November 02, 2007

Dress Shirts- The Trap

The wardrobe staple, dress shirts are essential whether you are trying to achieve the preppy look or you need it for work. And they are literally every. There will be at least one dress shirt type thing in any store you walk in. But when it comes to finding the perfect one, that is when it gets tricky.
When I first got into the business of finding a dress shirt, I fell into the trap of buying a pretty and structured one. I mean, the line between dress shirts being manly and feminine is thin, so I thought I'd err on the excessive side and find a highly feminine one. And that is how I now have not one, but TWO, v necked structured dress shirts in my wardrobe from Ted Baker that looks terrible on me- kind of like these two here from Express above (Ted Baker must have seen the error of his ways and stopped producing them, because they were nowhere to be found on his site).

Not that it doesn't look good, but this design is VERY hard to wear- especially when one has a flat chest like me. The fit everywhere else is fine except the chest part, which has an awkward spacious puff because I have nothing to fill that area with. And because of the structured design, there is no way around it, pulling it down does not help and it gets darn uncomfortable in the long run. Therefore if you have a small chest like me- please, DON'T buy v-necked dress shirts no matter how pretty they look. And I heard that the other extreme is not fun either. i.e. if you have a larger chest, you have the problem of having unseemly big gaps in between the buttons. You could wear a tank top underneath I guess, but that gets kind of hot.

So girls, next time you go looking for a dress shirt, beware of these traps and make sure that it FITS you perfectly and comfortably before buying- as hard as finding a perfectly fitted and comfortable dress shirt is. No wonder so many of my working friends get their's made!

Image Source: Express

24 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

so what should one look for when fitting a dress shirt? any tips? i actually found one a couple years ago at the Gap! i never find anything that fits me well or that i love there so it was a nice find!

11/02/2007 10:34 AM  
Blogger Celeritas said...

Also make sure to check to see if the shirt is sheer, lingerie on display is no go at work and having to wear a cami with your favorite shirt will drive you nuts!

11/02/2007 3:19 PM  
Blogger Fashionista said...

Try a Tuxedo T-Shirt from Artfulwears as a Substitute!

If the idea of button-up stiff cotton makes you shudder, check out this fun Tuxedo Tee Shirt by Majestic! You can have the look of Tux in a tee shirt! It’s a soft and luxurious blend of cotton and cashmere; so it not only looks good, it feels good too. We think it’s a subtle basic with a very unique twist.

Choose from white or black. We love the great versatility of this tee shirt. Pair it with a great skirt, under a suit jacket, or dress it down with jeans.
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11/02/2007 9:36 PM  
Blogger Tulz said...

I have a couple of those from Express and they actually fit me really well. Plus they're sooo much nicer than my other ones which look soo manly...yuck!

11/02/2007 11:10 PM  
Blogger Alexandra said...

I have large boobs but small shoulders and waist so dress shirts are normally a huge challenge and yet I have to wear them for work.
I find that the v-neck ones with the rouching pouff thing in the front actually work really well for me- I have 4-5 of them and they fit a lot better than the menswear-like ones that tend to be baggy in the waste if I get them large enough to fit my chest.

11/03/2007 3:40 AM  
Blogger Sales Rack Raider said...

I hear ya on the difficulties of finding a well-fitted dress shirt. I've had to search high and low to hunt them down, snagging shirts from places ranging from Banana Republic (best fitting and also pricier), Express, and Target.

A berry-colored v-neck shirt from Express is sitting in my closet right now, and I love it. I do think the vertical stripes and the colors can make a huge difference. The solid-colored shirts looked terrible on (non-chesty) me, but the striped shirt fits and looks great.

11/03/2007 11:45 AM  
Blogger Ariana | Paris To Go said...

The main problem with women's dress shirts is their dearth of interesting cufflinks. Men get color-changing and monogrammed options but women get cloth cuffs that tear. I'll stick to tie-necked blouses instead.

11/03/2007 11:39 PM  
Blogger goia said...

I love shirts...

11/03/2007 11:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Those shirts rock!

11/04/2007 3:25 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Abercrombie & Fitch has nice ones :)

11/04/2007 4:03 AM  
Blogger Meg said...

An ill-fitting shirt is worse than ANYTHING!!! Well, maybe an ill-fitting bra is worse.

11/04/2007 5:43 AM  
Blogger Frapp said...

Any try them on with the jacket you'll be wearing too! I bought a plain white shirt for school only to put it on and realise how huge the collar actually was and how much I look like a Night Fever throwback!

11/04/2007 8:07 AM  
Blogger Jay said...

i wear dress shirt too!
but i guess its easier since im a guy...
come to think of it, i just wear polos.
my bad
: )
~Jay's World

11/04/2007 10:07 AM  
Blogger Celebrity Gossip Girl said...

I can relate to your problem as well i'm not very big on the top, so i always have a hard time wearing these oh so fashinable blouses. My normal awy around this problem is to buy a shirt clasp at joann fabrics and tighten the back up a bit and pear it up with a nice long sleeved cardigan sweater.
This makes wearing the blouse a bit more easy.

11/05/2007 11:24 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If you NEED to wear a dress shirt to work, then you really should be looking into custom made! Girls I can't stress this enough. If you're working in the corporate work force, and you take you're job seriously, you've gotta dress to impress, and a crisp fitting shirt is just as important as a fitted suit on a man! it's all about appearances in the game today.

All women are shaped differently, especially in the bust. A shirt off the rack will never look as good as something that is custom made, tailored to your proportions. Thier is an amazing company called Bespoke by Ganton which does this in Australia, not sure of any in the US but I guarantee thier would be HUNDREDS!

Just search, custome made. Or if it's to expensive, try an alterations place! it's the little things in life that make ALL the difference

11/06/2007 11:19 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

personally, i hate the new style of dress shirts at Express. i loved their old fit.

11/09/2007 3:19 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good looking dress shirts are available at Clothing Warehouse at discounted price...

3/08/2008 4:43 PM  
Blogger CSmhacky said...

Better take a non vneck dress. you can try to look at USA BRANDS ONLINE there are many good shirts here especially the Ralph Lauren

8/06/2008 2:35 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Finding good dress shirts is a very difficult process, and you're right, they're everywhere. I usually stick with places like Banana Republic. They seem to fit better than regular department stores.

4/16/2010 6:40 AM  
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