Essential Dress Shirts
for Shorter Men
Taking a closer look at the most essential dress shirts for men and why our sizes are going to fit shorter men perfectly!
Most guys nowadays need dress shirts to be as reliable as a pair of blue jeans. Dress shirts should ideally be a blank canvas, and something you can throw on with a suit and tie, day after day, and not have to think about. But in today's world, guys can have trouble finding the right dress shirt - they come in so many different fabrics and fits. Let's take a closer look at the dress shirt collection from Under 510 and discover why ours will fit us shorter guys without any extra alterations!
Notice how our dress shirt has a perfectly proportioned collar to frame a tie, but will also look modern and sharp without one! (shown: Blue Twill)
There a few elements that make up a dress shirt including fabric, collar shape, sleeve length, overall length and colors. When it comes to fabrics, you want something that has a dressy look, which usually mean it has some sheen to it. The collar should be some version of a spread collar, as opposed to old-fashioned point collars, that will frame a tie well.
But even if you can find the right fabric for you in the sea of options, if you're a shorter guy, finding something that fits properly can give you loads of problems. First, the sleeves are usually wayyyy too long! Most of the time, the shortest sleeve size available is 32" which still might be too long on the shorter dude. That can be a huge problem and pain in the butt to get altered at the tailor, aside from that alteration being costly.
The second problem for shorter guys, is the overall length is way too long. This may not seem like a big deal since dress shirts are usually tucked in anyway. However, the proportions of the shirt will be way off, namely, everything will be lower than it should be. Think of how a chest pocket on a typical dress shirt will be around the middle of the stomach since the cut is meant to fit a taller man. But the same is true for the chest, waist, and hem of the shirt.
So when we set out to make dress shirts for shorter men, we made sure to carefully select the right fabrics and design them to fit the shorter man flawlessly. So let's dive in and see why our four styles of dress shirts will be the solution to shorter guys' problems!
First, let's go through each of our dress shirt fabrics and styles , and then talk about our unique fit!
The Classic Twill Dress Shirt
The twill fabric dress shirt is the most iconic because it strong, durable, and has a dressy look. It's easy to identify twill fabric by the diagonal lines you can see in the fabric when you look closely. Because the fabric has a nice weighty heft, it won't ever be see through which is something that bothers some guys. Most importantly, it's the kind of fabric that feels high quality to the touch and for that reason, it's the go-to dress shirt for most guys out there. Our twill dress shirts are also a blend 60% cotton, 40% polyester, which makes them easier to care for and more resilient (polyester is stronger than cotton). The twill dress shirt comes in a pure white and a vibrant blue.
The Heavy Twill Dress Shirt
Since we all love twill so much, we sought after a fabric that was a smoother, thicker, and dressier version of the beloved fabric. At long last we found this incredible fabric that we've named "heavy twill" since that's exactly what it is; a heftier and more luxurious looking version of our twill dress shirt! The twill weave is woven into a heavier fabric with beefier horizontal lines that makes for a smoother feel to the touch, and a more noticeable sheen when viewed from different angles. It is the dressiest dress shirt we carry and it comes in white, and a luxurious light blue.
The Oxford Cloth Button Down (OCBD) Shirt
Oxford cloth button down shirts have become known for their durable and thick fabric that only gets better and softer with each wash. They originated as an Ivy League prep style shirt identifiable by the button down collar, locker loop on back, and rear collar button. The fabric itself has a box weave that gives it a casual texture and appearance. To make ours more modern and versatile, we swapped out the button down collar for a slim spread collar, making it easy to dress up with a tie and a blazer, as well as giving it a French placket for cleaner lines. We offer our Oxford casual button down shirts for shorter guys in a bunch of great colors including white, black slub (appears more gray then black), and royal blue slub. Try them all!
The Stretch Poplin Dress Shirt
The next classic dress shirt fabric is poplin. Poplin is a lightweight cotton weave that is more breathable than the previous options mentioned. The benefits of poplin are that it is great for warmer weather and that it has a very smooth hand-feel. Some drawbacks are that it wrinkles a bit easily and that it can be see through depending on your skin tone, so be sure to wear an undershirt if that is a problem for you. We took our poplin shirts to the next level by adding an unbelievable stretch compound to he fabric making it extremely stretchy and comfortable. It's the kind of thing you need to see to believe. Our stretch poplin shirt comes in white and blue and is undoubtedly the best choice for shorter guys who need a dress shirt in warmer climates.
Now that you've seen our most essential dress shirts, here is why Under 510 dress shirts are the best fitting dress shirts for short men
Sleeve Length
Getting the sleeve length is crucial for dress shirts. If the sleeves are too short, you will not only look smaller than you actually are because you will be busting out of your shirt, but you will feel tugging at the shoulders due to the sleeves being tugging the rest of the shirt when you move. Another reason you need the proper sleeve length on your dress shirt is because if you are wearing a sport coat or suit jacket, the sleeve needs to be long enough to show underneath the jacket sleeve but not be too long that it extends past the wrist.
