Sometimes Slim is Skimpy

It’s no secret that all slim everything is the fashionable choice right now. But it’s not always the best choice. I’m not suggesting we all waltz around in potato sacks, but sometimes slim means properly-fitted and sometimes it just means skimpy. Let’s look at how a good shirt should fit.

A shirt should be fitted – it’s not a blouse after all. But it shouldn’t be skin tight for a variety of reasons. The most basic reason is in the nature of cloth itself. You’re dealing with a woven material. The structure of warp and weft can take wrinkling, stretching, pulling, and scrunching, but it will wear out over time. A shirt that’s too tight puts extra stress on the cloth. Extra tight sleeves will result in worn out elbows and if the body is too slim you’ll notice stress near the side seams. Think of it like jumping up and down on a wicker chair.  Michael Drake and Mark Cho show they get it.

There’s also the problem of armholes. We’re all familiar with the doctrine of “the higher and smaller the better,” but this can be taken to extremes. You don’t want sagging cloth, but you don’t want to feel the cloth in your armpit either. Unless you really like pit-stained shirts that is.

The aluminum in antiperspirants will create those ugly yellow blotches when you sweat, and there’s nothing really to be done to fix them. A little Oxyclean when you wash will keep them at bay for a while, but long-term it’s unavoidable in my experience. If the shirt’s sleeve head is rubbing against your underarm product all day you can expect this in a few dozen wears. I don’t know about you, but I like my shirts to last more than a year or so.  Pit stains don’t photograph well, but you know what I’m talking about.

Then we have all the aesthetic problems. Small collars and skimpy hems. A tiny collar doesn’t take a tie as well, doesn’t frame the face, sits too low on the neck, and just doesn’t do anything for your face. You should be the focus, not the pattern of the shirt, so in my book a shirt without a good collar might as well not exist. It’s the main failing of mall-brand and trend driven brands, since in trying to be “casual” they just end up being skimpy.  Ethan, as usual, shows us how a good collar should look, on its own and with a coat.

Short hems are another nightmare. What is less nonchalant than having to constantly re-tuck your shirt throughout the day? I thought so. Optimally you want something that goes all the way under your posterior. Definitely something that goes at least halfway.

All this comes down to a pretty simple explanation. It’s in the best interest of the fashion industry to have us wearing less cloth. Cheaper, faster to produce clothes that wear out faster and can be sold at a fashionable premium sound like a good scheme to me.

Conspiracy theory aside, a slightly more generous shirt just makes sense. I’ve bought everything from “classic” to “super duper extra slim” and find myself tossing the later in the trash far too early. As with most things in dressing, moderation wins out every time. Seek out slim, not tight, and you won’t regret it. Or just get them made. Problem solved.

 

Thanks to Ethan and The Armoury for the photographs.