J Crew is, of course, a go-to store for many guys when it comes to both casual and dress shirts. For years, though, J Crew has only offered their dress shirts in S/M/L sizing. All “real” shirting companies offer their dress shirts in more exact neck and sleeve measurements, allowing for a more precise, exact, and better fit. When it comes to S/M/L sizing, one often ends up with a shirt that fits great in the neck, but is too long or short in the sleeves — and vice versa. Recently, though, J Crew has, to the delight and surprise of many, started offering a number of their dress shirts in rather extensive neck and sleeve sizing. But are these new shirts any good? And do they actually make finding a well-fitting dress shirt easier and better? We, of course, investigated.

Style, Design, Quality & Construction

Of course, the main point of interest in these shirt is the fit, so we will only spend a moment or two on style, design, quality, and construction, but a few words are still worth being shared on this.

I ordered the “Stretch Ludlow shirt in microcheck” in Lavender. I chose the slim fit, being a tall and thin guy, though more on this in a bit. The shirt is as well-made as any from J Crew. Their Ludlow line is definitely a small cut above some of their more casual stuff, and this shirt’s fabric is very nice. It’s super smooth, very comfortable, and has the perfect, slightest hint of stretch. I really love these new technical fabrics that companies have been using, especially when they do a great job incorporating it into a dressier garment without reducing the dressiness at all. That is exactly what J Crew has done here.