How To Read Dress Shirt Sizes?
When you go dress shirt shopping, you often get confused with the sizes written on the tags of the shirts. How to read them, what they tell you, and how to get the right size dress shirt for you should be understood beforehand so you can get the appropriate dress shirt of the perfect size. Here in this article, I will be explaining men's dress shirt sizing and how to read dress shirt sizes so you can opt for the correct size according to your body. This is important because if the shirt is not appropriate according to your body fit, it will not only ruin your look but also damage your personality and make you look bad. Let's start with the guide below that tells you about how to read the dress shirt sizes.
How to Read Dress Shirt Sizes?
The guide discusses how to read dress shirt sizes so that you can purchase the correct size according to your body. Undoubtedly, dress shirts are available in different sizes. The tags they have contain the details about the size that could be alphabetical or numerical. Because fashion is evolving day by day, sizes are getting more critical and challenging to understand. Let's look at the in-depth study of dress shirt sizes and what the tags represent.
Dress Shirt Sizes
When you are shopping for dress shirt sizes, there are times when you have limited size choices available. This is because, of course, not every brand manufactures every size of dress shirt. It's difficult for the clothing industry to manage everyone's needs, so they prefer going with standard sizes. Still, there is a lot of variety when it comes to dress shirt sizes and shapes. Everyone is different from one another. There are two types of descriptions that are used to denote the dress shirt sizes, Alphabetical and numerical.
Numerical Sizing
The numerical sizes of the dress shirts are basically the sizes that tell about the neck size and sleeve length size. For example, if the shirt you want to purchase has a tag that says 15/32" inches, it means the neck circumference is 15 inches, whereas the sleeve length is 32 inches. Similarly, if the tag says 12/26" in, that means 12 inches is the circumference of the neck of the shirt whereas 26 inches is the sleeve length of the shirt.
Keep in mind sometimes the tag also contains a chest size. I personally prefer opting for shirts that have chest sizes also written on their tag. This is something beneficial to get a better-fitting shirt.
Now, imagine you are out shopping for a dress shirt, and the tag of the dress shirt has numerical values that you cannot understand. No need to worry; ask the salesman, and he will let you know what the dress shirt tag says. It is as simple as that!
Alphabetical Dress Shirt Sizing
Alphabetical sizes include the sizes from S, which is small, to XXL, which is extra extra large. Here we have the list of sizesS (Small), M (Medium), L (Large), XL (Extra Large), 2XL (Extra Extra Large) and 3XL (Extra Extra Extra Large). Let's look at the standard measurements of these sizes.
- Small S
- Medium M
- Large L
- Extra Large XL
- XXL
- XXXL
Similarly, if the dress shirt has a tag that says the shirt is XXXL, that means the neck size of the shirt is 19 to 19 ½ inches, and its sleeves are 37 to 38 inches. These are the general sizes of the standard shirts that have alphabetical representation of the sizes on their tags. Other details of the size are written in the table mentioned below. Make sure to focus on the table so you can understand what size explains the measurements of the neck, sleeve, chest, and waist.
TABLE
| Size | Neck | Chest | Sleeve | Waist |
| S | 14-14½” | 34-36” | 32-33” | 28-30” |
| M | 15-15½“ | 38-40” | 33-34” | 32-34” |
| L | 16-16½“ | 42-44” | 34-35” | 36-38” |
| XL | 17-17½” | 46-48” | 35-36” | 40-42” |
| 2XL | 18-18½” | 50-52” | 36-37” | 44-46” |
| 3XL | 19-19½” | 54-56” | 37-38” | 48-50” |
| 4XL | 20½-21” | 58-60” | 38-38½” | 53-55” |
| 5XL | 22-22½” | 62-64” | 38½-39” | 58-60” |
FAQs
How to read a dress shirt size tag?
In order to read the dress shirt size tag properly, look for the numbers that are mentioned on the tag. There would be two numbers separated by a slash or sometimes a dash. The first number tells you about the neck circumference, and the second number tells you about the sleeve length.
What type of measurements are written on the tag of the dress shirt?
There are two types of measurements that could be written on the tags of the dress shirt: alphabetical or numerical. Numerical values generally tell about the neck circumference size and sleeve length of the dress shirt, whereas alphabetical value tells whether the shirt is small, medium, large, XL, XXL, or XXXL.
