Proper Fit?

[kidsampson]

So I just received my first order from Ratio Clothing today and I'm not sure my shirt fits quite right. So I'm looking for advice, since I've never purchased a custom shirt before.


The first thing I noticed is that the fabric is much thicker than I imagined it would be. And with 100+ weather currently where I live, I won't be wearing this one anywhere for a number of months yet. But the areas I'm wondering about in regard to fit are in the sleeve length and wrist area.


The sleeves end exactly at my wrist but are pretty tight. There are two buttons on the cuff and I have to unbutton them to put the shirt on. And if I bend my arm, my wrist is exposed. Should that be the case or should there be some extra length factored into the sizing? As for the wrists, I can probably stick a few fingers between my wrist and the fabric. It will slide over a slim watch but not much more.


The neck area also seems tight, even though I can also put a few fingers between the fabric and my skin. Still, there's pressure where the collar meets my neck as it seems to rest on my Adam's apple. Should I expect the fabric to loosen as it's washed or size up the collar? How tight should a collar be when buttoned?

[nicholascrawford]

You reminded me of a discussion elsewhere on Ratio cuffs: http://www.askandyaboutclothes.com/forum/showthread.php?114155-Ratio-Clothing-OCBD...-anyone-tried&p=1288356#post1288356


What you're describing is pretty standard. You want the shirt to be hitting your hand with your hands at your side, but it should ride up when you fold your arms. Can see the WIWT thread for a visual.


I don't recommend trying to pull a shirt off or on without unbuttoning the cuffs. You don't want to pop a button.


Placing two fingers between the shirt collar and your neck is the maximum. Any more than that, and you have the undesirable collar gap which is a sign of wearing too large of a shirt.


Without pictures, you're describing a well-fitting shirt, but it may take some getting used to if your previous experience with dress shirts wasn't as close fitting. Still, if there's something wrong about the shirt, I know Ratio will want to make it right so that you don't hesitate to buy your next shirt from them.

[N.C.]

Someone with more experience might be able to give better advice, but my understanding is that shirts will shrink over the first few washings. This can be around a quarter of an inch or so but it might make the neck a tad more snug. As you describe it however, it sounds fine to me.

The sleeves on the other hand sound too short for my taste. Some may disagree but I prefer my sleeves about an inch or just a tad less longer than my wrist. This gives you just a little bit of wriggle room. When unbuttoned, I like them to fall somewhere past my wrist but not quite to the fist joint of my thumb. The cuff should be tight enough to put them at your wrist when buttoned.

Oh, and the cuffs sound fine. You should definitely not be able to take the shirt off without unbuttoning the cuff, that would be huge.

[kidsampson]

Thanks for both replies and for the link for additional input. I'll try to get some photos up a little later today for feedback. And as Nicholas says, it may just be that I'm not used to a shirt really fitting well and must get used to it. Thanks!

[kidsampson]

I suppose this should have originally been placed in the "How Does This Fit?" thread, but I'm just now noticing that. Anyway, here are some photos of the shirt. Hoping to get some feedback on how well this fits since I'll be basing future orders off of these measurements. And I have no clue how to embed or share the photos other than with a link.


https://plus.google.com/photos/10384...CK3CldDKsp_XOQ

[kenneth]

To my eye it looks like the sleeves are actually a touch long and the collar is a touch large, but that could just be the angle (seeing some bunching of fabric to indicate excess length in the arm). With regard to the collar, if you want MORE room, a skilled tailor could shift the button somewhat to give you maybe 1/4 to 1/2 an inch, but not more (and maybe not even that.) Regarding the sleeves, if there's material in the shoulder they could be let down a bit if you feel they're too short. Check in there and see if there is.

[nicholascrawford]

I think he felt the sleeves were too long, but I think they're great. You could move the buttons on the cuff to let it slide down your hand a bit more and ask for larger cuffs on future Ratio shirts. The armholes are high, the fit is great through the body. The collar is a little spacious, but you said it seems tight to you. Maybe it's a good compromise for you at this point.