Why would shirts get too small in the sleeves?

May 19, 2010 8:30 AM

Why would my Oxford shirts be tight at the shoulders all of a sudden?

I'm 5'3 and considered "petite" but I am stocky for a petite. Finding dress shirts that fit me both in the shoulders and in the bust is a challenge. Lately even my "good" shirts are tight in the shoulders/upper arms and I don't know why. I haven't gained any weight...I've weighed the same thing for the past 6-7 years (am slightly overweight, maybe 15-20 pounds) and I have always had big shoulders for a woman, especially a small-busted one.

Is 25 too young for "middle aged spread?" Could my shoulders have been growing this whole time? Would increasing muscle mass in my arms help? I'm baffled. Also, where can I buy shirts, especially dress shirts, for less busty women with linebacker shoulders?

posted by ShadePlant to Grab Bag (3 answers total)

Personally, as someone else with linebacker shoulders and not as much boob as people normally have at my size, I have much better luck with men's clothing. The croft and barrow performance polo shirts fit me perfectly. I'm a size small in them and a size medium in normal tshirts. I personally love how most men's clothing fits on me because my shoulders are too big to fit into most fitted women's clothes (or rather, if I try on a women's size big enough to fit me in the shoulders it looks like shit elsewhere). So in general, try men's stuff, and specifically "sport fit" or "performance fit" stuff. I've also found a lot of sport fit men's stuff at the Gap that also fits awesomely.
posted by kthxbi at 9:30 AM on May 19, 2010

Have you changed your laundry routine? Too-hot water in the washer or too long in the dryer could shrink things a little.
posted by vickyverky at 10:24 AM on May 19, 2010

From what I understand in dealing with mens cotton oxford shirts is that they will shrink a little bit after about 5 or 6 washes. Also this seems to be more common with oxford fabric coming out of China which may be because some of the manufacturers they are skipping the pre-shrinking process to cut costs.
posted by cazoo at 12:11 PM on May 19, 2010