You have now received your "test" shirt, laundered and pressed it and want to confirm the fit. Below we will provide examples of how a "typical" dress shirt should properly fit. The Blue Shirt on the left is what we would consider a proper fitting dress shirt, the Checked Shirt on the right we believe is too large. After you have finished checking your test shirt against the information below, you will need to send us an email and tell us whether the shirt fits properly or where it needs to be changed (+/-) and by how much.
We want to stress that these are only our "guidelines", the MOST important determination on whether a shirt fits properly or not is up to the wearer of the shirt. Some customers like their shirts tapered close to their frame, some like their shirts a little more baggy with more room in the Collar. Determining the proper fit is really up to you the customer, but we provide these guidelines to assist you.
Once you have confirmed whether the test shirt fits or not, you need to send an email to our Customer Service Team to communicate that. We need to know if the shirt fits, and if it does not fit, exactly where to make changes and by how much (e.g. Chest/Waist/Hips +2"). We also need to know if the test shirt is wearable or if we need to make a replacement shirt. Remember to take into account shrinkage when making your changes, all shirts will shrink a little with washing, 100% Cotton shirts will shrink more than a shirts made of a Cotton/Poly mix. Egyptian Cotton shirts and Linen shirts will shrink the most.
Another thing to remember is that all our shirts are cut by hand not by machine, so every shirt will have slight size variances (+/-), usually larger. The amount of the variance allowed depends on the part of the shirt.
Your Collar should fit loosely around your Neck and you should be able to easily place one finger inside the closed Collar. The Checked Collar is too large where we can easily place three fingers inside.
The edge of your Shoulder should meet the seam of your shirt where the Shoulder and Sleeve are sewn together. If the seam goes slightly over the Shoulder that is fine.
On the Checked Shirt the seam hangs over the Shoulder by 1" on each side and the Shoulders should be smaller, to correct this problem you would indicate "Shoulders -2" since we need to take in 1" on each side.
One thing to remember, if you take the Shoulder in by 2" that is also going to "pull up" the Sleeves by roughly 1". When you go to check your Sleeves first simulate the revised position of the Shoulder Seam, if you are making changes here.
Your torso (Chest/Waist/Hips) should have some extra fabric to ensure a comfortable fit. In the photos above the arms are bent at the elbows and extended horizontally and we have pulled all the fabric over (exaggerated) to one side of the torso to get a total measurement; the fabric is flush (not tight) on the side of the torso not visible in the photos. The photos above illustrate checking the additional fabric in the Chest area but you would copy this procedure in the Waist & Hips as well.
Using the methodology described above you should easily measure about 2-3" on the one side. The Checked Shirt has 4+" or about 1" extra of measured fabric, to correct this problem you would indicate "Chest -2"; since we are only measuring the front half of the shirt and need to also take into account the other side.
Remember, how much additional fabric you have in the torso area is really a matter of personal preference, there is not a right or wrong here. Customers trying to get an "extreme" taper where the contour of the shirt closely matches their frame can do that in most, but not all circumstances. If you have a "V" shaped torso with large Chest and small Waist/Hips we can tailor your shirt and still maintain a natural contour in the shirt. If you have a large Chest, small Waist and wider Hips, it is not possible to take too much material in at the waist, or the shirt will loose its natural contour.
Your Sleeves should come to rest naturally about 1 to 1 1/2" above the first knuckle on your Thumb. The Checked Shirt comes to rest on the first knuckle so the Sleeves need to reduced by 1 to 1 1/2" (personal preference).
Before finalizing any Sleeve changes; reference our note above how Shoulder changes can have an impact on your Sleeves and what you need to do to measure your Sleeves properly if you will be making changes to your Shoulders.
A couple of special measurements that you do not really need to worry about, but which we can tailor for you, are Sleeve Width and Cuff Width. We cut these in a standard size based on your torso unless you specify that you want a special cut in each of these areas. We measure Sleeve Width by measuring along the seam where the Sleeve attaches to the Shoulder on the Sleeve side of the Seam. In the photo above that would be 9". If you wanted the width here larger by 1" you would just tell us to cut Sleeve Width 1" larger. We recommend that you mention how much you want us to increase this rather than giving us a number, just in case you do not measure it correctly.
Another thing about changing Sleeve Width is that it changes the cut at the Chest. If you decrease the Sleeve Width it will raise the point the Chest is cut and the shirt might bind in the back or when you raise your arms, just something to think about, since we have seen it happen before. If you increase Sleeve Width it will lower the point the Chest is cut and give you more space in the back and arms but might give your bicep area a baggy look. The decision is totally yours, we just give you this advice to help you make a better decision.
Another special measurement is Cuff Width, we measure Cuff Width on the inside of the cuff, along the base of the cuff, from outer edge to outer edge. In the photo above the Cuff Width is 9". The center hole of the cuff or the center hole of the button is usually set in 3/4" in from the edge of the cuff. If you wanted to reduce the Cuff Width you would measure the cuff and tell us to increase/decrease the cuff width by the appropriate amount (e.g. 1/2"). If you try to make the Cuff Width too small you might not have good range of motion there, especially if you wear a large watch.
Remember that everything we have told you here is a guideline, your personal preferences are up to you. Sometimes all of the specific measurements on a custom shirt can be overwhelming, so we give you these guidelines to tell you what you might consider "normal" tailoring. If you have any questions please feel free to contact us.
