Why does my husband always rip his dress shirts at the elbow?

[Anonymous]

I feel like this is so random that only the collective wisdom of DCUM can possibly help me out.

Over and over again my husband ruins his dress shirts by somehow ripping them at the elbow. It's as though his arms are too long or his elbows are too pointy or something. He has wrecked 7 or 8 shirts in the last few months. We've tried different brands and buying bigger shirts.

What am I missing here?

[Anonymous]

This happens to my husband. In his case it comes from leaning his elbow when working at the desk or computer.

[Anonymous]

And from sleeves that are too short.

If his shirts are sized "L," "XL," etc., the sleeves are proportioned too short. He needs them individually sized (e.g., 16 neck / 35 sleeve), and he needs them longer than they are now.

[Anonymous]

he needs to switch to short sleeves and bowties

[Anonymous]

Send him to Jos A. Bank to get a proper fitting shirt .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Send him to Jos A. Bank to get a proper fitting shirt .

LOL.

Yes, he needs to switch to shirts with arm and neck size.

[Anonymous]

also the quality of the shirt matters. i started seeing them on some new shirts i bought and noticed it didn't happen on others.

quality matters

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:he needs to switch to short sleeves and bowties

OP here. Oh what I would do to see this....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Send him to Jos A. Bank to get a proper fitting shirt .

LOL.

Yes, he needs to switch to shirts with arm and neck size.

You all really have to get snarky on a thread about my husband's dress shirts? Seriously, get a life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And from sleeves that are too short.

If his shirts are sized "L," "XL," etc., the sleeves are proportioned too short. He needs them individually sized (e.g., 16 neck / 35 sleeve), and he needs them longer than they are now.

I know it's cheaper for manufacturers, but S-M-L-XL dress shirts suck unless you're a clone of the fit model used.

[Anonymous]

If he bends his arm while he is wearing one of these shirts, does the cuff slide up and then stop when it meets a larger portion of his arm? If he bends his arm past that point the elbow would be putting pressure on the fabric. Solution- either longer sleeves or unbutton the cuff.

[Anonymous]

I have the very same issue with my left elbow and have ripped well over a dozen quality shirts. Name the brand and my left elbow has gone through it. I have tried longer sleeve legnth, larger size and yet it continues. Almost all of my shirts are either Joseph Banks, Eagle, Brooks Brothers, etc. Most times I never even button the sleeve so I have room for the shirt to slide but the rips continue. Anyone have a solution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And from sleeves that are too short.

If his shirts are sized "L," "XL," etc., the sleeves are proportioned too short. He needs them individually sized (e.g., 16 neck / 35 sleeve), and he needs them longer than they are now.

I know it's cheaper for manufacturers, but S-M-L-XL dress shirts suck unless you're a clone of the fit model used.

Yep. I think this sleeves might be too tight as well?

DH has to get all of his dress shirts made by a tailor. It's not as expensive as it seems. He gets them for $35 overseas while traveling, but it's about $65 here in DC. Well worth it. DH is tall, athletic and his arms are long (even has trouble with XL sleeves). It's a mess trying to buy him dress shirts or suits off the rack.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have the very same issue with my left elbow and have ripped well over a dozen quality shirts. Name the brand and my left elbow has gone through it. I have tried longer sleeve legnth, larger size and yet it continues. Almost all of my shirts are either Joseph Banks, Eagle, Brooks Brothers, etc. Most times I never even button the sleeve so I have room for the shirt to slide but the rips continue. Anyone have a solution.

This is weird! Is your skin on your elbow very dry? Maybe too rough for the shirts?

[Anonymous]

My husband has had the same thing happen (and they were Brooks Brothers shirts, so not cheap) and we think it's b/c of the no-iron crap they're now treating the shirts with. They rip straight down the crease.