Like many other aspects of the men’s dress shirt, the hem is one of those things that a lot of guys usually don’t think much about. The average Joe – yourself included perhaps – may be aware that the shirt he is about to purchase or wear has either a rounded or a square hem, but the difference between these two different kinds of bottoms has probably attracted as much of your attention as your girlfriend’s most recent pedicure.
If this sounds at all familiar, take out a piece of paper right now and add this to your stockpile of (hopefully growing) fashion knowledge: dress shirt hems have a huge impact on whether or not you look casual, stylish, or formal.
Now that we’ve got your mind on the subject, you’ve probably noticed that most long sleeve dress shirts, either off the rack or made to measure, come with a rounded hem – that is, the hem longer in the middle in relation to the sides. This is intended to make your shirt easier to tuck into your trousers, as would be expected during formal situations.
Yet not every shirt with a rounded bottom edge needs to be tucked in. Dress shirts featuring thick collars can look fine untucked provided the hem isn’t too long (say only 3 or 4 inches from the longest part of the hem to the shortest). As a general rule, if the bottom of your shirt hangs down to the middle of thighs, it should be tucked in – unless you’re on your way to an 18th century costume party or trying to bring back the men’s frock look.
While rounded hems can transition from working hours to the weekend pretty easily depending on the way they’re cut and worn, square (non-rounded) hems are decidedly less versatile in this regard and are best regarded as casual wear – hence the reason why you find them on so many shirts designed for bowling and Hawaiian vacations. As such, square hems look best when matched with other relax clothing accoutrement, like short sleeves, thin collars, chest pockets and maybe even epaulettes.
Usually square hemmed shirts, like many T shirts, don’t fall much below the waist – and are typically just long enough to accommodate side vents. But because they’re somewhat shorter than squared hemmed shirts, be sure to use caution if you’re going to be wearing them with low rise jeans or baggy pants – you don’t want people getting an eyeful of your hairy belly when you raise your arms.
Not all hems are created equally and, unbeknownst to most men out there, they actually do have some stylistic, functional purpose. Keep this in mind the next time you head out shopping or visit your tailor.
Tags: Casual Wear, Shirt Hems, Tailoring Options
