Dress shirts for men with a thick neck

From a 16.5-inch (42 cm) neck, ready-to-wear gets tight. You go up a size to avoid choking, and the shirt balloons at the chest. You stay at your "normal" size, and the collar squeezes you.

Our solution is different: your exact neck size, to the centimetre, calculated by our AI — without changing the rest of the shirt.

First, let's not confuse spread collar with thick neck

Two topics, often confused — including by search engines.

A spread collar is a style of collar — Italian, cutaway — whose points sit further apart than usual. It's a style choice, independent of your morphology. If that's what you're after, see our long collar shirt instead.

A thick neck, on the other hand, is a feature of your morphology: the measurement of your neck. This page only covers that subject.

From what neck size do we talk about a "thick neck"?

The average adult man's neck measures between 14 and 17 inches (36 to 43 cm). Above 16.5 inches (42 cm), classic ready-to-wear starts to fall short — that's where mainstream brands cap out or impose compromises.

A few concrete benchmarks:

Beyond 17.5 inches (44 cm), supply shrinks dramatically. Beyond 18 inches (46 cm), it almost disappears, except in plus sizes — with all the compromises that come with them.

Our offer covers every neck size from 14 to 23.5 inches (35 to 60 cm), to the exact cm, at no extra cost.

The ready-to-wear trap: the parachute effect

The natural reflex when the collar squeezes is to go up a size. But a ready-to-wear shirt is sized as a single block: if you go up a size for the collar, the chest, the waist, the shoulders and the sleeves go up too. Result: the collar fits, but everything else floats.

That's the parachute effect: fabric ballooning at the chest, armholes that drop, sleeves too long. You gain ease where you didn't need it, and you lose the fit.

Brands specialised in plus sizes solve this by making everything wider — not by keeping a fitted chest with a wider neck. It's not the same need.

Our solution: your exact neck size, to the centimetre

A custom shirt isn't a single block. It's made of a dozen independent measurements — neck, chest, hips, shoulder width, sleeve length, etc. Each is calculated for your morphology, with no domino effect.

Our AI-driven sizing is trained on more than 50,000 customers. You enter your weight, height, age, and answer 3 questions. It calculates your fit in seconds — including your neck, to within 0.2 inches (0.5 cm). No measuring tape. No fitting appointment.

If your neck is 17.1 inches (43.5 cm), your collar will be 17.1 inches (43.5 cm). Not 17, not 17.5 — 17.1. And the chest stays tailored to your chest, not to a standard XL.

This fit is then encoded in your Fit Key — a 5-character code, patented in 2012, printed inside the back yoke of every shirt. It compiles all the measurements of your shirt. For your next order, one click is enough.

What if you don't know your exact neck size?

Doesn't matter. Our AI doesn't need you to know it. It deduces it from your weight, height, age, and answers to the 3 questions. 81% of our customers get the correct fit on the first try.

If the first shirt is half an inch off your ideal — collar slightly too loose or too tight — you adjust the fit in one click. You automatically receive a new Fit Key for your future orders.

And worst case, our 100-day Fit Guarantee takes over: we remake the shirt, in most cases without a physical return. Our actual return rate is 5%, versus 20–30% in fashion e-commerce.

Which collar style works best with a thick neck?

Neck size and collar shape are two different dimensions. At equal neck size, some shapes visually open up the neck, others tighten it.

• Cutaway collar (Italian): points spread wide, a clean opening. Visually lightens the neck. The default choice when you have a thick neck.
• Classic forward-point collar: perfectly suitable, provided the collar band height is properly sized.
• Band collar (mandarin, no fold): to avoid — it tightens directly at the base of the neck, with no opening.
• Button-down: OK, but avoid short-point versions that close in around the neck.

For more, see our complete shirt collar guide.

How to measure your neck in 30 seconds

Method 1 — with a measuring tape. Place the tape at the base of your neck, just below the Adam's apple. Slide one finger between the tape and your skin to keep ease. Read the measurement.

Method 2 — with a shirt that fits you well. Unbutton the collar fully. Lay it flat. Measure with a measuring tape from one buttonhole to the other.

Add half an inch (1 cm) for ease and any shrinkage in the wash. And in any case, our AI does the calculation for you — this measurement is optional.

To wrap up. A shirt that no longer squeezes at the collar, no longer floats at the chest, and reorders in one click. Custom shirts in European fabric from €99, B Corp certified, shipped without flying, 100-day Fit Guarantee.

Discover our custom shirts →