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Slim & Fitted Dress Shirt Review Palooza III

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Slim Fit Dress Shirts: Nordstrom Trim Fit, Calibrate, and Target’s Merona

Click here for the previous rounds featuring CK, Alfani Red, Geoffrey Beene, and more

Fit is everything, and not all trim fit dress shirts fit the same.  Some of those don’t even fit all that “fitted.”  You want to be able to move, but the amount of extra cloth that shirt makers add to the sides is ridiculous.  Unless you’re packing love handles the size of dinner plates at your obliques, you don’t need the space.

Each shirt in this ongoing series has been tried on in person, photographed, and measured.   Below you’ll find the results of three new brands.

Measurements of all shirts tried on: 15.5 32/33
The Methodology: De-pin, put on, and photograph with right arm hanging relaxed at side to show cloth overflow at waist. Marked where the cloth overflow seemed greatest above the belt-line with a pin. Measured at that point from side seam to side seam to get above the belt line widest point.
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Nordstrom Smartcare Trim Fit French Cuff Dress Shirt – $49.50 | 20 1/2″ at widest

Terrific for a house brand.

It costs twice as much as the Macy’s Alfani Red, but boy do you feel the difference as soon as you put it on.  The fabric is incredibly smooth, thick, but not heavy either.  The tag says it’s 95% cotton, and 5%… organic cotton.  Not sure why they decided to throw 5% organic in there.  For it being a “wrinkle free” shirt it doesn’t feel like it has some kind of coating on it.  It just feels good.  Solid marks all around.  Very slim through the sides.  The one I tried on was a french cuff.  Semi Spread collar.  Also available in a standard button cuff.
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Calibrate Trim Fit Dress Shirt – $69.50 | 20 1/4″ at widest

Meet what the 1MX should aspire to be.

You get what you pay for.  It’s true.  And this thing at $70 shouldn’t really be labeled as “affordable,” but honestly it’s as good as it gets.  EXTREMELY slim through the sides, but not quite as trim as an Express 1mx “fitted”.  Even the circumference of the sleeves feel like they’ve been taken in.  It has just a bit of XLA lastol in it for stretch, and it’s missing a dress shirt standard…  No chest pocket on these.  That’ll please a lot of you.  Semi Spread collar.  Only drawback (other than price) was the sleeve length which seemed just a touch short.  Barely.
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Merona by Target Ultimate Dress Shirt – $19.99 | 21 3/4″ at widest

The budget option... ain't a bad option.

Enough of the over $50 stuff.  If you’re looking for a cheap option, you can get one of these from your local Target for twenty bucks.  They’re not even labeled as trim fit, but as soon as you unfold it you can see the scalloped sides.  Look, it’s not nearly as trim as the Nordstrom or Calibrate, but for $20?  And if you’ll be wearing it under a jacket or blazer?  It’ll be fine.  Get it tailored and it’ll be great.  Semi spread leaning traditional point substantial collar.  Grab some wurkin’ stiffs and it’ll be perfect for that suit with no tie Danny Ocean look.  Another plus:  No friggin’ pins on this one.  Those metal sliding fasteners hold it in folded shape instead.  Not available online… for now.
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Final Grades

Nordstrom Smartcare: A- If it were only a little cheaper..
Calibrate: A- Watch for a sale.  Seriously.
Target Merona: B+ If they ever come out with a slimmer version?  I’m buying seven.

Got any further additions to the slim and fitted dress shirt pile? Leave those in the comments section below.

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Comments

  1. I’m glad you posted a review about the Merona shirts. I found these about 4 months ago and haven’t looked back. They’re definitely worth the $20 and are a well fitting substitute for the more expensive department store brands. Honestly, without tailoring, they fit me a lot better than the Calvin Klein, Alfani, and other brands you’ve mentioned (your experience may differ), and they have a larger selection of patterns. My only gripe is that you do get what you pay for in fabric quality. You can feel cotton/poly blend a bit more on some shirts, but they’re all still visually appealing.

  2. May want to add the John W. Nordstrom Trim Fit Egyptian Cotton shirt and see how it compares to the regular Nordstrom smartcare shirt. Also-in your reviews can you mention if the shirt has box pleats or side pleats? I know some of us hate the box pleat that adds excess fabric down the back.

  3. You should definitely peep the H&M Slim White Dress Shirts that go for around $15.00 when they are on sale. They are easy to iron, very few wrinkles and have a nice trim fit.

  6. I’m also a loyal Merona buyer, but you definitely get what you pay for in terms of build quality. The fabric breaks down after about 9 months. When I say “breaks down,” I mean large tears magically appear in the sleeves.

  7. Check your local Express, they have a big 40% off sale going on. I just bought 3 1MX Fitted dress shirts for only $13 each!

  8. This is the company with one US location and no US online store, right?

    I’ve walked through there and wasn’t really smitten by anything I saw.

  10. Surprising how well the target brand shirt fits. I have a yellow shirt from target by Merona that fits like a glove. The Calibrate would be my choice, however; for $70 I could get one custom made.

