The perfect shirt: American Apparel’s Oxford?
I’m always on the lookout for the perfect dress shirt. Cubicle work demands I have a fresh one every day. Stupid cube. Anyway, I’ve written before about the great fits of the shirts at Uniqlo, Steven Alan, and H&M. Last month, American Apparel debuted their take on the mainstay of office attire, the Unisex Pinpoint Oxford Button-Up Shirt ($54).
Up until now, American Apparel’s specialty has been kitschy ‘80-inspired sportswear (though that may be giving the overpriced scraps of stretchy cotton too much credit). So I didn’t have high hopes for their first foray into slightly more dressy, tailored territory. But overall, I’m pretty pleased with the result. The casual nature of the Oxford is a good fit with their brand. And the construction of the shirt appears solid. But what sold me is the perfect fit of the XS size — for my height and body type (5-foot-5, slim).
First off, the hem is fairly high (I estimate about 26″ in total length) so you could wear this shirt untucked, but there’s enough fabric to tuck in, as well. Shoulders are fairly narrow. There’s absolutely no blousing effect around the torso. And the collar is fairly small (I’d guess about a 15, though you would probably wear it unbuttoned). The best part is the sleeve length; it hit perfectly at my wrists. (The sleeves are shorter than their XS counterparts at Uniqlo and H&M). Probably the shortest off-the-rack sleeves I’ve seen in awhile.
I think we have the “Unisex” nature of American Apparel to thank for the sizing and cut of this shirt. Sizes range from XXS to 2XL, and my theory is that the XXS and XS were probably manufactured with women buyers in mind — hence the smaller-than-usual sleeves etc. (the Small seemed to be a significant jump up in size). But that’s not to say that they look at all feminine. They’re all normal-looking Oxfords, so you should feel totally comfortable in them.
I only have a few quibbles:
September 29th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
So the quest continues for a short-enough sleeve dress shirt?
I’m 5′6 and need a roughly 30″ sleeve length, absolutely impossible to find and can’t yet afford custom tailored clothing. Just stumbled upon your website a few weeks back and RSS’ed you. Look forward to any discoveries!
September 30th, 2008 at 7:43 am
i wonder how much smaller is the xxs… will have to check it out.
Thanks for the tip mate.
September 30th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
I came across the oxfords at American Apparel recently, but was put off by the high-ish price and ended up not even trying one on. Maybe I should take another look; sounds like the XS could be just right for me. (I tried an XXS polo from AA and it was way too narrow in the shoulders for even me, and I’m hardly wide.)
September 30th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
Yeah, most of the other stuff at AA (t-shirts, polos) is not only ridiculously skinny but it’s also crazy long. Terrible combination. I’m not really sure who can wear that stuff. But yeah, the XS Oxford worked for me…
September 30th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
i’m intrigued. maybe i should go and try one on. but yes i agree that it seems a bit pricey. $29 buys you a shirt on sale at charles tyrwhitt. i then have it altered by my tailor for $12. still ends up cheaper.
but short shrifted hasn’t failed me so far, so yes i will go and try one on. thanks, josh.
October 1st, 2008 at 1:18 am
Hi, Josh. This is my first time at your site, and I think it’s a great resource for a slim, 5′6″-er like me. Looking forward to future posts. Keep up the good work!
October 2nd, 2008 at 11:46 am
The AA oxford looks good – but like you stated the price may not justify the purchase. Have you tried the XS/XXS dress shirts from Topman? They just launched a US site and I’m going to pick up a few this week.
Are there any other retailers that carry those sizes? I’m 5′3″ and skinny.
This is a great site – thanks for everything.
October 3rd, 2008 at 7:48 am
I tried on a Small or X-Small TopMan T-shirt I saw t my local Salvation Army recently. It was definitely small but fit me in a weird way. But it didn’t diminish my potential interest in TopMan. A lot of readers have mentioned it to me. Anyway, they were supposed to debut a bricks-and-mortar store in NYC this month, but the latest on that is that it’s been pushed back to early next year. If you get anything, please let us know what you think of the fit. Thanks
October 7th, 2008 at 12:07 am
re: topman, i’m a HUGE fan of their tailored (slim/skinny) pants. they fit perfectly; absolutely no need for alterations. quality does seem questionable though, and they’re not wool, but for $40-50, they’re fine by me.
i have a topman XS dress shirt, and they’re just a bit too snug on me (5′5″ 125), especially at the waist (and i don’t have a gut.. but i’m not really cut either, so maybe that’s just it). too bad, because everything else is great, including the perfect arm hole and sleeve length.
no NYC store, but the US website is up and running (with free shipping for the first order).