A reader question:
Dear Muffy,
May I ask the readership a question please
I have always worn my shirts tucked in whether wearing trousers, khakis, chinos or shorts and would never feel comfortable doing otherwise. However there seems to be a preponderance of men nowadays who clearly don't think like me and wear their shirts untucked, which personally I don't think is a good look (I know there are shirts designed to be untucked but I've never owned any as I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing them). What do the readers think? Are you tucked or untucked?
Kind regards
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My 4 year old grandson told me this past summer that " someone my age (63) should tuck in their shirt"...I always follow sound fashion advice.
ReplyDeleteYour grandson is very wise for someone so young! My only deviation from that rule is wearing a "cuban" collared shirt with swim shorts.
DeleteIt's a hard question to answer. Most shirts are of a cut that was conceived to be tucked in under trousers, and only show down to the level of the wearer's natural waist. But trousers these days are still cut much lower than they were when the modern men's shirt came to be, and other coverings such as sport coats or blazers are much less in daily use. Without a covering, and when extended to the hip line, shirts tend to bunch up under the tension of trouser fastening, which not many consider a flattering look. But shirts that are simply cut shorter have their own drawbacks, such as riding up as the wearer moves, and don't offer much of a shape in silhouette.
ReplyDeleteOne attempt to address this challenge is the "French tuck," where only the front corners of the shirt are tucked into the low waistband, leaving the sides and back loose. It can provide a breezy look but is probably too time-sensitive a trend for most readers of this blog. Another option is to switch out a woven top for a knit one, as a fabric with some basic give-and-gather at its hem will better seek the wearer's natural waist on its own, and obviate the issue.
My unqualified answer to the question of "tucked or untucked" is: wear a knit, wear a jacket, or wear high-waisted pants. Or shrug it off and leave it out.
I truly do not understand what you were trying to express.
DeleteA hard question to answer? The "French tuck"? I'm not sure I should say what I'm thinking at the moment!
DeleteThis sounds like you're giving mom jeans a green light.
DeleteI'm stunned by the negative responses to this comment, which in fact provides the correct answer. Men's trousers used to fasten at the natural waist (i.e. on top of the hip bones). In addition to being much more comfortable than today's hip-huggers, the higher waist kept shirts tucked in and balanced the proportions of the male body. People who think hip-huggers are comfortable have probably never worn a traditional trouser, which drapes loosely from the waist without pinching or binding and prevents shirts from bunching up. Men who were portly enough not to have a waist wore suspenders, which are also very comfortable when worn correctly.
DeleteIn any case, Brendan is correct. A gentleman today who wants to be well and comfortably dressed has a choice. 1) Be brave enough to expose a waistline that is cut higher than your low-rider peers, knowing that the pendulum will swing back to sanity and commonsense in men's clothes eventually. Or, 2) wear a jacket, sweater, and/or vest that covers the waistline.
You can see Cary Grant correctly demonstrating all of these techniques here: https://www.classiccriticscorner.com/classic-movies/cary-grant-to-catch-a-thief-clothes-10-life-changing-outfits
Wearing and old frayed Brooks OCBD while sanding antifouling off the hull or treak while wearing old shorts or khakis - untucked ok. All else tucked.
ReplyDeleteUnless at the beach (Outer Banks), on the Chesapeake, or Progresso (Yucatan) when it's H-O-T hot, almost always tucked with a belt of some kind unless it's a Rugby or short-sleeved three-button Polo pull-over.
ReplyDeleteSeptember Regards,
Heinz-Ulrich
Always tucked.
ReplyDeleteIf untucked, a regular OCBD or similarly cut shirt. Pretend you are still young. Leave the collar buttons and the bottom button on the placket undone. Roll up the sleeves. Shirts designed to be worn untucked are just weird.
ReplyDeleteAt this point, it's a personal choice, as styles have definitely changed, but the man with his shirt tucked in will always look properly and classically dressed.
