How to Measure a Man for a Dress Shirt

A man's dress shirt needs to have the proper fit to look professional and feel comfortable. While T-shirts and polos are easily purchased off the rack, a dress shirt may need some additional tailoring to achieve the best fit. By measuring carefully for a dress shirt ahead of time, you can begin your shopping trip with all the information you need to purchase a shirt that will fit correctly.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Measuring tape

1. Measure the neck for the collar of the shirt. Wrap the measuring tape around the neck just below the Adam's apple. Add 1 inch to this measurement to obtain the correct collar size. When trying on a dress shirt, button the shirt all the way up and down. Then check to make sure that you can insert two fingers between the neck and the shirt collar.

2. Take a measurement for the sleeves. Hold the top of the measuring tape at the top of the shoulder where the seam of the shirt sleeve would be. Then extend the measuring tape down to the top knuckle of the thumb. This is your sleeve measurement. For the cuffs, measure around the base of the wrist.

3. Measure the chest and waist. For the chest measurement, wrap the measuring tape around the fullest part of the chest, just beneath the armpits. Moving down for the waist, measure the waist at the fullest part of the midsection, usually just above the trouser line.

4. Measure the back. Hold one end of the measuring tape at one shoulder, and extend it across to the other shoulder. The tape should arch upward in the middle of this measurement to account for the full breadth of the shoulders.

5. Measure the shirt length. Hold the top of the measuring tape at the base of the neck, and extend down to the desired length of the shirt---usually about where the seat of the pants meets the leg.