skirtcafe.org

Hi

In browsing ads and the thrift store I often see women's tops and blouses that I would like to wear, but those darn darts! Has anyone found any feminine tops that looks ok on a guy without them?

No.

I have a few, but the issue for me is the length. To be long enough in the torso is about a 2X in a womens, which means the fit is, err, "capacious."

I almost never find women's tops that fit me comfortably, not only due to torso length as noted above but also beer gut circumference. If I get a top that fits around my excessive belly, the upper half billows like a tent around my flat chest. My choices are either to not bother buying it, let it flap around me (only my wife and I ever have to look at it anyway), or take a couple hours at the sewing machine to bring the excess fabric in.

The other problem with ladies' tops, when they are long-sleeved, is that our arms are (very generally speaking; of course there are exceptions) a few inches longer than those of the fairer sex. As a result, sleeves that look wonderful on a model in the catalog end halfway between elbow and wrist on a man. If the cuff on the sleeve is loose enough, that's not necessarily a problem but non-stretch, closely-fit cuffs can bite into the skin. On RARE occasions I've had the patience and the luck to find matching material so I can extend the sleeve, but there's no way to hide the stitches so it looks like a Frankenstein creation. Again, not so bad when only Mrs. Ralph has to look at it.

I wear them occasionally, nobody notices, as long as they're not pink or something like that.

scooterskirt wrote:I wear them occasionally, nobody notices, as long as they're not pink or something like that.

Nothing wrong with pink, I regularly see other men wearing pink tops. I also have a couple of pink formal shirts, a few pink t-shirts, and a few pink and a few cerise polo shirts.

Body shapes and sizes are the main reason why it is impractical for most men to wear tops designed for women, mainly our broad shoulders, and as pointed out above, arm length.

I have a number of shirts with buttons on the left. I am short and they often fit better than those with buttons on the right. The half-sleeves that have replaced short sleeves in most men's shirts come past my elbow. But some left-buttoned shirts are too tight at the shoulders, or are for thinner arms.
(I don't see how to post more than one picture with a post, or I'd show a few more.)

Jim wrote:(I don't see how to post more than one picture with a post, or I'd show a few more.)

Up to three attachments can be put up with a single posting; one merely repeats the process for each and either places them in-line or leaves them for the end as desired.

I have a few women's-styled blouses, and they tend to work reasonably well, even though my blouse-size seems to be a 2X where my skirt size is a 14. Go figure.

Sleeve length is a problem, but the darts are a blessing. I've got a moderately narrow waist for my size, and most men's shirts -- even the "fitted" ones -- fit me like tents with huge billows of material causing visual problems and tucking hassles around in back. I'm seriously thinking of taking a couple of my no-longer-fit-for-work shirts and putting darts into them to improve the fit. I am entirely fed up with tents!

Yes,
American and German shirts are made for the shape of most of them....fat, but they don't provide loops for the tent pegs required to secure the mile-long bottom hem!

In the UK/Ireland it is possible to buy 'slim fit' shirts which are a gift for me. Sleeve length is directly proportional to the cost of the shirt, in that cheap supermarket brands skimp on the sleeves.

Thread drift here, I'm talking of Mens' shirts.

Tom

I too like women's tops but keep away from the form fit ones as they tend to be shorter as mentioned and taken in for a smaller waist. I tend to look for t-shirt type shape with a high neck line. Many tops have low necklines to show off a cleavage that men don't have, only the top part of a hairy chest ( for those that have one ). In fact there are whole classes of women's tops that are basically unisex and mainly geared to the female sex by using either frills or pattern such as flowers. I take each top on its own merit. Size is not just a black art - it's a complete enigma. I'm a 42 chest which can result in a top size of anywhere from 16 to 22 and in the M-L system generally around the XL, XXL or even XXXL. Go figure!

I did mention this in another thread somewhere.

I have not tried women's tops since I am not sure which size to try, but I would like to find a cropped jacket or blazer to go with a skirt I have and some new legging style pants.

dillon wrote:I have not tried women's tops since I am not sure which size to try, but I would like to find a cropped jacket or blazer to go with a skirt I have and some new legging style pants.

Women's tops are a crap-shoot at best -- trial by fitting room.

For cropped jackets, if you have military-surplus suppliers in your are and they have things dating back 50 years or so, go for an "Ike jacket" (as in Eisenhower) or a "bomber jacket" which were cut to fall at the waist instead of the hips. I would love to get one of those that might fit me. I had my grand-dad's one, and had the sleeves let out on it, and it was positively amazing. However, the onslaught of years took its toll and it's gone, just like the Korean War-era great-coat which kept my carcass warm in horrid conditions in the 1990s...

(A long skirt poking out from the Korean War coat would have been a conversation piece in and of itself. Ah, the opportunities lost.)

I'm a small guy and have been wearing made for women tops for years. I buy all of mine from Lands' End. They have a sizing chart for tops that includes sleeve and body length and chest circumference. They make some of their shirts in tall for higher price. Their regulars are ok for me as far as length goes, but the talls stay more securely tucked.

skirted_in_SF wrote:... They make some of their shirts in tall for higher price. Their regulars are ok for me as far as length goes, but the talls stay more securely tucked.

That's the answer for me: buy tall sizes. That addresses torso length and sleeve length. I prefer to try on clothes in the store, but often the stores don't carry the tall sizes. So I sometimes order on line.

There are plenty of sources for falls, including specialists like Tall Girl.