This can be a frustrating time for any area of clothes shopping, but especially for shirts. Especially after thinking you have found the perfect shirt then you end up having to pay to take it to a tailor.
Sure, it might fit fine around the arms, and maybe the chest, but to get the right fit you’ve probably been left with plenty of extra material around the waist.
Not only does it look sloppy, it hides all that effort you’ve put in to achieving that V-shaped physique. With a strong physique you want a good muscle fit shirt to show it.
So what’s a guy to do? In this guide we’ll show you how to tailor a shirt.
No more of this.....
Can a Dress Shirt Be Tailored?
The first question to ask before we dive into how to tailor a shirt is can a dress shirt actually be tailored?
A dress shirt can indeed be custom-fitted by a tailor to accommodate the unique contours of your body. Professional tailoring services offer a wide range of modifications to ensure that your dress shirt fits you perfectly.
This could include adjustments to key areas like the length of the sleeves, the size of the collar, as well as the measurements of the waist and chest.
By choosing to tailor your dress shirt, you're not only ensuring a more comfortable fit, but also enhancing the overall aesthetic appeal of the garment on your body, providing a more refined and polished look.
Getting Dress Shirt Tailored
It's important to note that while getting your dress shirt tailored can be an excellent way to improve fit, if the dress shirt alterations required are too drastic, they may potentially interfere with the shirt's original design.
Essentially, tailoring can transform a standard, off-the-rack dress shirt into a custom-fitted garment that complements your body shape.
So, if you're unsatisfied with the fit of your current dress shirts, considering the services of a professional tailor might be a prudent choice.
Shirt Alterations
How to take in a shirt on the sides: Tucking in techniques
The military tuck.
The first option on how to take in a dress shirt comes from an institution well known for its presentation: the military! We all know how strict the military is on dress codes, but this strictness even happens on things like tucking in a shirt.
Luckily for us muscly guys, it’s ideal for giving the illusion of better fitting shirts.
There is some great advice out there on how you can tuck your shirt in. Checkout GQs instructional video:
Here are the steps:
- Start fully dressed with your shirt untucked.
- First, tuck your shirt in with your trousers undone, tucking it far enough down that there’s no excess material bunched around your waist.
- If your trousers have a second button or hook in the waistband, do this up to hold your shirt in place.
- Reach through the fly of your trousers to make sure the shirt is pulled down. It should look reasonably tight around your waist.
- Next, do your trousers up as normal, doing everything possible to keep your shirt tucked in.
- This might seem counter-intuitive, but pull your shirt up slightly at the sides so there’s some excess material bunched around your waist. This shouldn’t be so much that the bottom of your shirt is now hanging out.
- Take these small tabs of your shirt and fold them back on themselves, trapping the excess material. Essentially you’re trying to put a pleat in the shirt.
- Finally, tuck these into your waistband so they hold the excess material in place. And there you have the military tuck.
Theoretically this isn’t too difficult, although it can be a challenge to master the best fit for your physique. This is at least how to take in a shirt by hand. Here are the pros and cons of this method.
Pros
- The military tuck is helpful because it allows you to work with your existing shirts, and works very well on slim fit shirts, but will also work on any shirt that’s too big for you.
- It also allows you to have complete freedom over the fit of the body of your shirt, meaning you can taper it just how you want.
- It isn’t permanent, which means you can wear your shirts as their normal fit if you want to.
Cons
- The military tuck sounds simple, but it definitely takes a lot of practice to get right, but don’t worry, you’ll be getting plenty of it!
- Don’t even think about lifting your arms, turning, or even breathing! The second you make any kind of movement, or even think about moving, your shirt will come untucked. Then you’re left with that dreaded muffin top you were trying so hard not to have.
How to Alter a Shirt to Slim Fit
Possibly the most obvious solution on how to dart a shirt is to keep your existing shirts and take them to your local tailor. A menswear tailor is perfectly suited to this kind of job, and it’s a relatively easy thing for them to do.
All a tailor needs to do is put darts in the back of the shirt. What’s a dart? Simply put, a dart is a seam that’s sewn into the back of a shirt to remove excess material.
Each dart will take away around 1.5cm of material, meaning you’ll lose around 3cm of the waistline of the shirt.
Darts are designed to work with the V-shaped taper of a man’s torso. They start just below the armpit seam of the shirt, are widest around your middle, and then flare open slightly towards the bottom of the shirt so you can still get them on.
It’s quite likely that if you’ve ever worn a fitted shirt you’ve had one that’s darted. Like the white shirt pictured from us here at Tapered Menswear.
It’s possible to achieve a much slimmer looking fit with darts, but you’re restricted by how much material can actually be taken out. Here are the pros and cons of this method.
Pros
- Visiting a tailor allows you to keep your existing shirts but still have them fitted to your current physique.
- Having a tailor sew darts into your shirt will give them the perfect fit for your body, and tailors can do things to adjust how much material is removed, or where the shirt tapers.
- Having a shirt specifically tailored for you is quite a nice experience and makes the clothing feel more personal and unique.
Cons
- There’s no two ways about it, tailoring is expensive. Even if you find one you consider reasonably priced, you’ve still paid twice: once for the shirt and once for the fitting.
- It’s hard to find a reasonably priced tailor that’ll do good work.
- Not to mention that the process is time consuming (typically 3-5 days). First you have to visit the tailor, then be measured, then wait for the work to be done. It’s not uncommon for tailors to have lots of work, meaning you could be waiting a while.
