[James Steele]

I'm really tempted to get the deal on 4 shirts, but since this is my first time getting a shirt from them I figure I'll make sure I get the sizing right first.
In Brooks Brothers I wear an Extra-Slim 15.5 - 34.
My build is quite thin at 6'1 165lbs and I generally stay away from regular or classic fitting shirts, so going with the slim fit from TM Lewin should be a no-brainer.

The complication is that I've been measured at a 16' neck and my best fitting shirt is a size 16 (41) slim from Hugo Boss made in turkey [if any of this helps]

Between myself at the salesperson at Brooks Brothers we decided that dropping down a neck size to 15.5 would actually result in a shirt that better fit my build.

So the dilemma for me is between going with a 15.5 or 16' neck by 34' sleeves. The real question I suppose is how does the TM Lewin Slim fit shirt actually fit and how does it compare to other slim fit shirts out there (namely BB).

Please advise thanks!!

 

[Jovan]

I'm wary of that advice. Getting a 15.5" collar when you measure 16" will be awfully tight once it is washed and dried. I'm sceptical of your stated sleeve length, as I too am 6'1 with a 16" neck and take 35" sleeves. Guys our height often need 36", however. Does the cuff still cover your wrist when you bend your elbow at 90 degrees? If not then your sleeves are too short.

Don't worry about how tapered the shirt body is, as you can have it taken in later by a competent seamstress.

 

[James Steele]

Forgive my ignorance, when you say have the shirt tapered are you talking about darting?

 

[Matt S]

Forgive my ignorance, when you say have the shirt tapered are you talking about darting?

Darts take out the bagginess at the back. I've had shirts taken in at the side seams and up through the sleeve. That needs to be done if the shirt is really big in the body. I find that darts make a big difference, but they need to be added after the shirt is taken in at the sides. You can take it in to be very fitted just by using the side seams, but then it won't be shaped right for your body.

 

[Youthful Repp-robate]

Based on a question I asked on another forum, TM Lewin's slim fit is slimmer than BB slim. Their "fully-fitted" is supposed to be significantly slimmer than BB's ESF. That in a 16 might be the kind of fit you're looking for.

 

[Jovan]

^ That sounds like it would work. Judging by his weight, he may have a smaller than average chest size for his height.

Darts take out the bagginess at the back. I've had shirts taken in at the side seams and up through the sleeve. That needs to be done if the shirt is really big in the body. I find that darts make a big difference, but they need to be added after the shirt is taken in at the sides. You can take it in to be very fitted just by using the side seams, but then it won't be shaped right for your body.

Right on the money.

 

[steps]

I'm wary of that advice. Getting a 15.5" collar when you measure 16" will be awfully tight once it is washed and dried. I'm sceptical of your stated sleeve length, as I too am 6'1 with a 16" neck and take 35" sleeves. Guys our height often need 36", however. Does the cuff still cover your wrist when you bend your elbow at 90 degrees? If not then your sleeves are too short.

Don't worry about how tapered the shirt body is, as you can have it taken in later by a competent seamstress.

Go for the lower neck size and ask them to move the collar button 0.5 inch forward (or more, if you prefer). Tm lewin do this for me (sometimes gratis, sometimes £3 per shirt) so that I get a 16 shirt in the chest to fit my 16.5 neck. Also, their slim fits aren't the slimmest fitting in their range. That title goes to the francomb line of shirts (which generally have more styling details,too).

Hope this helps

 

[Checkerboard 13]

The complication is that I've been measured at a 16' neck...

I'm impressed!
You don't cut wood for a living, by any chance, do you?

The advice about the fit of TML's different cuts is sound. The "fully-fitted" might just be right for you.

 

[steps]

As a guide, I'm a 16.5 inch neck, 42 inch chest, 36 inch waist and am 6'2" and 210 lbs. If I buy lewins, I go for a 16 neck, 35 inch sleeve in the fully fitted/francomb range and then move the collar button 3/4 inch forward. Fits pretty well for a non-mtm shirt. (On the sleeve front, lewins have a strange system whereby not all shirt lengths are available in all fit/collar size combinations!). On a final point, the returns system for lewins is straightforward, so don't worry iterations are necessary.

