if the shirts really don't fit - collar and cuffs too tight to wear - I would take the shirt back and ask for a refund.