Wondering how a button up shirt should fit? Here’s everything you need to know.

The button up shirt is one of the most important pieces in any man’s wardrobe.

But, just like with any other piece of clothing, if your shirts don’t fit properly, they’re not going to do you any favors.

You want to make sure your clothes are working for you, not against you.

To that end, this guide will teach you exactly how a button down should fit.

Before we talk about fit, we need to get clear on two things…

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These days, “button down” is often used to describe a button up shirt, regardless of whether or not it has a button down collar.

For the sake of accuracy, I usually use the term “button up” to describe the shirt style and the term “button down” to describe the collar style.

In this article, I’ll use the terms interchangeably to appease the Google SEO gods.

If you’re still confused, just remember:

Some, but not all, button up shirts have button down collars.

Got it? Good. Let’s move on to the second point of clarification…

Dress Shirts vs. Casual Button Ups

Button up shirts come in many different varieties and levels of formality.

In general, button ups fall into one of two categories: causal and dress.

The main difference between these two styles is the shirt length. Put simply, dress shirts are longer than casual button ups because they’re meant to be worn tucked into your pants.

Casual button ups are shorter and meant to be worn untucked (although many are cut to a “hybrid” length that can be tucked or untucked).

Also, dress shirts usually have a more drastically curved hem, while casual button ups have a gently curved or straight hem.

Of course, there are other differences. Dress shirts may have hidden plackets and French cuffs, while casual button ups may have button down collars and chest pockets.