 

[Jovan]

Go for the lower neck size and ask them to move the collar button 0.5 inch forward (or more, if you prefer). Tm lewin do this for me (sometimes gratis, sometimes £3 per shirt) so that I get a 16 shirt in the chest to fit my 16.5 neck. Also, their slim fits aren't the slimmest fitting in their range. That title goes to the francomb line of shirts (which generally have more styling details,too).

Hope this helps

I can't imagine that looks very balanced. You're essentially adding a half inch of tie space there, not to mention throwing off the position of the placket.

 

[Matt S]

Go for the lower neck size and ask them to move the collar button 0.5 inch forward (or more, if you prefer). Tm lewin do this for me (sometimes gratis, sometimes £3 per shirt) so that I get a 16 shirt in the chest to fit my 16.5 neck. Also, their slim fits aren't the slimmest fitting in their range. That title goes to the francomb line of shirts (which generally have more styling details,too).

Hope this helps

I'm with Jovan. This should not be done. Until the past decade nobody cared about a fitted shirt, and those who did had them made. Shirts should be fitted for the collar, since the collar is the most important part of a shirt. The body can then be taken in. When you moved the collar button you have a collar with too much tie space. It works if you tie huge, unsightly windsor knots, but otherwise you have too much space.

 

[Youthful Repp-robate]

As a guide, I'm a 16.5 inch neck, 42 inch chest, 36 inch waist and am 6'2" and 210 lbs. If I buy lewins, I go for a 16 neck, 35 inch sleeve in the fully fitted/francomb range and then move the collar button 3/4 inch forward. Fits pretty well for a non-mtm shirt. (On the sleeve front, lewins have a strange system whereby not all shirt lengths are available in all fit/collar size combinations!). On a final point, the returns system for lewins is straightforward, so don't worry iterations are necessary.

I have to be honest with you: it sounds like you're wearing a shirt without any ease at all. Does it even stay tucked in?

 

[Jovan]

Fitted (not tight) shirts tend to stay tucked better in my experience, but I can imagine one that offers almost no ease at all would cling and ride up the hips during the day.

 

[James Steele]

Thanks everyone for the input
I think I'll try this one out:


@ 16" x 35", sleeves adjusted down to 34.5
I get what you're saying Jovan, my BB X-Slim at 34" might be ever so short on my wrists, but I wore a combined sleeve 34/35 today that felt long. Hopefully 34.5 will be the golden mean.

Any opinions on the quality of the John Francomb line? At this point I'm optimistic about the fit but I think I may have read at some point concerns about the weight of the fabric.

 

[steps]

Those are all good points regarding moving the collar button, and its something I've wrestled with in the past, but the ill-effects aren't too bad for the lewins shirts I sometimes wear. The placket is slightly distorted, but only as far as the next button down for obvious reasons, and this part is obscured by the tie in any case. The slight separation of the collar is also fairly innocuous because I wear shirts with a cutaway collar.

The jf shirts, whilst fitted, still have plenty of room for me. In the 16 inch offering, the chest is about a 46inch and the waist about 40inch, so they fit adequately on my 42inch chest and 36inch waist - surely an extra 4 inches is more than enough room for anyone?! Also the shirt is more than long enough to stay safely tucked in all day

I guess, all in all, there will always be a compromise regarding off the peg shirts. So, whilst there are undoubtedly issues with moving the collar button, for me it is a simple and cheap way of avoiding my two major pet hates for formal shirts: shirts that hang off the shoulder; and shirts that 'muffin top' at the waist and gape through the small of the back and the rear of the arm pit. (*shudders*)

In terms of quality. Lewins are about the same as Charles T and H&C - not amazing quality, but great value.

Hope that helps!

Steps