“My shirt is coming out of my pants, what should I do? » – CDL#63

Coverage credit

You are wearing an outfit where the shirt is tucked into the pants, and must stay in place.

A dressy look for example.

Or a look where you want the waist line to be highlighted.

But... your shirt is a little short.

It tends to come out of your pants, forcing you to readjust it many times throughout the day.

Being rather tall myself, I know this problem. It's annoying.

What to do ?

Small historical point: why do men wear shirts inside their pants?

The main information I found indicates that in the West, the shirt was worn tucked into the pants... because it also served as underwear.

Before boxers, boxers or briefs were popularized (we are talking about a time before the 19th century), shirts (which already existed) were very long, reaching up to the knees, and were folded around the private parts to provide protection at this level.

I found two other ideas that explain the historical wearing of the shirt in pants:

• Suspenders, also widely worn in the 19th century, necessarily lead to a top tucked into the pants.
• A shirt worn outside of pants can be inconvenient, especially for access to pockets.

How would our brave cowboy draw his firearm if his shirt covered it? Credit: Stephen Stickler for Getty Images

The “ bottom of shirt, top of pants ” measurement

Although there are exceptions, most shirt bottoms are not straight but curved:

• Long at the back
• Short on the sides (the material returns to the top)
• Moderately long at the front (same length or a little shorter than the back)

The sides of the shirt, here in green, are the shortest. ABCL Garments Shirt

It is therefore the sides which will tend to come out of the pants first .

I would say that you need at least 10cm of space between the side of your shirt and the top of the waistband of your pants to not be bothered.

The higher this measurement, the less the shirt will stand out.

Suitsupply Shirt

Here is a simple test to perform , requiring no measurements:

• Wear your shirt closed and out of pants.
• Raise your arms to about 90°, or a little more.
• Look to the sides: if you can't see your skin, you should be fine. If we're starting to see your skin, it's probably a little short.

Our goal is to increase this measure . The higher it is, the less the shirt will stand out.

The solutions

1. Increase the length of the shirt

An evidence ? Yes, but it is nevertheless worth remembering and which I will elaborate on a little.

As it is impossible to lengthen a shirt during alteration because there is no extra fabric on the garment to allow this operation, wearing a longer shirt amounts to buying new, longer shirts.

Your future purchases of shirts must therefore be made with particular attention to this point:

During a fitting in store

With the arms forward test mentioned above for example,

By defining a minimum tolerable length

This using a meter and starting from the shirts you own. You can then compare this measurement with the brands' size guides .

For example, Nordic brands tend to make fairly long shirts. Schnayderman's

By heading towards brands offering long-length shirts

I talked about this in detail in my article on brands suitable for the older ones among you .

The plus length option adds length to the bust, but also often to the sleeves. If you end up with sleeves that are too long, be aware that they can be altered.

Look at Cotton Society for example for custom-made shirts for around a hundred euros.

2. Increase the height of the pants

Maybe it's not your shirt that's too short. Maybe it 's your pants that are too low-waisted.

A normal length shirt worn over low-waisted pants may tend to stand out.

Two similar outfits. Two different pant heights. This has an impact on the fit of the shirt in the pants but also on the proportions of the silhouette. Left: Father&Sons . Right: Berg&Berg

From there:

• Either you can wear your usual pants a little higher on the waist (if the crotch height allows it), which I advise you to experiment with, even if it means tightening your belt a little more.
• Either, in the specific case of suit pants, you may be able to have the crotch height slightly altered (between 1 and 3cm I would say) to lengthen them and be able to wear them a little higher on the waist. size.
  

  This is the fork height. The higher this measurement, the higher your pants are. You can't touch it up on jeans. 3sixteen

• Either, for your next pants purchases, you can opt for pants with a slightly higher waist than those you currently own.

Having higher pants can therefore be a good solution to allow you to continue to wear your slightly short shirts.

Here is a small list of brands offering mid-rise pants:

• Scavini
• Benevento
• General Pharmacy
• Pini Parma
• Suitsupply cuts Brentwood, Braddon and gurkha
• Berg&Berg
• Informal
• Yeossal
• Stan Ray
• Nigel Cabourn
• Some COS models
• Some Cahartt models
• Some Mr.P models

3. Combine the two

To conclude this part, I would simply say that the best way to completely eradicate this problem of shirt coming out of pants is:

1. Not only to have a shirt with a suitable length, therefore by ensuring its correct length with the test mentioned above,
2. And what's more, wear pants with a mid or mid-rise waist (or at least not too low).

Because it is in this configuration that the “ bottom of shirt, top of pants ” measurement will be maximum. Your shirt won't stand out anymore.

My opinion on accessories that promise to hold your shirt in place

Often, the questions I get asked on this subject come with a remark like this:

“ While doing some research, I came across this accessory that helps keep the shirt in place: it looks really cool, right? »

You don't know what type of accessory I'm talking about?

There is this belt which is worn between the shirt and the pants and which attaches around the last button of the shirt.

Another accessory you may have already seen: a sort of suspender belt for men, which holds the shirt down using metal clips.

We do not recommend the use of such accessories , first of all because:

1. Let's face it, it's not very pretty,
2. Neither necessarily practical to use,
3. And probably not very comfortable either.

Then, such an accessory can damage your shirt in the long run:

1. With the belt, a button can pop off with the pressure exerted in that area by the belt.
2. With the suspender belt, the fabric of your shirt may end up being damaged or even cracking in the area where it is held by small metal clips. If you make a big movement, the downward pressure could cause the fabric in the armpits to crack, or even injure you.

In fact, these accessories go against physics : if your shirt rides up in your pants, there is an upward force being exerted. Wanting to block a shirt at the bottom prevents, or at least restricts, your freedom of movement.

If we consider that the shirt is not the most comfortable clothing there is , combined with such an accessory, and with a fitted jacket, this will end up transforming you into a stiff robot who cannot move its arms or back more than 30°. And I don't wish that for you.

Finally, you may also have already seen this:

More than an accessory, a piece of clothing: the (the?) Calchemise.

So in fact, your shirt will no longer come out of your pants.

I understand that this product can make you smile and perhaps please. But this is not a valid solution for me : apart from the shape which I find very unsightly, the garment itself does not stand out either for its style or its quality.

Even if it means purchasing a new item of clothing, simply buy a shirt that suits you, with a nice material, a well-chosen collar , etc.