# Long Arms, Can't Find Decent Fitting Shirts!?



## nanotech (Feb 24, 2011)

I have long arms (I think 35.5") and have had difficulty finding proper fitting shirts without going the custom tailored option. I finally found Charles Tyrwhitt to be decent. Their "extra slim" 36" sleeve length shirt fits me alright...a bit too long on the sleeves and a bit too loose around the arms and waist, and kind of weird with its buttons, but not bad for "non-iron."

Express "fitted" shirts in medium fit me very well...except their arm lengths are just a tad too short...maybe 34"? And it is a bit too fitted around my waist but I can lose some weight and fix that. The problem is, they don't have "soft wash" shirts that I can wear casually nor do they have "non-iron" shirts (except some solid colors).

I'm basically ok right now with actual "dress shirts." What I need is a decent selection of casual button-down shirts that fit. Tried J-Crew slim fit and have the usual issue, sleeve on medium is too short, large is too baggy. Same with BR tailored-fit or even just BR slim fit. Somehow I found a Gap casual shirt in large slim-fit and it seems to fit ok...but that's just one shirt, I've never found another one at Gap (maybe it wasn't really sewn correctly).

Another thing is I don't want any logos on my shirt. I'm sure I'm not the only one with this issue and that maybe I still haven't tried a few decent brands that you all could suggest. So, any suggestions?


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## frugal (Mar 4, 2013)

I often had the same issue. At 6'3" and 160 lbs, I'm a rail. I've had very good luck with Brooks Brothers' Slim and Extra Slim fit shirts in 15.5x36" (one of the few retail brands I've found well stocked with this measurement). I have found many of them on sale online, either for $44 or $80, depending on the style.

For more casual shirts, I've had good luck with J Crew's medium talls. I had the same trouble as you with the plain medium: too short in the sleeves, but the medium tall fits pretty well.


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## Tilton (Nov 27, 2011)

I buy 37's from BB and don't put them in the dryer. Most of my shirts are still long enough after years of home-laundering. Any bit of shrinkage, though, and I start getting in trouble.

No logo, several fits, blah blah blah.


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## nanotech (Feb 24, 2011)

frugal said:


> I've had very good luck with Brooks Brothers' Slim and Extra Slim fit shirts in 15.5x36".


I have often tried to do BB but it's just too expensive. I've never found anything below $50, but I'm willing to give it a shot at least....at least try one on at a store.

They don't seem to have a big selection of sports shirts (casual) online. Which size do you order, a medium? They don't have a medium tall it seems for their casual/sports shirts.


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## nanotech (Feb 24, 2011)

frugal said:


> For more casual shirts, I've had good luck with J Crew's medium talls. I had the same trouble as you with the plain medium: too short in the sleeves, but the medium tall fits pretty well.


Are these medium talls nice and slim too? The problem I've had with "talls" in general is that I'm not actually that tall (6'0") and my torso is probably shorter than avg for that height. As a result, if I get a "tall" shirt...the sleeves fit well, but the shirt tails are too long and look weird when tucked out. I recently tried a J.Crew Medium Slim Fit casual shirt and it fit amazingly well....not too long (looked awesome tucked out), slim, everything was fine...except the short sleeve length of course.

The J.Crew website says that the medium talls have a 2" longer tail as well. Maybe I'll just continue tucking shirts in (that's what I've done so far because I never find decent length shirts to tuck out)


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## frugal (Mar 4, 2013)

nanotech said:


> I have often tried to do BB but it's just too expensive. I've never found anything below $50, but I'm willing to give it a shot at least....at least try one on at a store.
> 
> They don't seem to have a big selection of sports shirts (casual) online. Which size do you order, a medium? They don't have a medium tall it seems for their casual/sports shirts.


If you go to the sale section of the website, you will find quite a lot of shirts for $44 (normally $88). There are also a lot in the $80 sale range. You can also filter by size, so it will only show what they have in stock that will fit you (I hate when I find a great shirt on sale, only to be out of stock in my size. Such a tease). I have bought all my BB shirts on sale, and I check often, since it seems they add stuff to the sale list frequently.

