Gift T-shirts for Her

Published on December 10 2015

When geeks groups or events, such as technical conferences, user groups, etc. produce t-shirts as “swag” for attendees, to sell to members or to promote stuff such as software or online services, those t-shirts are often produced in straight-cut sized only. On the exceptional occasions that fitted t-shirts are provided, only smaller sizes are generally available.

Fitted vs. straight-cut shirts

There are two foremost styles of t-shirts available: straight cut, often known as “men’s” and fitted cut, also known as “women’s”.

A straight-cut shirt has wide shoulders and a body which is nearly square. The side seems, downward from the armpit to the hem, are completely straight and perpendicular to the hem.  The sleeves are usually cut loose and are fairly long when measured from the shoulder seam to the cuff.

A fitted-cut t-shirt has a curved side seam which comes in at waist and goes out at the upper and lower ends, to make room for curvy hips and chest areas. The shoulders are also cut narrower, and the sleeves are shorter and more fitted comparative to the straight-cut shirt.

HO HO HO Funny Women's T-Shirt Santa Christmas Holidays Ugly Tee Shirt

HO HO HO Funny Women's T-Shirt Santa Christmas Holidays Ugly Tee Shirt

A worked example:

  • When a woman with a curvy body wears a straight-cut t-shirt, she has to choose a size which fits her widest point. Say she has a 44 inches waist: she’ll probably choose a men’s L or there about, which has a 44 inches bounds measured at chest level.
  • The sleeves are quite long perhaps about 6-8 inches and so will go down to almost the elbows from the dropped shoulders.
  • A woman with 44 inches chest may have slightly wider hips, and so this shirt will fit tightly around the hips, and may roll up around the waist because of this.
  • Choosing a larger sized shirt to fit at the hips will make worse the bagginess at the waist, the dropped shoulder effect, and the long saggy sleeves.
  • Choosing a smaller size to reduce bagginess will make the shirt pull tight crossways the bust, and may make it attach uncomfortably at the underarms or raise the neckline so that the collar constricts the throat. 
Different Collection of Unique Women T-shirt
Different Collection of Unique Women T-shirt
Different Collection of Unique Women T-shirt

Different Collection of Unique Women T-shirt

Sizing issues

Fitted t-shirts are usually made in a narrower range of sizes than straight-cut shirts, and larger sizes are hard to find.

Many women who like better-fitted shirts are thus forced to make an unpleasant choice:

  • Wearing a too small shirt, emphasising the breasts, or
  • Wearing an ill-fitting straight-cut shirt

In addition to having a small range of chest size, fitted shirts often have issues with length: even more than straight-cut shirts, fitted shirts often suppose that all wearers are the same height; also; many fitted shirts are cut short.

T-shirt Designs

Sometimes, the printed design of t-shirts can have implication for women.

For example:

  • Text or images around the chest area of a shirt draw attention to that part.
  • Vertical lines in the breast area will not become visible straight up and down.
  • Some designs draw attention to the nipples.

Written by Margaret Fiona

Published on #T-shirt, #Women T-shirts, #Gift T-shirts, #T-shirt Design

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