Notice how the dress shirt sleeves on @thezanification are perfectly peeking out underneath his suit jacket!
Overall Length
The overall length of the shirt is the measurement from the bottom of the back of the collar down to the hem. For dress shirts, short men usually are able to get away with shirts that are too long because dress shirts are normally to be tucked in. Therefore, it doesn't really matter if a shirt is too long since no one really will be seeing the overall shirt length. Still, it can be very uncomfortable to have a ton of extra shirt fabric bunching up and taking up some very sensitive real estate below the belt.
Additionally, in the modern workplace it has become acceptable and even stylish to wear your dress shirt untucked. Or, a lot of guys like to untuck their shirts when they hit the bar or jump on the sofa after a long day at work. But if your shirt is too long, this can be a major eye sore and pain in the butt! Our shirts are tailored to have just the right overall length that they can be tucked in without coming untucked, but also look great untucked should you want to.
One of our team members who is 5"2 shows how a typical high end shirt fits compared to one our own Under 510 shirts! Can you see the difference?
Collar
Another important detail of a shirt is the collar, and specifically the size and shape of the collar. Let's discuss each:
Collar Size - The function of the dress shirt collar is to frame the face and to accommodate for a tie. The collar shouldn't be too small because it won't look swallowed up by even a slim half Windsor tie knot. You don't want the collar to be too big, especially on a shorter guy, because it will overpower your face and make you look smaller. A big collar will also make your torso look shorter which as shorter men, we want to avoid. So you want something that is slim and modern but also big enough to fit a tie knot elegantly.
Collar Shape - The shape of the collar is also extremely important because it determines how the collar frames your face. Most collars from yesteryear are long and pointy. Over time, men have realized that a spread collar is a lot more flattering and fames the face better. The spread collar is essentially widening the the ends of the collar and bringing the shape of the collar less from an upside down V closer to a straight line. So we put a sleek spread collar on all of our shirts so you always look effortlessly sharp!
Notice how the spread collar size on our classic twill shirt is perfectly sizes - it looks great with a tie, but isn't too big that it drowns your face!
Proportions
As I mentioned earlier, some guys may think they can get away with a super long dress shirt since it's being tucked in. This however is not necessarily true - the proportions of the entire shirt are thrown off because you are wearing a shirt that has been designed for someone much taller. For example, the chest will be much lower on you, as will the waist, sleeves, and hem. So if the shirt is a slim fit, the shirt should come in at the waist making for a flattering look.
But if the shirt is designed for someone taller, the waist line of the shirt on a short man will not be at the waist but lower down around the navel. Here is a picture of Jerry Seinfeld wearing a shirt back in the 90's that demonstrates how proportions are thrown off when you wear a shirt that is too big - what do you notice?
Of course, oversized shirts were in style during Seinfeld but Jerry here makes for an excellent example of what happens to proportions when your shirt is too big - not only are the sleeves too long, but see how his pocket is above his ribcage instead of his chest!
Size Chart
So when designing our shirts we have taken all of the above into account and believe our shirts will fit the shorter man perfectly right out of the box. But in order to get the right shirt, you need to know which size to buy! Here is a size chart so you can easily figure out which size you are for our dress shirts for short guys. With only a measuring tape (and a friend), you can easily find measurements for your neck, chest, arms, and length so that finding your size is quick and simple.
Dress Shirts For Short Men Size Chart
| XS | S | M | L | XL | XXL | |
|
Chest |
36" |
38.5" |
41" |
44" |
48" |
51" |
|
Sleeve |
31" |
31.5" |
32" |
32.5" |
35" |
36" |
|
Neck |
15" |
15.5" |
16" |
16.5" |
17" |
18" |
|
Length |
26.5" |
27" |
27.5" |
28" |
29" |
30" |
That sums up our guide for Under 510's dress shirts for short men! We've gone through why we picked essential fabrics including twill, heavy twill, oxford cloth, stretch poplin, for our dress shirts and why you're going to love them as much a we do! Then we discussed why our shirts are made to fit the short man's proportions perfectly and how you can quickly figure out which size you are by addressing our size chart. The best thing about getting into clothes that fit perfectly is that you will be dressing taller and giving off a taller impression of yourself.
As always, if you have any recommendations for dress shirts you want to see us make, or have any general questions or concerns, reach out to us at [email protected] any time! We love to hear from our community of short guys! Remember, we don't only have shirts - so check out our pants that fit the shorter guy perfectly too!
Also check out our sizing page where we talk about getting you into the right fitting dress pants, jeans, chinos, and more by finding your inseam and waist sizes - click here to read!