ReplyDeleteT U C K E D - unless you are trailer park trash - - and then it does not matter.
ReplyDeleteI agree with anonymous 10:11. Quite a stark contrast to the post that follows it. One of them is a post by a gentleman or a lady.
DeleteThank you. Signed, Anon 10:11
DeleteThat's very unkind and unprep.
DeleteTo me, it's purely dependent on the situation. At work, at church, a nice dinner out, et cetera - yeah, I'm tucking in my shirt. But if I'm just knocking around the house, running out to the hardware store, or watching my daughter play soccer, then I don't think there's anything wrong with untucked as long as the shirt tails aren't comically long. Honestly, just wearing a shirt with buttons these days is considered a step up, tucked or untucked.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree with this. Tucked for dinner out, church, kids recitals, untucked with shorts at the oceanside clam shack.
DeleteThe other day, I drove over and picked up my niece at her private middle school, wearing a pair of Levi’s, Sperry Docksiders and an old, white OCBD with the shirttail out, frayed collar and rolled up sleeves. She stared at me horrified and exclaimed: “Why are you SO dressed up?” Go figure. My point is, no one knows “THE RULES” any more. Just wear what feels comfortable and appropriate for the situation you find yourself in. It’s America. Freedom, it’s still a thing.
ReplyDeleteGimme a break. No one is saying you don't have the freedom to wear what you want to wear.
Delete"Being a drama queen, it's still a thing."
Delete"Tuck in the shirt, tuck in the shirt" my son (now 18) used to laugh at home when coming home form school (The British School of Warsaw). So, he is tucking in.
ReplyDeleteExcept for the linen shirt in the summer time. Same us, parents.
We were on a flight to Greece in August. The degree of head to toe dishevelment of our fellow travelers was astounding.
ReplyDeletePut me in the camp of unless you are on the beach, repairing something, or mowing/gardening, a men's OCBD shirt should be tucked in (same for linen shirts).
Agree. But we do exception for linen shirt (not in the evening, obviously).
DeleteBut yes, one feels overdressed nearly everywhere.
I assume we're talking about shirts with a collar and buttons down the front; golf/polo/rugby/henley collar shirts, never tucked in. In the office, with a suit/jacket/blazer, at a casual event that's on the nicer side, tucked. Casual, social, beach, yardwork, untucked.
ReplyDeleteIn the economy (D) of the past three years, a person is just lucky to still have a shirt (tucked or untucked), and a pair of pants to make that decision with.
ReplyDeleteApparently for some people it's impossible to just suggest a solution to a sartorial issue without injecting one's reactionary partisan politics into it—nothing a gentleman would have even considered.
DeleteI agree with Anonymous
DeleteStick to shirts and pants - and perhaps consider a better investment advisor. 2020-24 has been better than 2016-20 in that regard.
DeleteI go untucked when wearing a camp shirt or polo with shorts. That's it. And only a shirt with a straight hem should be worn untucked. People today are pigs. Men who wear dress-type shirts untucked are revolting. But the untucked shirt does go well with the tattoos and ugly goatees, completing the look, especially if the man also wears shoes with a narrow squared-off toe that curls upward.
ReplyDeleteCan I offer you a Valium?
Delete"Pigs?" Seriously? Are you off your meds, sis? Or have you just accidentally wandered onto a page that's above your budget?
DeleteHi "Sled Parrafin," first off, calling them "dress-type shirts" is the sign of a pure deep-fried rube. Also, you've misspelled "Paraffin."
DeleteThere are places in this country where one is surrounded by people wearing tanktops, tattoos, cargo pants, strange hairstyles, and crocs. They drive from strip mall to strip mall in obscenely oversized pickup trucks chasing the latest theme restaurant. They may not be Porky Pig. But nonetheless they make one feel they are living in a cartoon show.
