<i></i> <i></i> <i></i> -1<p>Ah, the perfect dress shirt – we bet you can picture yourself now, striding down from your office cubicle to the coffee machine and all eyes are on you. The length, creasing and fit is so perfect, even some ladies are jealous of how perfect your shirt is. You feel confident, charismatic and powerful wearing it and effortlessly pull of a suit and eye over it to give it that extra kick. However, that bubble just burst! The perfect shirt more or less doesn’t exist for most men because more often than not, we’re wearing a size that’s either too large or too small. Droopy shoulders, wilted collars, out-of-place buttons and a weird placket bogging you down? Here are some ways you can fix this issue and get the perfect shirt each time!</p> <h2>The fitting</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/10/word-image-205.jpeg"/>Shutterstock <p>Have you ever wondered if it was possible to get a comfortable fit without the shirt being too tight on your belly or too loose on your chest? Do you think shoulders that line up perfectly with your body are a myth? Are you also of the opinion that no shirt is never going to be two of these things at once? Well worry no more, because we’re here to help. To get the perfect fit, firstly identify your body type. Be true to yourself and analyze. Would you be a slim fit, casual fit or standard fit? Most formal settings, for which the dress shirt is designed, requires a standard fit, so you have your issue sorted right here. If you think you can pull off a Slim though, go for it! Once you’ve identified what fit you want, only then should you go for a sizing. Measure your collar size and double check the fit you’re being displayed. A 15” collar for a slim fit shirt will never fit you like a standard fit 15”. With that out of the way, try it on. Make sure the shoulders align perfectly with your body contours and if it’s a yes, you’re good to go!</p> <h2>The material</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/10/word-image-206.jpeg"/>Shutterstock <p>You’re at your favorite store and you see this really cool grey and black checkered shirt. You know you’re going to rock it with a black tie and charcoal suit. You can already picture yourself basking in the admiration. There’s no stopping you. You reach for your wallet and buy it. Perfect fit, perfect collar size. But wait, what’s that? It’s Flannel! Should have tried it on at the store, man! Generally, most dress shirts are made of very fine, lightweight cotton that helps you stay cool and doesn’t usually suffocate your pores unless it’s too tight. This is exactly what you want in a dress shirt. Such a material is easy to shape with a good ironing, takes the shape of your body very well and is rather breathable, as we just mentioned. Always ensure the material of your shirt before you buy it, in order to save time and money. By being aware of the material, not only will you have a rough idea of how to wash it, but also of how to iron it, which come in handy if you’re in a rush and don’t have the time to skim through the instructions first. A stitch in time saves nine!</p> <h2>The collar</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/10/word-image-207.jpeg"/>Shutterstock <p>Does your office-work require you to wear a tie? Are you a lawyer or pilot, or are you just looking for a shirt for that wedding coming up where you’ll need a tie? Or are you going to be sporting a bowtie with that Tux? These questions, believe it or not, are very important in determining perhaps what is the most neglected part of your shirt – the collar! Know whether you need a standard, wing tip, broad or French collar beforehand by doing a little research on what goes with what to save a lot of your precious time at the Stores where sometimes the salesman won’t know any better than to hand you whatever you ask for. Don’t make this rookie mistake. Invest time in yourself, man!</p> <h2>The cuffs</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/10/word-image-208.jpeg"/>Shutterstock <p>You better have a wristwatch that matches your tie and belt before you even go on to read about some serious cuffing! The cuff is one of the most important part of the shirt, and becomes even more important when you put on a coat, since it’s one of the only few places your shirt can be seen. Again, prepare yourself beforehand. Would you like a standard, broad or barrel cough? Would you like to bring out and wear those awesome cufflinks you’ve been waiting to wear since a long time or are you just going to button up? These are important questions because as we’ve been stressing, knowing the answer beforehand can save you the trouble of spending extra time while shopping. Just make sure that when you check the material, you take a quick glance at the cuffs as well. You don’t want to buy a shirt that needs cufflinks only to find this out right before you’re headed to that meeting, since not everyone owns a pair of cufflinks and there is no way to fasten that cuff without any. Better safe than sorry!</p> <h2>The Placket</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/10/word-image-209.jpeg"/>Shutterstock <p>Let’s talk about the placket of a shirt. Now, you might be sitting there scratching your heading thinking, what is a placket and what does it have to do with getting the best dress shirt? The placket my friends is just a fancy for that double layer of fabric that holds the buttons and buttonholes of a shirt. There are also many types of plackets! Yes, depending on the design you want for your shirt, you first have to choose which placket will suit you best. Let me guide you into the light. Let’s start with the front placket, shall we? You can ever go wrong with the front placket, it’s the most common front style for dress shirts. To give dress shirts that crisp and dressy appeal, the fabric of the shirt is folded back over and sewn so that the interning is fused. Moving on to the French front, which typically means, there is no fold back placket. Making it a great style for a downtown vibe. You can also rock it to business meetings or wear it out on a date. Let’s get a little more formal with the covered placket. The name speaks for itself, the covered placket has an extra piece of fabric covering all the buttons and buttonholes. Great for wearing with a tuxedo, very James Bond might I add.