Fit

Fit names the amount of ease a garment carries, ease being the gap between the cloth and your body at chest, waist, hip and sleeve. That built-in room is what separates a slim shirt from a relaxed one cut for the same chest size. The number on the tag can be identical while the two garments look nothing alike on you. Decide the cut before the size, then find the size that puts the seams where they belong.

Makers judge fit in inches of ease over the body measurement. Roughly 2 to 4 inches at the chest wears close, 4 to 6 reads standard, and 8 or more reads loose. No label prints those figures, so take them off the garment: measure the chest flat, double it, subtract your own chest, and the remainder is the ease.

Read the four options as one scale from least room to most. Slim trims every dimension, classic follows the body without gripping it, relaxed adds swing, and oversized redraws the proportions on purpose. Step one notch looser when you plan to layer, one notch trimmer when you always tuck.