Trying a smaller size
This might not be strictly working with your existing shirts, but it’s probably fair to say that you’ve tried buying smaller shirts in the past, or at least thought about it. Surely buying a smaller size will make it fit tighter, which is what we want, right?
This is true to an extent, but there are plenty of flaws in this line of thinking. The biggest problem with this idea is simply because of the way clothes are produced for mass markets. The “one size fits all” model doesn’t really hold much logic.
The important thing to bear in mind, and this might sound obvious, is that the shirt will be smaller. While this is exactly what you want around the waist and arms, it’s not what you want when it comes to length, and seams.
Mass produced shirts don’t take into consideration that some people need tall and slim-fitting, while some need short and slim-fitting, or tall and standard-fitting, or any other possible combination of sizes and fits.
The issue is that people aren’t all the same size, and the way they compensate for this is to group things into categories (the sizes we shop for).
Doing this means that a small will be shorter in the arms and body than a large, and so also proportionately tighter. Finding the right combination of fitting and length is difficult when you start playing with sizing like this.
Here are the pros and cons of this method.
Pros
- Choosing a smaller size can give you a more fitted look around the chest and shoulders.
Cons
- There’s a very fine line between fitted and tight, and you’ll probably cross it if you start playing with sizes. Having clothes that are too tight puts excess strain on the seams, and you probably don’t want your shirt bursting open in the middle of work. Well, some people might.
- The biggest problem will be with the arms, particularly the seams. Not only will the length probably be off, but this is the area where you actually need the most room.
- The shoulder seam will be tight around the armpit, which will sacrifice overall comfort around your arms and chest.
- You need to shop around for a smaller size.
Roll up Sleeves
Chances are that if your shirt is unforgiving in the front and back, chances are they will be loose on the sleeves too.
Rolling up your sleeves will not only reveal more forearm but will create tightness in the material around the bicep - providing a more muscular look.
It’s important when rolling up the sleeves to pull the sleeves down tightly first to ensure there is no rolls or additional fabric around the elbow.
Try some different methods for the sleeve roll to see which suits best:
Pros
Cons
Can a Shirt Be Made Smaller?
A shirt can certainly be made smaller and shorter by a tailor or DIY sewing techniques. Any garment can be made smaller by inserting tucks, darts, sewing new side seams or hemming. these are all techniques tailoring shirts would use but there are other ways in which to make a shirt smaller
How to Make a Shirt Smaller
Washing:
You can shrink your shirt to make it smaller. To do this wash add boiling water to a stove and soak the shirt in the pot. Hot water makes the fibres of the shirt shrink through contracting under high temperatures.
Alternatively you can try this in the washing machine and putting the temperature high. However doing this can sometimes mishape the shirt so try this method with caution.
Can Any Shirt be Tailored?
Yes any shirt can be tailored, even shirts that have been altered previously. Tailors can work wonders to any shirt and can alter pretty much any part of the shirt from the shoulder seams to the length.
How do you make a shirt fit tighter around the waist?
Adjusting the fit of your shirt around the waist can dramatically improve your overall look. Starting with a good quality shirt is essential, preferably one with a design to accommodate the contour of your waist.
At Tapered Menswear, our shirts are engineered to achieve that bespoke fit. To tighten an existing shirt, you can consider using dress clips or taking it to a tailor.
However, professional tailoring might lead to inconsistencies and doesn't guarantee a perfect fit every time. One option could be our specially crafted shirts that already incorporate a slimming taper.
Our shirts are created with the modern man in mind, integrating a more snug fit around the waist, hence eliminating the hassle of additional adjustments.
By investing in Tapered Menswear, not only are you saving time and effort, but you're also ensuring your clothing matches your body type perfectly.
How Do You Tighten a Shirt Around Your Waist? - The TAPERED Fit
So there are some DIY tips on how to tailor a shirt. Realistically, none of these options are particularly helpful. Either they’re expensive, time-consuming, temporary, or all of the above.
Trying to work with your existing clothes, or with the commonly available fits and sizes, is really not your best option. So what’s a guy to do? Instead of looking at how to make a shirt tighter around the waist.
The ultimate solution is to choose a Tapered Fit shirt. Not only is this fit designed specifically for muscular guys – meaning you’ve got more room where you need it and less room where you don’t – but it’s also perfect for giving you a more tapered waistline.
If you’re upgrading your wardrobe, now is a good time to start looking for shirts that’ll show off that V-shaped physique you’ve been working so hard for.
Finally, we have solved the problem with off the rack shirts. Whether slim, athletic, crossfit or a bodybuilder, this issue has now been solved with our TAPERED shirts. Designed to sit comfortably on your shoulders and taper sharply down your waist.
Crafted with stretch material providing you with ultimate comfort and freedom of movement. The TAPERED shirts reward those who want a fully tailored look.
The best shirts for a muscular build. Our Tapered collection also includes muscle fit t-shirts and muscle fit polos.
How to make a shirt fit better... Without a Tailor: Tapered Menswear
Our revolutionary cut provides a 10" drop from chest to waist.
Fully fitted in chest and shoulders whilst tapering sharply down, giving a tailored look. No more bagginess in the waist.
Enhanced Darts
Expertly tailored darts at the back, for the perfect fit.
Stretch Cotton
Super soft, breathable and allows complete freedom of movement.
Perfect for the office.
With our non obtrusive logo stitched subtly on the wrist makes our TAPERED Fit Shirt ideal for formal occasions.
Tapered Fit Shirts are the true solution to your shirt fitting problem. If you want a shirt that fits your body like it should, check out or best selling shirt here
