How To Measure For Clergy Shirts

• Wrap a cloth measuring tape around your neck, just above the base of the neck, where the neck meets the shoulders. Keep two fingers between your neck and the tape. The tape should be snug yet allow for movement.
• Another option is to measure the collar of a shirt that fits well. To do this, take the measuring tape and measure from the center of the button, all the way around to the far end of the button hole.
• Size = The measurement in inches. Always round up; i.e. if your measurement is 16 ¼” you will round up to 16 ½”. Most shirts are available in half sizes; certain sizes are not available in half sizes but move up inch by inch. If this is the case, you will still round up. If necessary, it is easier to have a tailor in your area take in a collar slightly, rather than take it out, so you will want to choose the larger size.

• Bend your arm and place your hand at your natural hip. You do not want to measure a straight arm; like pant legs, sleeves appear longer when the arm is straight and seem to shorten when the arm is bent. You will want your shirt to allow for bending and moving the arm with ease.
• Have someone measure from the middle of the back of your neck (the point where the top of your spine meets the neck) around the shoulder, along the arm, around the elbow and down to the wrist bone. This is the sleeve length.
• Some men opt to add an inch to the above sleeve length, so they measure to one inch past the wrist bone. This allows them the comfort of knowing the sleeve will be long enough for their own comfort level, but that is a matter of preference.
• You can also measure a well-fitting dress shirt. To do so, fold the sleeve at a 90 degree angle at the elbow and measure from middle back of the collar down to the end of the cuff.

• Wrap the tape around the thickest part of your bicep. As with the neck measurement, insert two fingers under the tape. The measurement here should be loose, not too snug. You want to allow flexibility while wearing the shirt. A too-tight sleeve can be very uncomfortable and limit movement.

• To measure the chest, the tape should be wrapped around the widest/thickest part of your chest. Once again, insert a few fingers under the tape. You do not want a tight shirt. Err on the side of caution; you can always have a shirt tailored if you want it to be snug, but a shirt can’t be let out more than the amount of fabric in the final product.

• Have someone stand behind and begin with the tape measure at the base of your neck, where the collar meets the body of the shirt. Measure the distance to the point where your buttocks ends and your legs begin.

• This is the distance from shoulder seam to shoulder seam. You want to use the tape measure and have someone measure from the end of one shoulder to the end of the other. You will want to measure just below the top “plane” of your shoulder, at the point where the curvature of the back and shoulder meeting is most pronounced. Round up to the next half inch, or if you prefer a looser shirt, up to the nearest inch. You want to allow for room to roll the shoulders, move your arms up and down, etc. If you measure shoulder-to-shoulder at the point of the straightest line across the top “plane,” it will likely be too narrow for comfort.

• Measure at the level of the naval. Once again, tuck a few fingers under tape and measure loosely. You want the shirt to fit comfortably.