Men's Athletic Fit (Dress Shirts)

Drop is the number that defines the cut: the gap between a shirt's chest measurement and its waist measurement. Classic fit runs about four to six inches of drop, slim fit six to seven, athletic fit eight to ten. Same neck size on the label, an entirely different shape below it.

Producing that shape takes more than a narrower waist. Makers cut the yoke, the panel across the upper back, wider so the shoulders clear, then raise the armhole and narrow the sleeve so extra chest room does not become extra sleeve. Two darts, vertical tucks stitched into the back panel, pull the waist in. All of it is built into the pattern. That is why no tailor can turn a classic shirt into this one without recutting the side seams.

Slim fit shrinks every measurement at once, which is why it binds across the back the second you reach forward. Classic fit keeps the shoulders comfortable and leaves four inches of loose cloth at the waist to bunch under your belt. Athletic fit borrows the shoulders of the first and the waist of the second, making it a correction for one body shape rather than a general improvement. Against non-iron, which is a finish, this is a pattern choice, so a single shirt can be both.

Lifters, swimmers, rowers and men built in a V finally get a shirt that tucks without a bubble at the small of the back. Carry weight around the middle and the cut works against you, since it narrows exactly where you need room and pulls open between the buttons. Lean builds with average shoulders should also pass, because the shoulder allowance simply hangs off them.

Test it by raising both arms straight overhead in the fitting room. If the hem pulls free of your trousers, the armhole is cut too low for you whatever the label promises. Then reach across your body as if for a seatbelt; pulling across the upper back means the yoke is too narrow. Wash cool, because a shirt with this little ease at the waist has no margin left for shrinkage.