Shirts for men with a belly

A bit of a belly and your shirt gives it away: buttons straining, fabric gaping between them, the front riding up as soon as you sit down. Go up a size and it's the shoulders and sleeves that are too big instead. The problem is the way shirts are cut. Here is how to choose a shirt that fits properly when you have a belly.

How a belly changes the fit

A belly adds volume at the front, between the lower chest and the belt. Your neck, shoulders and arms are often still a regular size. A shirt therefore needs extra room in one place only, without adding it everywhere else.

When it doesn't, the signs are always the same:

• star-shaped creases around the middle buttons, pulling forward
• the front gaping between two buttons, especially when you sit
• the front riding up and the shirt coming untucked
• one size up, shoulder seams that slide down your arms

If you are broader all over, with a 48 cm (19-inch) collar or larger, our plus-size shirts page covers the dedicated cut.

Why off-the-rack shirts don't fit

An off-the-rack shirt is sized as a single block, based on collar size. Going up a size to close the buttons over your belly also widens the shoulders and enlarges the collar. Staying in your size means living with straining buttons.

"Classic" or "relaxed" fits don't solve it either: they add fabric everywhere, including where you don't need it, which makes you look bulkier rather than leaner.

Our data confirm it. According to our Observatoire de la chemise, a study of 82,384 shirts, 75.8% of the 22,095 customers measured fit no standard off-the-rack size. Length is the most common problem: for 46% of customers measured, the closest standard size has the wrong length (measured down the back). For 24%, it's the waist. A shirt that comes untucked or pulls at the belly is a very common problem.

How our AI and the Fit Key solve it

A LE CHEMISEUR® shirt isn't a single block. It is built from around ten independent measurements, including neck, shoulder width, chest, waist, hips, armholes, back and sleeve length, and cuffs. Each one is calculated for you, without affecting the others.

You don't need to take your measurements. Our AI, trained on data from more than 50,000 customers, starts from your weight, height and age, then asks you three questions. In a few seconds it works out the right amount of room at the belly, while keeping the shoulders and sleeves true to your measurements and a length that stays tucked in when you sit.

That fit is then stored in your Fit Key: a 5-character code printed inside the back yoke, using a system patented in 2012. Gained or lost a little weight? Adjust the chest, waist or length in one click, and your fit gets more precise with every order, without ever measuring yourself.

And it works: a 5% return rate, versus 20 to 30% in online fashion. If your first shirt isn't perfect, we correct the fit under our 100-day Fit Guarantee, usually without you even sending the shirt back.

Our advice: collar, fit and fabric

The collar

A collar with medium-length points that stands up well frames the face and draws a vertical line. A more open Italian collar works very well without a tie. Avoid very small collars, which emphasize the volume below. If your neck is thick too, see our page on shirts for a thick neck and our guide to choosing your shirt collar.

The fit

Our AI takes care of it: a shirt that follows your shape without squeezing it, with the room at the belly rather than at the shoulders or arms. It makes you look taller and leaner than a baggy shirt.

Fabric and patterns

Choose a fabric with a clean drape that doesn't cling: poplin or twill rather than very thin or shiny fabrics that show every crease. Dark solids and fine vertical stripes are slimming; large checks make you look wider.

Length and how to wear it

Tucked in, the shirt must be long enough to stay put whether you're sitting or standing. Wear only casual shirts untucked, short enough to end at mid-hip.

All our men's dress shirts are cut to your build, in easy-care European fabrics. For other body types, see our pages on shirts for muscular men and shirts for shorter men.