Shirting for the scrawny man

[Lib Member Find all posts View Profile Close Lib]

Hi all,


I have been lurking on various blogs and forums for months now, and I finally thought I would register on a site that I like and ask a question.


I have recently taken an interest in clothes that actually fit me because, as you may imagine, I was sick of lacking confidence in the way that I look. I finally realized that my 'funeral suit' didn't actually fit me and was never going to be appropriate for job interviews or special occasions, and I finally have enough respectable things in my wardrobe that I can walk into a store and not buy something out of sheer desperation.


However, that doesn't make finding the right clothes that much easier. I am, by all counts, a very slim man. I'm 5'9 and 135lbs. I fit a 14.5 neck and a 36r jacket, but that leaves a handful of places local to me that I can rely upon for clothes that will come close to fitting me off the rack. Thrifting is difficult.


I own a couple of things from Zara and H&M, but I am aware that they are kind of crappy. The H&M stuff is cheap, so I'm not that disappointed with the quality, but now that I know how I should look I would like some clothes that are well made.


I don't have an OCBD to my name, and I need some.


So what are my options? A MTM outfit like Ratio Clothing? Brooks Brothers extra slim fit + a tailor (I have a tailor that understands my waifish needs)? A JCrew opened here recently (I'm from the Great White North), but I have heard their quality does not reflect their price. I have never been impressed with Banana Republic, both regarding fit and price.


What say you, skinny men? What do you do for good shirts?

[bruschetta Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close bruschetta]

Lib, have you tried Charles Tyrwhitt's tailored extra slim fit? All of their shirts come in 14.5x29-33. Prices are around $40 per shirt. Another option would be Banana Republic's small which is 14.5x33 (you would have to have the sleeves tailored). They tend to be $30-50 on sale. A third, more expensive option is Brooks Brother's extra slim fit which come in 14.5x32-34. These are $50-60 on sale.

[redsubway Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close redsubway]

I'm in the same boat, I take a 36R and what usually ends up being the smallest shirt size in any given store. I recently bought a Tommy Hilfiger slim-fit suit that fits wonderfully, and the only tailoring needed was to shorten the pants and sleeves. As for shirts, Macy's Bar III brand has a slim fit dress shirt that I found to be VERY slim. It fits well off the rack, and they go on sale for like $25.

[nicholascrawford Varsity Member Find all posts View Profile Close nicholascrawford]

Yes, Brooks Brothers is the only manufacturer to make a 14.5/34. That shirt in Extra Slim Fit is almost as perfect as my custom Ratio Clothing shirt.


I've catalogued a lot of answers to your questions here: http://threads.dappered.com/topic/th...nny-guy-thread

[Lib Member Find all posts View Profile Close Lib]

Thank you for the replies, and thank you for the link to that thread. Apologies for missing it in my searches. With all the 'slim' and 'skinny' fits these days, I should have known better than to use those as search terms--should have used your tags instead!

[nicholascrawford Varsity Member Find all posts View Profile Close nicholascrawford]

No worries - here to help.

[gabe_gador Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close gabe_gador]

I've got a 5'10/145lbs build, and I just purchased/received a couple of shirts from Hugh and Crye. They fit great! I'm ashamed to say that H&M has always been the best fitting shirts for me out there, but now I can opt for the higher quality (at a cost) dress shirt that fits nicely. I purchased the "CP3" and the "Rondo" dress shirts (I'm wearing the Rondo today as a matter of fact), and I got the short/skinny size (H&C does sizing by body type and not exact measurements).

[jessy_diamond Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jessy_diamond]

@Gabe : I was curious about H&C, but wasn't sure about their measurement system. I'm the scrawniest of the scrawniest men around here and I'm still looking for options.


I scored a few J.Crew slim shirts on eBay recently, I'll comment about their fit when I'll receive them.

[gabe_gador Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close gabe_gador]

Jessy - I'd give H&C a shot; I was a little skeptical about the sizing as well because even the slimmest of slim dress shirts (outside of H&M, which has massive quality issues) would always be too billowy. If it doesn't fit, you can always return it for a full refund or try another size.

[jessy_diamond Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jessy_diamond]

I don't know, if it fits you well (and you're probably bigger than me, based on your weight), my guess is that they won't be perfect on me.


Next shirt I buy will probably be from Ratio.