Question:
Hi. I m a clueless fashion person.
I wear lots of the short sleeved polo shirts (don't know if thats the term) and i tend to wear ones that look too big for me especially the torso area when I lift my arms horizontally up at the level of my shoulders, the excess fabric there balloons or hangs out. Likewise, though not that much seen, when my arms hang on the side, the excess fabric around the axilla-torso area tend to fold out.
My concern is, can you provide me a guideline on:
- Where should the seam that connects the sleeves with the body of the clothing fall - is it directly over the bony point of my shoulder or slighly over it? and if so, whats an acceptable "over and beyond the shoulder" measurement?
- More importantly, what is a good fabric allowance value around the upper torso area - enough for me to move about but NOT too much that it balloons out like a kite when i left my arms horizontally or forms a forward fold when my arms hang on the side? I prefer somewhere between snug and ample space to move fit.
Answer:
What you want is actually a slim-fit polo shirt. The fit is tighter and fitted to your body. This is anyway the more fashionable styles you should be wearing. Gone are the days where the polo shirts are broad and loose. Even if you choose one that fits your shoulder but it might not be a slim-fit and so the chest area as well as the length can be on the wider side. So ensure that you are choosing a polo shirt that is slim-fitting. What I am going to mention below is my own criteria of considering a nice well-fitted polo shirt. It can be subjective depending on the built of the man himself.
The seam connecting the shoulder and sleeves should touch the end of your shoulder. But since you are buying off-the-rack, then an allowance of 1-inch is fine. Take note that the sleeves should wrap your biceps and triceps nicely with a slight allowance of only 1-1/2 inches to consider it a nice fit unless you are not athletically uilt.
The torso portion should hug your chest nicely. That is the main reason that the portion balloons up rather than the sleeve. The polo shirt should wrap from below your armpit toward your chest. It can not be loose around this area. Otherwise you will still face the same problem of ballooning at the torso area.
Ensure that the polo shirt is not too long and should end slightly below your hip bone but not exceeding your crouch area. If untucked and falling loosely against your jeans, then it will rest pretty nicely slightly below your hip bone area.
I only choose cotton fabrics for my polo shirts because it is the most comfortable and natural fabric.
