Unless you’re a committed nudist, chances are you wear a shirt in some form or another every day of your life. And we’re not just talking business shirts here, we’re talking T-shirts, casual button-downs, rollnecks and perspiration-beating undershirts. Considering this, we should all be fluent in whether to wear every shirt iteration tucked or untucked – and yet you’ll see plenty of guys on the street get it disastrously wrong.
Tucking or untucking different types of shirts immediately gives them not only a different structure, but also a different vibe when it comes to formality. And while a few types of shirt work both ways, some should always be worn one way for optimal style.
Take a look in your wardrobe and then check what the best way to wear each type of shirt you own is below…
Tucked or untucked? Untucked (but tucked if wearing formally).
Unless you want to look like your dad on his downtime, a T-shirt should always be untucked when worn causally. However, we have one crucial caveat – if you’re planning on wearing a T-shirt more formally under your tailroing, tuck it in. This will immediately look smarter.
Tucked or untucked? Untucked (but potentially tucked too).
Polo shirts are, as a rule, cut shorter for wearing untucked. That said, if you’re the kind of guy who goes hard on a preppy look, you could potentially tuck it in Take Ivy-style too (especially if it has a longer hemline at the back) – but, fair warning, this only tends to look good on guys with seriously flat stomachs.
Casual shirt/Oxford button-down
An Oxford shirt with a button-down collar is perhaps the most versatile shirt you can own. Not only are they often slimmer-fitting than their more formal shirting brothers (tapered in at the waist), but they they are generally cut to a length which is both long enough will stay tucked into your trouser and short enough to wear outside of them.
Tucked or untucked? Tucked. At all times.
Whether you pray at the altar of the slim-fit formal shirt or not, all formal (or “business”) shirts are specifically cut longer so they don’t come untucked during a day of standing up and sitting down at desks. Trust us, an untucked formal shirt will just look odd.
Tucked or untucked? Tucked.
If you’re wearing a T-shirt as a insulating (or sweat-stain preventing) layer that is not intended to be seen, then always tuck your shirt in. Top tip: tucking it into your underwear is the best way to keep an undershirt in place under another shirt (and this is the only time this practice is acceptable, grandpa).
Tucked or untucked? Untucked (but tucked if wearing formally).
Unless you have an eight-pack, you should always avoid tucking in jumpers (especially thick, chunky knits) – doing this will add bulk at your waistline. However, much like T-shirts, a thin-gauge roll neck is becoming an ever-more popular shirt alternative with a suit. In this case, tucking it in will make the knit look far more formal.