Since the start of sharp&dapper we have come across many old and new brands exploring the world of ‘shirt tucking’, doing their best to make sure your Shirt stays tucked in. I have tried and tested all of these methods and explore their pros and cons below.

I started with, our very own Y-Style+ Shirt Stays:

We use six clips that attaches to the shirt with adjusters in the middle for length control, and rubber suspender clips on either end. Our Shirt Stays use thin but strong elastic and fine clips. We like to keep our Shirt Stays as slender as possible to prevent them showing through your trousers. With the correct positioning and length, this type of Shirt Stays will keep your shirt tucked in throughout the whole day, as well as stopping your socks from falling down. Our Shirt Stays actively pull your shirt BACK DOWN, no matter how much you move around.

Sometimes people find their leg hairs are snagged or the Shirt Stays are not comfortable. This has also happened to me, but without a doubt, 100% of the time it’s because my Shirt Stays are too tight. Loosen them and the problem disappears.

There are of course, other styles of ‘shirt tucking’ accessories. These accessories aim to keep your shirt tucked in using different techniques, without the aid of our classic elastic straps. Out of respect for my competitors and Savile Row tailors I won’t mention any brands or names, but I will give both their opinions and my own findings.

Magnets:

This method uses two very strong magnets, which are attached by each side seam of your shirt. One on the inside and the other on the outside of your shirt. This is supposed to keep your shirt tucked in all day. The first problem I encountered was the bulky size of the magnets, they left large and undesirable bugles on each hip. Secondly, once I started moving and my shirt began to tug upwards, the magnets couldn’t “pull” my shirt back down. To be fair, these magnets will keep your shirt tucked for a bit longer but manually re-tucking will be necessary.

Sticky Belts:

Another ‘shirt tucking’ solution are sticky, rubbery straps that you attach just like a belt around your shirt before putting your trousers on.

This hidden belt will keep your shirt taught and due to a “sticky” outside they will “hook” on to the inside of your trousers keeping your shirt tucked.

At first I was worried that the sticky nature of the hidden belt would damage the fabric of my trousers or shirt. After testing, this didn’t appear to be too much of an issue, however, the product still failed to keep my shirt well tucked in. It was necessary to re-tuck my shirt quite often.

Rubber Grip:

The tailors favourite solution (I've talked to quite a few tailors, many who love Shirt Stays while a few of the ‘old school’ tailors have yet to be convinced)

Your tailor adds a rubber grip to the inside waistband of your trousers. Similar to the ‘sticky belt’ this rubber strap is intended to grip the shirt material and hold it down. Once again, I didn’t feel securely tucked in and need to re-position my shirt quite a bit.

Some tailors even go as far as to suggest that with a really well tailored suit and shirt, your shirt won’t ride up at all…

Unfortunately, for most of us, bespoke tailoring isn’t an affordable, everyday option. So it’s going to be necessary to find another solution.

The Military Tuck:

(Real Men Real Style for Art Of Manliness)

This is a method of folding the sides of your shirt into neat pleats before buttoning your trousers. It does make the shirt look more fitted but, once you start to move, the shirt rides up and it’s going to stay up.

If you want to make the shirt look more fitted I would suggest you take it to a tailor so they can put a couple of seams down the back to get rid of excess fabric. This is not expensive and will make the shirt look better. (Won’t keep it tucked in though.)

Finally, (and I’m sure none of you do this) one of the more unappetizing methods I hear about time and time again, is tucking your shirt into your underpants!

No. Really, don’t do it.

Personally, I think that once your shirt has ridden up (and it will, trust me), it’s not going back down without some help!  Having tried and tested these other options my view and belief in Shirt Stays is stronger then ever.

Click here for a quick instructional video on how to put on your Shirt Stays