DeleteFerd here. Sled, I am seriously offended by your amateurish attempt at copy-cat. Whilst the question posed by our dear Muffmeister is a tad retorichal, that doesn't give you license to write what you wrote. I have decided to allow you to apologize to all of Muffatola's acolytes. You have 24 hours before my sharpened pen takes over.
DeleteAlong with conventions such as tucking in shirts, conventions regarding civility and politeness have in the main been abandoned, and this thread demonstrates this change. Taking the time to express incivility of any sort is sad.
ReplyDeleteYES
DeleteYou boys are somewhat hysterical about such a trivial thing and the name calling "pigs", "trailer park trash". Leben und leben lassen.
ReplyDeleteWow! This got ugly quick! Is this really something you folks want to get so emotional over? Lighten up
ReplyDeleteI'm always intrigued when an innocently asked question veers off to such an extent that it's hard to remember what the original question was! (By the way I tuck my shirts in)
ReplyDeleteBack in my 20s, I thought tucking in my shirt made me look fuddy-duddy. Now in my 40s, I feel like a total schlub unless I tuck my shirt in.
ReplyDeleteOne exception? Those summer days that take the mercury past 90ºF, I'm wearing shorts and definitely not tucking in my shirt.
I tuck my shirt tails into my undies, and ignore comments. The elastic keeps the fit tight and unwrinkled.
ReplyDeleteI always tuck my shirt. Unless there is a good reason not to (heat, yard work, etc.).
ReplyDeleteWe still do things the way we have done for generations and we do not bother with “fashion” or “style”. We wear classic clothing, and we look sharp, not sloppy. Another “defect” is we never bothered to figure out denim, so we just don’t wear any.
ReplyDeleteSome people figure out denim fairly early in life. A year or two after college we were frolicking in the North Shore surf wearing denim. Our pants became wet from the knee down. I realized they would take all day to dry. I decided then and there to go full time with faster drying cotton chinos. I never looked back.
ReplyDeleteI prefer my shirt tucked as it looks better proportionally to my build and appears neater. However, there are days, like the weekend, when I enjoy a more casual look, like 501s with an OCBD and loafers.
ReplyDeleteAs a side note, I'm surprised and disappointed by some of the unkind and snarky comments regarding such a trivial sartorial topic. Very unprep, indeed.
Some of y'all need to dislodge that stick from your tailpipe. It's perfectly fine to wear a casual shirt untucked -- especially if it's a casual short sleeve shirt and you're wearing shorts. It's almost mandatory if, like me, you live in a place with 20-50 days of 100-degree heat each summer. Trust me, a stinky, sweat-soaked shirt is far worse than an untucked shirt.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm not a trailer park pig.
I'm a huge fan of a tucked in shirt. However, I am in South Florida where it's roughly 90 degrees plus (and HUMID!!) from Spring Training to Halloween. So, my shirt is untucked quite often with some 5-7" inseam shorts (sleeves rolled up of course!). In Florida, unfortunately, it's polos made of synthetic fibers, 13" inseam shorts, and some wonderful HeyDude "loafers". Really, if someone down here is wearing something that IS trad, I take notice for sure.
ReplyDeleteI hear you neighbor. My uniform is a linen shirt (untucked), chino shorts, and deck shoes. I haven't worn socks since early May. I also wear a big straw fedora and some Wayfarer knock-offs if I have to walk more than a 100 yards in The Oven.
DeleteThere is a time, and place for both schools of thought. But those lines should not be crossed!
ReplyDeleteWhat you wear reflects who you are and your values.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness that denim was also mentioned as sloppy as untucked shirts with exceptions noted. To add insult to injury are jeans that are ripped up.
ReplyDeletePretty simple, I think. If a shirt has a tail (like a button down), it should be tucked in. If the hem is square (like an aloha shirt) it should be untucked. Polo shirts are a grey area.
ReplyDeleteBut, of course, there can be exceptions. I sometimes where an old OCBD to the beach as a cover-up in the summer. I don't tuck it into my bathing suit. :)