Shirt Tight Across the Back When You Reach? Check the Shape of the Wrinkles

The soy sauce is at the far end of the warung table, and you can't be bothered to ask anyone to pass it. Your arm stretches out past a friend's plate. Before you get to the bottle, your shirt holds you back. Something pulls behind your armpits, as if someone were holding on to your shirt from behind.

The friend next to you chips in, "That's too small for you." You're not so sure. It was comfortable in the fitting room, and nothing bothered you while you were eating, either.

Every shirt does wrinkle across the back when you reach forward. Your shoulder blades slide out to the sides, so your back gets wider. To find out whether your shirt is too small or the fabric is just slack, look at the shape of the wrinkles.

How to Tell a Tight Back from Slack Fabric

Picture a clothesline. Pulled tight, it runs in a straight line. Left slack, it sags into a curve. You can read the wrinkles on the back of a shirt the same way.

When the back of a shirt is too narrow, you get a straight line running across at shoulder-blade height, pulled tight from behind your left armpit to behind your right. You can feel it, too. The fabric resists as you move, and sometimes the buttons on your chest start to pull.

Fabric that's simply slack falls into folds that curve or hang loose. They change shape every time you move, and you can barely feel anything holding you back.

Oversized shirts, which are deliberately cut wider than the body, usually fall into the second group. The black oversized shirt from the Oasis line, for example, is cut wide through the chest, with shoulder seams that drop onto the upper arm. Its cotton is soft too, so the folds that hang down the back when you reach are meant to be there.

The Motorbike Handlebar Test, Filmed on Your Phone

It's hard to see your own back, so let a camera help. Prop your phone on a shelf and start recording. Stand with your back to it, shirt fully buttoned. Stretch both arms straight out in front of you as if you were holding a motorbike's handlebars, and hold the pose for a few seconds. Then cross your arms over your chest as though you were hugging yourself.

Play the video back. If the straight line already shows up in the handlebar position, the back of that shirt really is too narrow, because that's a movement you make every day. If the line only appears when you hug yourself, the shirt is fine. The hug is a far bigger stretch, and not one you hold for long.

In a fitting room, whoever came shopping with you can stand in for the camera.

If the Shirt Really Is Too Small Across the Back

Start by going up one size. For a shirt with a regular cut, like the black oxford shirt, that's usually enough. Do the handlebar test again before you snip off the tags.

Keep an eye on the shoulder seams, too. If the bigger size drops them well past the edge of your shoulders and the chest starts to balloon, the shirt will look like the wrong size. You're better off switching to a cut that's genuinely roomy in the back, like the navy version of that oversized shirt. On a cut like that, the dropped shoulder is intentional.

A softer fabric won't give you more room. It may hide the line, but you'll still feel the pull behind your armpits.

An old shirt that fails the test doesn't have to leave your wardrobe just yet. Save it for days you'll spend mostly sitting upright. As for the soy sauce, let a friend pass it down the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are horizontal creases across my lower back after a long drive a sign my shirt is too small?

Usually not. Those are creases from leaning against the car seat, and they stay visible even when you're standing still. Creases like these call for an iron, not a bigger size.

Can a tailor let out a shirt that's tight across the back?

Rarely by much. There's usually very little spare fabric inside a shirt's side seams, so it's far easier for a tailor to take a shirt in than to let it out. If it's a favourite, ask anyway, but don't expect much of a change.

Why does a shirt that used to fit now feel tight across the back?

Your body may have changed. Maybe you've been training your back, or years of laptop work have rounded your shoulders forward. Cotton shirts can also shrink a little, especially in the first few washes.

How can I check the back fit if I'm buying a shirt online and can't try it on?

Take a shirt from your wardrobe that passes the handlebar test. Button it up and lay it flat on a table. Measure straight across from armpit to armpit, then double the number. Compare that figure with the chest circumference on the size chart. If you're torn between two sizes, go for the larger one.

Does a baju koko need this test too?

It does, and even more so. Bowing and prostrating in prayer (rukuk and sujud) stretch your back further than reaching forward does. Try the rukuk position in the fitting room and notice whether the back pulls against you and drags the hem up too high.