A human of non-standard proportions
Apr. 1st, 2007 01:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
khiemtranOne of the advantages of my current job is that I can pretty wear jeans and T-shirt to work every day. The catch is that when slightly more formal attire is required (i.e. more formal even than a collared T-shirt), I'm often caught out.
I went shopping today for business shirts and it had been so long since I'd bought one that I'd forgotten my size measurements. Not a problem, the shop assistant wrapped a tape measure around my neck and told me a number that didn't sound very familiar. And the sleeve length? "Oh, they've really cut down on those these days", she explained. "I think you'll find there will only be one length for your neck size."
She was right, of course, and I realized why I've never been happy with the fit of my previous shirts. With my "proper" neck size, the sleeves are just about right but the neck is uncomfortably tight (habitual T-shirt wearer, remember). With the neck one size looser, I can enter a room without looking like I'm holding my breath but the sleeves are conspiciously long.
In suppose I'm lucky that the standard shirt dimensions are even a marginal fit. I haven't managed to buy trousers that fit off the rack for years.
I'm not entirely sure what I should do about this situation. I quite like my arms the length they are, although I'll concede that a bit of extra reach might be useful. Surgery sounds a bit expensive and I'd run the risk of looking like an orangutan if it went too far. I don't see many orangutans shopping in the menswear section, so I'm not sure who exactly the shirtmakers are catering for. A neck reduction is the other option, of course. I might have to think about that if I end up wearing business shirts more often, or maybe it will just take care of itself with judicious application of an ever shrinking tie.
I went shopping today for business shirts and it had been so long since I'd bought one that I'd forgotten my size measurements. Not a problem, the shop assistant wrapped a tape measure around my neck and told me a number that didn't sound very familiar. And the sleeve length? "Oh, they've really cut down on those these days", she explained. "I think you'll find there will only be one length for your neck size."
She was right, of course, and I realized why I've never been happy with the fit of my previous shirts. With my "proper" neck size, the sleeves are just about right but the neck is uncomfortably tight (habitual T-shirt wearer, remember). With the neck one size looser, I can enter a room without looking like I'm holding my breath but the sleeves are conspiciously long.
In suppose I'm lucky that the standard shirt dimensions are even a marginal fit. I haven't managed to buy trousers that fit off the rack for years.
I'm not entirely sure what I should do about this situation. I quite like my arms the length they are, although I'll concede that a bit of extra reach might be useful. Surgery sounds a bit expensive and I'd run the risk of looking like an orangutan if it went too far. I don't see many orangutans shopping in the menswear section, so I'm not sure who exactly the shirtmakers are catering for. A neck reduction is the other option, of course. I might have to think about that if I end up wearing business shirts more often, or maybe it will just take care of itself with judicious application of an ever shrinking tie.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-04-01 04:35 am (UTC)I'm indefinitely sorry that I won't be able to be anywhere near Frankfurt on the fifteenth - I have a deadline looming and an anxious client and thus can't extend my stay in Germany that far.
Next time you're vaguely in the area.
no subject
Date: 2007-04-02 07:30 am (UTC)