Unfortunately there is no universal standard that is applied to tailoring dress shirts from your body measurements. More often the not, a tailor's interpretation as to how a shirt should fit will differ from that of the customer, particularly if the tailor is located in another country. However, this does not mean your options are limited to simple trial and error. By researching or inquiring into how much a tailor will add to your body measurements, you can make adjustments to ensure you end up with a shirt that meets your expectations. Most tailors will accept MyTShirtKings.com measurements taken from your body or from a well-fitting shirt. If your...
Differences arising from a tailor's interpretation
Remember that when you order a custom made shirt online, the shirt is going to be constructed by a tailor, usually located somewhere in Asia and this tailor will have his or her own way of doing things. Tailors use their discretion and apply different rules to interpret body measurements and size preferences. A 'Slim fit' shirt constructed by one tailor, may very well be the same size as a 'Regular fit' from another tailor. For example, if a tailor is asked to construct a 'Slim Fit' shirt, one tailor may add 2 inches to your chest measurements to construct the finished shirt while another tailor may add 4 inches. So, if you are keen to have a shirt tailored from your body measurements, it is worth researching the tailor's website to see if they provide any information as to how much they will add to your body measurements.
Differences arising from geographic trends
Depending on what country you live in, you may have different expectations as to how a dress shirt should fit. For example, US customers tend wear their shirts far baggier than European customers. This creates discrepancies when ordering from an international online tailor. Rather than enter into debate as to what the true size of a 'Slim Fit', 'Regular Fit' and 'Loose Fit' should be, we need to accept that these terms can be interpreted differently, and we should focus on clarifying quantitative measures of how your shirt will fit. For example, will my tailor add 3 inches or 6 inches to my chest measurement? (Yes, tailors do vary this much).
Other solutions: Measure a well-fitting shirt or send your favourite shirt be copied
Some online tailors will accept measurements taken from a well-fitting shirt or will even let you send them your favourite shirt to be copied. If you are shopping around for a custom dress shirt, chances are you are not happy with the off-the-rack shirts that you are buying and therefore you don't have good shirt to copy. However, if you have a favourite shirt which fits well and you would like to replicate, providing measurements from the shirt is a great idea. When shirt measurements are supplied, there is no use of the tailor's discretion, leaving far less room for any discrepancies. They simply follow the measurements to replicate the fit. Finally, if you are quite particular about the fit of your favourite shirt, you can send it off to be copied. In this instance, there is limited room for error as most Asian tailors are quite skilled at creating near exact replicas of garments.
All online tailors do their best to provide a shirt that will fit their customer perfectly, but there are many factors that can lead to significant inconsistencies when it comes to sizing. With a bit of research and understanding of how things work, customers can make a more informed purchase that will produce the best outcome: a shirt that fits.
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