</p> <h2>The Shoulder</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/10/word-image-210.jpeg"/>Shutterstock <p>There’s a reason why the shoulder of a dress shirt is so important. Remember in school when your teachers would tell you to sit up straight and put your shoulders back? This is kind of like that. You see if the shoulders of your shirt don’t hit you just right, it will give the impression of an unconfident man! To get the shoulders to fit perfectly the buttons should close comfortably and the underside of the placket should rest easily against your sternum. Also, there should be no war taking place when you’re tucking in your shirt, it should be easy, breezy and easily tuck right through. Now if the shoulders are too tight, you should expect some creasing and wrinkles around the buttons, which isn’t really a clean look. A total nightmare is if the shoulders are too loose! The fabric will just hang there, giving you a very unsophisticated look.</p> <h2>The Armholes</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/10/word-image-211.jpeg"/>Shutterstock <p>The fitting of the armholes should be just right so that there is no discomfort when you’re moving around. However, it shouldn’t so loose that you have extra fabric dangling around your armpits.</p> <h2>The Torso/Body</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/10/word-image-212.jpeg"/>Shutterstock <p>Your shirt should hug your torso, no matter what size or shape you are! There should be no excuse as to why you are able to pinch 2 or more than 2 inches of fabric on either side of your waist. Remember gentlemen, we want to look like we’re trying to get on the cover of GQ.</p> <h2>Tucked in or Tucked Out</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/10/word-image-213.jpeg"/>ShutterStock <p>If you plan on wearing your dress shirt tucked in, which I highly recommend that you do, then you’re going to want to keep the length long. I’m talking about past the family jewels if you catch my drift. It should be illegal for men to wear their long dress shirts, if it’s not tucked in. However, if you want to wear your dress shirt, tucked out, then make sure it’s the appropriate length. That is a fashion crime no one should commit.</p> <p>Let me put it this way if your shirts don’t fit you right, then get ready for some major backlash! You might think that putting thought into your clothes is kind of shallow and no one actually cares about what you wear or not. But, that is beside the point! The aim here is to look well put together and clean. If your clothes are too baggy or too tight, you’re giving off the impression that you’re not confident. If you want to succeed you need to exude confidence even if you have to fake it! Un-fitted clothing also gives off the impression that you don’t take care of yourself and truth be told it just looks awkward and unprofessional. If that doesn’t get you running to your nearest tailor to get fitted, then I don’t know what will. Matter of fact, just skip that step and get some custom-made shirts instead.</p> <h2>BONUS: Packing up that shirt</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/10/word-image-214.jpeg"/>Shutterstock <p>Heavy luggage won’t work if you’re more into travelling. Yeah we know it. Heavy luggage fares in the airport and then carrying that massive load of shirts isn’t less than a hassle. The struggle is real folks. But we aren’t suggesting that your suitcase should be empty. NO, that shouldn’t happen. There should be atleast minimal number of clothes and yes shirts to satiate the struggles of a voyage. Don’t pack your shirts in a way that when you pull them out they’re full of wrinkles and creases. Secondly, keep your filthy clothes/used clothes separate from the clean clothes. These dirty clothes can have an impact on the clean one’s and searching for a laundry in a new location is a struggle too ya know but anyways let’s start with the packing of shirts in a way to avoid any creases or wrinkles.</p> <p>Okay so let’s start with the crease stuff. In order to avoid creases, one must place a shirt within a shirt. Sounds easy right. By introducing one shirt in the fold of another one, creases can be prevented from popping up on those shirts.</p> <p>Packing up a dress shirt is quite easy if you know the very basics to it. Let me explain it further to you guys so won’t face any difficulty in packing them up in your suitcase along with other garments.</p> <p>1. You can start with the buttons. They’re an essential part to your packing. You can button up the top, middle and bottom of the dress shirt.</p> <p>2. Now you can place the shirt on the backside on any plain surface just for the ease of folding it more conveniently. Start off by your finger and the collar of the shirt. Place your finger beneath the collar or from the collar, the distance should be of one inch from the collar. After that, take the sleeve and fold it right into the shirt. This would eventually give birth to a straight line which would run till the edge of the shirt. Now this line can tell you about the precision of the packing. Both sleeves should be aligned with the line you just created.</p> <p>3. it’s time for the folding. Folding it over is the end to packing of your dress shirt. Now as I’ve mentioned that one can place clothes between clothes. Before you fold over your dress shirt, you can place a folded T-shirt or a tie on the dress shirt which is about to be folded. Place your tie along the length of the unfolded shirt. Now repeat the aforementioned folding of the shirt. Voila, your shirt and tie is ready to be placed in your suitcase nice and clean.</p> <i></i>