I thought BB shirts were expensive, too, after buying most of my shirts for years at Dillards and the like. But I grew tired of buying cheaper shirts that never fit right. Since I bought my first BB shirt a year or two ago, I have bought 5-6 more dress shirts, and I think they have been well worth the money. I wear them nearly every day.

I haven't tried their sport shirts yet, but I think I'd have to get a large for the sleeve length. The J Crew medium tall casual shirts I wear untucked, but don't recall exactly how far they come down. I don't remember them being very long, since I think J Crew expects them to be worn untucked often.

You also might see if you have a Sarar store nearby. There's one at an outlet mall near me, and I bought two shirts from there. One I was not impressed with, but the other is one of my favorite dress shirts.


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## Dean202 (Mar 8, 2012)

You should have custom tailors get you measured well or if you have a good fitting shirt you can take it with them to copy just to make sure.


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## LordSmoke (Dec 25, 2012)

All of my long-sleeve shirts are PF or JAB. Currently, 16.5/37. Straight collar and button down. French cuff and plain. Get a surprising no. of compliments ("Well, you're looking particularly sharp today.") on my last JAB small-check, button down.


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## Watchman (Jun 11, 2013)

Dear Sir,

You may want to consider the custom shirt maker "Natty Shirts" that advertises here on AAAC. I have ordered about 6 shirts from them by taking my own measurements and the company has done a great job for me. Natty is fair priced and of decent quality. They are definitely worth a shot. 

Blessings!


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

frugal said:


> If you go to the sale section of the website, you will find quite a lot of shirts for $44 (normally $88). There are also a lot in the $80 sale range. You can also filter by size, so it will only show what they have in stock that will fit you (I hate when I find a great shirt on sale, only to be out of stock in my size. Such a tease). I have bought all my BB shirts on sale, and I check often, since it seems they add stuff to the sale list frequently.
> 
> I thought BB shirts were expensive, too, after buying most of my shirts for years at Dillards and the like. But I grew tired of buying cheaper shirts that never fit right. Since I bought my first BB shirt a year or two ago, I have bought 5-6 more dress shirts, and I think they have been well worth the money. I wear them nearly every day.
> 
> ...


This. The greatest lesson I learned is to move beyond the fashion mall brands for dress shirts. The exact sizing and better quality is worth it. I don't understand how they can sell them in S-M-L and call them "dress shirts" to begin with.


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## nanotech (Feb 24, 2011)

LordSmoke said:


> All of my long-sleeve shirts are PF or JAB. Currently, 16.5/37. Straight collar and button down. French cuff and plain. Get a surprising no. of compliments ("Well, you're looking particularly sharp today.") on my last JAB small-check, button down.


I tried a BB extra slim fit and it was an awful fit for me. The neck is ok (16", although my true size is probably closer to 15.75"), sleeves were ok (my size it turns out is actually a 35.5" so 36" did look a bit long, but it's ok)....but the shirt was huge around my waist...not huge huge but definitely not as nicely fitting as a Medium Fitted shirt from Express.

Next I need to go to JAB and then a J Crew it looks like (and a Sarar store if I can find one).

I probably can't afford the custom shirts route.....especially not for the type of casual shirts I'm looking for. I'm pretty set on dress shirts themselves for the most part (ctshirts).

By the way, on those Charles Tyrwhitt shirts, are they not supposed to have a button on the forearm part of the shirt that help keeps the sleeve together even if you unbutton at the wrists and fold-up a bit? Almost none of my CT shirts have that button for some odd reason....makes it very difficult to roll up sleeves (I can do it easily but they won't stay up because it's just very loose without that extra button helping keep things together).


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

No, they don't have a gauntlet button. Most traditional English shirts don't.


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## coase (Apr 29, 2010)

If the neck, shoulders, and sleeves of the BB extra slim fit shirts are ok for you and it's just the waist that needs taking in, isn't that an easy, modestly priced fix at most tailors?


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## Tori (Mar 8, 2012)

Why don't you just have something tailored to or custom made to fit you.


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

coase said:


> If the neck, shoulders, and sleeves of the BB extra slim fit shirts are ok for you and it's just the waist that needs taking in, isn't that an easy, modestly priced fix at most tailors?


^This.


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