  11. Agree on getting one custom made. I bought this one http://biasedcut.com/shirts/the-puris/ for a wedding I was in and was not disappointed. With the $20 credit, you’re looking at $65 for a shirt made to fit you. It does have a central pleat back, for those who aren’t into that sort of thing. Can be a pain to iron, but it’s a unique feature that has grown on me.

  12. I like these posts. Joe, would it be possible to have someone sneak into the changing room with you and snap a few photos? Seeing what the back and collar look like would be helpful.

    Anyone know how the Merona shirts are sized? I’m guessing S/M/L/XL? Would be awesome if they had neck and sleeve options but I’m doubtful which means the sleeves will be too short for me. I’m running to Target tonight so will check them out.

  13. ^ Yes, I’m pretty sure all Merona shirts run S/M/L/XL. I’m definitely going to buy one next time I’m at Target. The consensus opinion seems to be true, they fit very well but the fabric/ construction is average at best. In general, I’m usually very pleased with my Merona purchases – but that doesn’t mean they’re always on par with their more expensive counterparts (quality wise).

    I also second the H&M slim fit dress shirts. At $15, great alternative to Express when you’re in a pinch.

    Final note, that Nordstrom Smartcare line looks GREAT!! I’m now planning to invest in one or two of those, at least.

  14. They are S/M/L/XL. And as far as two people in one fitting room with a camera? Oooh boy. That has arrest worthy written all over it 🙂

  15. Joe – I stumbled across the Calibrate Trim Fit dress shirts about a month ago and was hooked. I snatched a few up during the sale at the end of December.

    Calibrate also has a SLIM fit line, which believe it or not is even better than the Trim Fit; the armholes are higher and the sleeves even thinner. The sides are practically hugging your body but there is some stretch so it isn’t uncomfortable when moving around. There aren’t a lot of colors yet (I think there was only white and light blue) and only some Nordstrom stores carry it, but perhaps it would be a good one for you to try on in a future Dress Shirt Review?

  16. The Target shirts don’t have sleeve lengths its all pretty much standard. So ballpark an XL is typically about 17-17 1/2″ neck with the sleeve length around 36. XXL is 18-18 1/2″ neck with the sleeve length around 36/37.

    I have long arms too and used to buy the Target shirts a few years back (great quality for the cheap price, especially when they go on clearance) but got tired of the short sleeves. BR and Gap shirts come in tall, but the tails are normally so long you cant really wear the shirts outside you pants, and even the slim fit shirts are still fairly baggy in the waist, Imho. No sure if any others which similar issues on here can chime in on where they purchase slim fit shirts for guys with longer arms, excluding custom fits of course.

  17. These roundups are nice, but I wonder if you could do the same for various button-down or casual dress shirts. These always tend to the suit-ish dress shirts, but every day work wear is just as important. I know some of us wear this type of dress shirt every day, but there are probably just as many of us who can dress a bit more casual (but still want to dress nice and have shirts that are tailored fit :)). There are a ton of mall brands that could be compared, not to mention the various brands that show up in Macy’s and Nordstrom.

    Also, congrats Joe. The site sure has grown since my first time here over a year ago. It’s flourished especially well recently with the various promotions and such. Good work! 🙂

  18. Nice idea. I’m in a bit of a 1MX and thrift store pickup rut, so I need to get out there and give some other casual button ups a try. I’ll get on that. And thanks for the kind words Bryan. Hard to believe its been a year. Thanks to everyone for the continued support.

  19. I’ll have to do an “ultra” slim fit review now that Express is doing an ultra slim fit along with Calibrate (thanks w00py). Might be a squeeze since I’m pushin’ it in the Express fitted!

  20. Bryan,
    Express’s casual shirts seem to run pretty slim, unless you get the “classic” fit or whatever. I got a couple of snap-front, casual long sleeve shirts from them that didn’t have any markings about fit, and they fit just as slim if not better than the fitted 1MX dress shirts.
    Also, J Crew’s fitted/tailored/what-have-you casual button downs fit very well, and since you don’t need to button them up for a tie you can get a nice, slim fitting one.

  22. The best casual button-downs I’ve found were at Kohl’s. If you go a size down on their Sonoma Lifestyle brand, you’ve got yourself a very nice slim fitting casual shirt.

  23. The best casual button-downs I’ve found were at Kohl’s. If you go a size down on their Sonoma Lifestyle brand, you’ve got yourself a very nice slim fitting casual shirt.

  25. Yes, they are different. Joe hasn’t reviewed the Slim Fit yet, but speaking from personal experience I have tried both on and the Slim Fit is definitely a slimmer cut.

  27. I like wearing the no iron tailored fit shirts from Lands’ End. They aren’t as fitted as some of the other shirts I’ve tried on but a great looking shirt.

  28. I try shirt of Nordstrom but it makes me sad because i am not satisfied with their fabric quality. Rough Shirts.
    I recomend you all for not doing mistake such like me for buying shirts from Nordstrom.

  30. I bought 2 of the Calibrate slim fit shirts today at Nordstrom Rack on sale for 75% off (less than $20 each).   They are great.  I usually wear a large but XL fits perfectly in these since I have oddly broad shoulders.  I’m a 34/35 sleeve length and the XL was a perfect fit in the sleeve as well.