How To Buy Dress Shirts For Tall Men?

Outfitting Matthew Tullis used to be a tall order.

At 6 foot 7 inches tall, he frequented the big and tall dress shirt departments of local retailers in West Jordan, Utah, just outside of Salt Lake City. But even when the size seemed right, the look was all wrong.

"I'd go to Nordstrom's or some other store and tell the clerk my neck size and sleeve length, 16 and a half neck and 37 sleeve, and I'd always have trouble with the shirt. I'm a thin person, and the shirts weren't made for people like me, so either the sleeves were too short or the neck was too big. And the shirt was always baggy in the body. I began to think that bad fit was just par for the course," shrugs Matthew. "It got to the point where I really didn't care. I wasn't very picky."

As a church leader and a father of three, though, Matthew felt an increasing need to ensure his appearance matched his growing responsibilities.

"I've never been very worried about what other people think, but in this case it came down to something bigger than me; my religion. When it had to do with my church calling, I felt it was important to look my best and to set a good example," explains Matthew.

Desperate for a better answer, he turned to the Internet. Somewhere out there, he reasoned, had to be well-priced, good looking shirts for big and tall men who were more tall than big. The option of custom-made clothing never occurred to him. It sounded too expensive and difficult.

When he stumbled upon Best Custom Shirt, the made-to-order option seemed so affordable it was almost too good to be true.

"I think the terms I put in the search engine were something like, 'cheapest, nicest dress shirt' or something similar. I don't remember how many links it returned, but one of them was Best Custom Shirt. When l looked it at the site, I thought the prices were really good. So I immediately compared them against five other online stores that had big and tall men's shirts," says Matthew.

Matthew shared the news with his wife, who did her own online comparison shopping. The result, says Matthew, was that she was happy, too.

"She enjoyed the fact that she didn't have to go buy them. And when she looked at the price, she thought I should go ahead and do it. Frankly, at that point I was sick and tired of spending so much time comparing everything. I figured I would just order the shirts and see what happened," recalls Matthew.

Matthew's first custom shirt arrived within days. He enjoyed the look and feel, but still wasn't totally satisfied with the fit. So he called a customer service expert and described the problem.

"I told him this was my first custom-made shirt and it seemed to pull across the back when I touched my elbows together in front. I didn't know how much more space it needed, but they put me in touch with Janine and she told me how she thought the shirt could be changed. She also talked to me about some of the other little things I might like," says Matthew.

New York Designer Janine Giorgenti, owner of Best Custom Shirt. Com, spent time helping Matthew define his own preferences, tastes he was previously unaware of. Working together, they pinned down the particular look Matthew sought for his shirt's collar and buttons.

Ten days after Matthew's initial Internet foray, he was the proud owner of four handsome, well-made, crisp white shirts