For more Oxford shirt intel, don’t miss our guide to the best of the genre.
One of this job’s occupational hazards is logging an absurd amount of time in fitting rooms. (I don’t think it’s making anyone at OSHA nervous, to be clear, just the hang bar in my closet.) The time spent is justified, though; ‘Model is 6’3”, 155 lbs., and wears a size 3’ only gets you so far when you’re shopping online. Call it field research or an ill-advised compulsion, but I end up trying on a lot of clothing IRL.
Lately, my fitting rooms have been filled with Oxford shirts, which have been on a bit of a hot streak. J.Crew’s Giant-Fit Oxford shirt evokes the silhouettes of its catalog-era heyday; Gap’s Oxford Big shirt was just recently pulled out of retirement; and a host of smaller brands offer comparable riffs that rival any version made for the mass market—including 3sixteen’s, a personal favorite. All of the above are sturdy, soft, roomy, and amenable to almost all pants (and shorts).
For whatever reason, though, a solid-colored light-blue Oxford still eluded me, which wasn’t an issue until it was. So I decided to outsource my research to an expert on the matter, someone who wears an Oxford every day of his life: my dad.
“Have you tried a Gitman recently?” he asked. I hadn’t. “Gitman”, for the unaware, is Gitman Vintage, the legendary American shirtmaker with a history dating back to 1932. In a past life working the retail floor, I’d recommended the brand time and again to curious shoppers, and owned a couple of Gitman shirts myself, though I had limited experience with its Oxfords. As it happens, my dad had one he wasn’t wearing as much anymore—a size large he rocked consistently for half a decade—and he graciously dropped it in the mail so I could see if it worked.
Oh, it worked. I’m 5’9” and 145 lbs. and normally wear a medium for a little extra room, but the washed-and-dried size large is revelatory. It fits like I had it made custom, except there’s no world in which I could’ve explained what I wanted without holding up this shirt as a reference.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Gitman Vintage silhouette, here’s a quick breakdown. As one of the last remaining US-made shirting companies, its products are about as classic as a GMC Half-Ton. The collars are big but not huge, and the Oxford cloth has some weight to it, but not so much that it won’t soften pretty quickly. Width-wise, the shirts tend to be a bit tapered, so I found them a touch slim for my liking in the past. But because this one is a size up the taper feels less pronounced, and it also stops the tail from flaring out. As a result, I’ve been wearing it once a week, minimum, since it arrived.
I’m not saying that buying a one-size-up Gitman will solve all your OCBD-related problems. But I am saying that you should definitely try one on if you’re curious about the genre, looking for an upgrade, or simply want a new shirt. While I’m sure it works great true-to-size, the freedom to treat it like an absolute menace because you’ve sized up, with zero fears of it shrinking beyond wearability, feels irresistible to me.
Plus, it’s available for $195 at ShopBop, which means that Prime members get free shipping to sweeten the deal—without or without your dad’s help.
