A perfect fitting shirt wrecks the entire closet

[nicholascrawford]

I picked up my first Brooks Brothers shirt a couple months ago, and it blew my mind in terms of fit. It was the first shirt that fit my neck (14.25/14.5) and my arms (34). Bonus - Extra Slim Fit that is the slimmest shirt I had ever worn without being too tight.


Then I picked up the Express Small Talls that have the same measurements but even slimmer without being too tight.





To say the least, this has made every other shirt in my closet feel like a burlap sack. At one time, I THOUGHT those were great fitting shirts. Now I've been to the m-er f-ing mountaintop and KNOW what fit is supposed to feel like. Gahhh. I had 15 shirts, and now I have 5.

[bruschetta]

Nicholas, all of the shirts you've posted fit well. The bottom two shirts look the worst in terms of make and finish, but they're still wearable. My preference is for the top middle in terms of fit and finish.


All of the arms are slightly too long.

[nicholascrawford]

All but the top left one are the Express Small Talls. The other is an LEC Small. I was showing all the different collar combos with/without the Wurkin Stiffs (more info in the links). I'm willing to get the slightly-too-long sleeves because the regular smalls are too short which is worse than too long (disappears under sport coat sleeves, etc).


Still hanging out for the Ratio shirt.

[Big_Scooter]

I have purchased two things from Express, and neither lasted a full season before showing very significant wear. One of them, a shirt, I have only worn 6-7 times and the color is completely gone on a spot on the back. I'd buy a few and see how they work for you in a few months before investing too heavily.

[jordan]

Their shirts do have a good fit, but unfortunately (as scooter mentioned) they don't last long at all. The selection on color and patterns are also terribly limited.


A lot of people on here have said the nordstrom slim fits are very similar in fit, but much better quality, than the express. BR slim fit shirts fit me well and are only slightly less fitted than express but their medium arms are like 36" for some reason.

[Jeremy B.]

+1 on the Brooks Bros extra slim fit. The cut on those shirts is amazing. First shirt that didn't have to go directly to the tailor before I could wear it.

[shad0w4life]

Just get made to measure shirts, you can pick better fabric etc and they cost roughly the same. Express Shirts are what $70 "regular" price, but of course the never ending sales make them about $50(in Canada) if you buy 2. I just ordered 3 MTM shirts: broadcloth, royal oxford and end on end and they all ended up costing $150(25% code was used). Fabric on the RO and EoE is very nice, broadcloth reminds me of express material oddly enough, but it was also $40.


I agree they fit pretty good though, I had issues with buttons popping off.

[jordan]

Yeah, seems MTM or bespoke is about the only real options for quality AND fit.

[nicholascrawford]

Brooks Brothers seems to have quality and fit figured out. I bet CT shirts would do it for me too, but they stop at 14.5/33. Next time I'm feeling really flush, I'll get 3 BB OCBD in ESF for $219. To think you could get 2 pairs of AE shoes for that...


Express shirts don't last long, but they're $35-$40. They do have an enormous selection of colors but only 5 in Tall sizes. I'm quite happy with them. My Gap and BR button-ups in the solid colors seem to have the same durability issues while my Gap and BR shirts with patterns last forever.


Regardless of wear, I'm chasing fit first. And so far, only 2 companies make shirts that fit OTR almist perfectly for me. Which makes the rest of my closet seem unwearable...

[jordan]

CT arent as good as you'd hope. There is a pretty good fit through the front and side but this weird billow just above the waistline in the rear. Probably something easy for a tailor to remove, but annoying nonetheless.

[shad0w4life]

CT shirts are massive all 4 of mine had a lot of fabric removed by tailor as sending them back cost a fortune. They do have very nice fabric though and a great look. Still my favorite feeling shirts so far, will see if FCS royal Oxford or end on end are better in a few weeks.


Also ordered a paul fredrick slim fit shirt on sale to see what their section is like, and as some people say PF is terrible and some say they ended up being surprisingly good.


BB I've only seen their 346 line decent fabric, terrible value.


If you're single, go fit and feel of fabric btw. Can't have someone touch your arm flirting only to feel cheap cloth.... If you're tied up then you can be cheaper heh.

[nicholascrawford]

I don't mind a billowy body - I just have impossible neck/sleeve measurements that so far, only BB & Express have offered. The LEC in the top left is very close since their sleeves run long, but as soon as I bend my arm, the cuff runs up my arm. This problem is multiplied across every other brand out there...


Anyways, if I can get the neck/sleeve, the body can be tailored. For a while, I was getting the wrong neck/sleeve and tailoring the body...getting unsatisfactory results in hindsight. Now all those shirts look and feel useless. If I can't sell them to my brother, I'll donate them and take the tax write-off.

[shad0w4life]

I hear ya about the length problems and why I think MTM route is nice, I need a 36.5 sleeve and vary from 16-16.5 neck, most shirts are 36 tops.


After I got my first CT shirts and had them taken in I think I've given my brother about 5 shirts and thrown another 6 in the good will pile. And now I have my MTM shirts coming in so more have been tossed. Same thing happened with my pants, bought some all wool and then my old poly/cotton blends etc were all given away.


I just really hate express and their gimmicky sales, and price for the material so I'm trying to "save" others from them and support smaller businesses. I will however vouche for their T shirts, best fit hands down for a T, and in nice colours. Not so durable but $15 on sale is a decent price.

[runners n jeans]

All but two of my dress shirts are of the slim fitting type. I thought I'd have to replace them all, *but* I realized that I can hide them under sweaters and suits . They live on for another day so far.


Plus, I have yet to find slim-fit shirts that fit my smaller frame well... and it doesn't help that I still don't know yet how a shirt is supposed to fit. I mean I've seen pictures, but to know what it's supposed to feel like is a different thing, where it should be snug or where it shouldn't pull, etc.

[nicholascrawford]

For me, it was a process of going tighter and tighter without going too tight. If that makes any sense.


What I thought was well-fitting in the body before now looks baggy looking back. It's a matter of discovery, especially getting into this later in life instead of growing up in it. I think going through a sloppy college phase is proving really costly when I thought I was saving money!


Sheesh, now I'm rethinking my Ratio measurements that I gave them. I might send them this picture with some comments.