The Pitfalls of Expert Tailoring: Part I

This topic will likely develop into a series of related posts on the problems associated with men's tailoring.  I begin with the most problematic: the oxford shirt.  Oxford shirts, generally speaking, need tailoring.  Exceptions to this rule include shirts that are marketed as slim or extra-slim (Brooks Brothers, for example).  But as a general rule, sport shirts require tailoring.  This includes tapering the sides and sleeves and putting darts in the back.

This picture perfectly illustrates the effects of expert tailoring.  The shirt neatly tucks into the trousers and the high armholes ensures that the shirt will remain tucked in.  Darts are also necessary to prevent the shirt from billowing out from behind.  But there is a cost to this improved look.  The high armholes effect, which is necessary to prevent the shirt from becoming displaced, also creates a constricted and taut armpit area.  I thus invariably sweat in this area, not because I am particularly active or because of torrid conditions, but because the area is just so compressed.  The effect, of course, is terribly uncomfortable, which would, I suppose, be tolerable if it didn't have the additional consequence of being terribly unsightly!

The untailored shirt conveniently obviates this sartorial problem.  But as Oscar Wilde observed, lillies that fester are still better than weeds.  That is our consolation.