The art of the shirt... An art often practiced but seldom ironed out. (I have no shame, I know...)

After spending hours upon hours hopelessly lost and confused in the digital labyrinth of shirt information, I started writing about what I'd learned. This short guide is just one of many to come and I hope it serves you well.

Not to put too fine a point on it, I think it's best we begin...

What Shirts Look Best on Men?

Not all torso coverings are made equal.

Some are just made bad. Like, unusably bad.

Others can work perfectly, but only if you're honest with yourself. So grab a mirror and inhale deeply before continuing...

Shirts for Muscles

It's hard to flex in a poncho.

Ideally, shirts for muscle-bound men ought to fit the chest and shoulders first and foremost.

Tailoring to get the best fit might not be optional for some body types as a shirt that fits a huge upper body is likely designed to also accommodate a massive midsection.

Don't sweat it if you keep finding shirts that are perfect up top, but terrible 'down undah'.

You don't have to wear a wafting shirt-dress forever if you make an appointment with a tailor to have the midsection brought in a bit.

Stretchy fabrics are your friends if you want a great fit for a muscular physique.

Going the stretchy route also helps to mitigate the unfortunate wizard-sleeve effect larger shirt sizes often come with. But a tailor can take care of sleeves too!

Casual muscle shirts range from tshirts, tanktops and henleys to athletic wear as well as anything soft enough for your physique to show through it.

Dress shirts for muscular physiques can help to accentuate your best features even in a boardroom.

Shirts for Imperfections

There's nowhere to hide in a muscle shirt.

Shirts with heavier fabrics work best for masking imperfections. Stick with jerseys, polos and the like when dressing down. Dress up with heavier weaves and blends in strong, solid colors.

The fit you get with any shirt centers primarily on the neck and shoulders. The shoulder width of a shirt is especially important as it reputedly cannot be tailored to fit your after the fact, so get that right or you'll be returning your shirts for store credit.

Horizontal stripes add bulk, so don't go there if you want your shirts to make you look slimmer. That being said, lone horizontal striping on your arms can make them look more impressive. Think ringer type tshirts if you are relatively muscular and more heavily ringed options if you aren't.

If your torso is short, choose long, narrow, vertical lines to goose the optics in your favor.

Too long? Try an exaggerated shirt length to reel in your torso height.

If your chest is light on treasure, you can make it look a lot bigger by wearing shirts with solid striping across the chest and panel shirts with color changes at the chest level.

If you are blessed in the chest department, try a v-neck in casual settings or a dinner shirt for slightly more formal occassions.

Shirts for Sophistication

Tank tops don't exactly scream "look at me, I'm high society."

Dress shirts of all types are designed to convey an air of sophistication by default. There really are no but's about it - if you're dressing up, you'll need a dress shirt. Luckily, there are ALOT of types to choose from. More on these in a later installment... (It's a big topic.)

Shirts for Casual Activities

A silk dress shirt fits a day at the mall like a shotgun fits a fist fight.

You don't show up to toss iron at Planet Fitness wearing a tuxedo, do you? Hopefully only once for a good laugh.

Casual shirts should be breathable, flexible, fashionable and, best of all, comfortable to keep on all day.

Tshirts of all stripes fit the bill, as do jerseys, polos and even a few dress shirts in light fabrics like Seersucker and Linen. Oxford and light cotton blends work wonderfully as well.

More to come on shirts, so stay tuned...

Or don't; I only KINDA care.

Read all about the Algerian burnous cloak...

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