Neck and sleeve length tell a shirtmaker how a shirt should start and finish. Chest, waist and shoulder width tell them how it should fill the space in between. Get these wrong and even a perfect collar can't save the fit.
Chest
Stand relaxed with your arms down. Wrap the tape under your armpits and around the fullest part of your chest, keeping it level across your back. Breathe normally; don't puff your chest out. The tape should be snug but not digging in.
Waist
Measure around the narrowest part of your torso, usually just above the navel. If you plan to wear the shirt tucked in, this number helps avoid fabric bunching at the belt line.
Shoulder width
Ask a helper to measure from the edge of one shoulder bone straight across your back to the other. This is the hardest of the three to take alone and the one that matters most, because shoulders can't be easily altered later.
Add the right ease
- Slim fit: roughly 6 to 8 cm of ease at the chest
- Regular fit: roughly 10 to 12 cm of ease at the chest
- Classic or relaxed fit: 14 cm or more
Ease is the extra room built into a shirt so you can move, sit and breathe. A shirt cut to your exact body measurement would feel like a second skin and pull at every button.
Measure the body, not the shirt. The shirtmaker adds the ease; you provide the truth.
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