Shirt in or out of pants? That’s the question!

Lost on how to wear your man shirt? Shirt out or tucked in the pants? On what occasions? Do you feel like you’re stuck when you wear it in, floating like a buoy, or have a tiny bust? And the feeling of being too «cool» compared to the context when you wear it out of your pants? Don’t panic, we’ll help you solve the problem. What counts above all is not your morphology which does not fit the shirt but the length of the shirt itself. And of course the context in which you operate.

1. The shirt tucked in the men’s pants

The formal shirt, worn with a suit, is designed long enough to fit in the pants… and must be! Wearing a shirt that comes out of the suit pants risks trampling the professional image that you give your company... Conversely, a shirt tucked in the suit pants is synonymous with seriousness and respect for your interlocutor. The only situation in which one can possibly accept a shirt out of the suit pants is the end of a party or a well-watered wedding …

These formal shirts are recognizable at the bottom of their liquette both long and round. They have to get under your buttocks to prevent them from coming out too easily at the slightest movement. To fit your shirt in your pants, the ideal is to leave the fly open, tuck the shirt completely in the pants by pulling all around, then close the fly at the end. Make sure the shirt is tight and held from all sides. You are sure to get an impeccable shirt, very smooth, without bad folds or floats on the belt and therefore a structured outfit.

Conversely, the man’s shirt should not be too long for you not to be embarrassed. Don’t hesitate to wear a belt that always goes well with the costume/shirt duo and «finishes» the silhouette.

As a rule, these formal shirts are made of poplin, twill or thread. We choose them plain, striped or with small tiles in discrete tones and we match them with a tie or a bow tie depending on the event.

If you want a slightly more relaxed outfit but despite everything professional, as part of Friday wear for example, you can wear your shirt tucked in good quality raw jeans with a nice belt and a navy blue blazer. 

Apart from a too formal frame, on weekends for example, you can wear colored chinos, unbutton a few buttons of the shirt, carefully roll up the sleeves at the forearm and/or choose a Mao collar. The idea is to «play down» the seriousness brought by the fabric of the shirt. Complete with a pair of sunglasses and the trick is done!

2. The shirt out of the man pants

Conversely, the casual shirt is often designed shorter, too short in any case to be tucked into the pants while being comfortable. So we’re wearing this shirt out of our pants. The front and back have the same length, with a straight or rounded bottom that stops under the belt to allow you to keep freedom of movement. If you still insist on wearing it tucked in your pants, you will soon be faced with the problem of the shirt that comes out on one side, which “floats” and that you must constantly put back in your pants with each untimely movement.

Even with a shirt out of the trousers (and well ironed!), we keep elegance by associating it with good quality pants. In general, these shirts are in oxford fabric, linen, and jeans. They have a more casual collar than the formal shirt. 

Remember that you never associate a blazer with a shirt out of the pants, under penalty of muddying the tracks between the relaxed side of the shirt and the formal side of the blazer. It’s all about harmony.

Worn on jeans, the shirt out of the pants will bring you a more informal style and on a short a holiday look.

For a «weekend» style, you can also wear it open on a white tee-shirt. Ideally choose shirts of dark color that the white of your T-shirt will highlight. If the shirt is very long, the T-shirt that marks the size limit will avoid the impression of a too long bust and shortened legs. Of course the shirt should always be shorter than the shirt, at the risk of giving the impression that your man shirt is too small for you.

You can also wear this too long shirt tucked in the pants to avoid having a bust that looks too big compared to your figure. To emphasize the casual side you can for example combine a leather belt and roll up the sleeves. Don’t forget to tuck the shirt in to avoid wrinkles.

So shirt in or not? You have all the leads in this article!