How to Measure Your Body: Shirt Back Length
Ever purchased a dress shirt which fits every part of your body perfectly but is hard to tuck in? It doesn't matter how hard you try, its tail always ends up jumping out of your pants, ruining your sleek, office look. If that's the case, you must be making a mistake in measuring your shirt's back length.
Remember that getting a shirt with perfect back length is extremely important since it is one of the factors which determines the grace and neatness of your attire. In other words, if you choose a shirt with a short tail, it will get untucked at every basic movement.
On the flip side, on getting a shirt with a longer tail, the extra fabric will bunch around your pelvic region, creating an absurd bulge under your waistline.
Thus, to avoid such styling hassles, let's learn the right way to measure the shirt's back length.
How to Measure Your Body: Shirt Back Length
The easiest way to measure your shirt's back length is to get one of your old, Best-fitting shirts and lay it flat, upside down, on the ground, buttoned up. Smooth out all the wrinkles and creases and align both the front and back panels of your shirt.
Then, place one end of the measuring tape at the base of your collar band and take the other end to the yoke. Keep stretching the other end of tape straight to the shirt hem and this will be your shirt's back length.
However, if you don't have a shirt with perfect back length, you can take measurements directly from your body. For this, you'd need to gather some essentials beforehand which include a measuring tape and a mirror, or a friend to help you out. Once done, all you need to do is follow the given steps;
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Stand in front of a mirror
Stand up in front of the mirror by stretching your arms out. Make sure you are standing in your most natural posture, without flexing your muscles or slouching.
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Measure
Place one end of measure tape on the highest point of your shoulder. This is the point where your neck meets your shoulder. It is also called high point shoulder (HPS). Make sure the tape is not folding or twisting against your torso as it can lead to false measurements.
To check for folds or twists, use a mirror to ensure that the tape is not wagging off to one side. Also, the tape should not be too tight against your body so it's compressing your skin. Instead, it should just be snug, right?
By placing one end of the tape on HPS, stretch the other end vertically down to the point where you want your shirt to end. For a dress shirt, the ideal tail length is 2 inches past the butt high. On the other hand, for casual shirts, the perfect back length is 2 inches above butt high.
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Record measurements
When the tape is touching your desired hem length, note this measurement and repeat the procedure again two to three times to get the most accurate readings.
While measuring your shirt’s back length, remember that the ideal length varies for each shirt type and style. In other words, each type of shirt requires a specific back length. So keep in mind the style of the shirt, whether you are measuring for a casual shirt, formal shirt, tuxedo shirt, or corduroy shirt.
Also, you need to consider the type of pants you are planning to wear. For example, if you are going to wear low-waisted jeans, get shirts with slightly longer back length. Lastly, keep the shrinking probability in mind. Since most shirts are made up of cotton fabric, they are prone to shrinking.
FAQs
Your dress shirt should never cover your butt but it should be long enough to fall in the middle of your pants’ back pockets.
Centre back length is the measurement between the base of the collar and the hem of the shirt.
If the tail of your shirt is too long, it will look billowy and baggy at the back, around your torso.
