Undershirt Sleeves Too Long? Looking For A Shorter Sleeve Undershirt?

Are your undershirt sleeves too long & visible? Are they sticking out from your polo or short sleeve shirt? If so, you need an undershirt with shorter sleeves.

Here’s a question from a reader looking for undershirts with shorter sleeves:

Hi,

I have a problem with the sleeves of my undershirts extending beyond my short sleeve shirts. It seems as though my undershirt sleeves are too long.

Where can I find shorter sleeve undershirts that address this issue?

– Rizzo

Visible Undershirt Sleeves

Here’s an example where the undershirt sleeves are visible — sticking out from underneath a short sleeve shirt. This also commonly happens when wearing polos.

Here’s another example — from the movie Knocked Up (2007) where Paul Rudd’s undershirt sleeves are showing — clearly his undershirts sleeves are too long.

This is also referred to as having Sleeve Sprouts.

Sleeve Sprout – When your undershirt sleeve pokes out of the bottom of your polo shirt sleeve. You have some nasty sleeve sprouts growing. Better tuck those things in.

– from Urban Dictionary

Are Your Undershirt Sleeves Too Long?

When the short sleeves of an undershirt extend beyond the end of short sleeve shirts, it’s an indication of three things:

1. The undershirt sleeves are too long (a practical assumption)
2. The side shoulders of your current undershirt are too long for your shoulder width
3. A combination of #1 and #2

Why Undershirt Sleeves May Look Too Long

As mentioned above, one reason why your undershirts sleeves may look too long is that the side should length is too long. Meaning, your undershirt doesn’t fit correctly in the shoulders.

If the shoulder seam falls over the edge of your shoulder and on to your bicep, you’ll notice that sleeves of your short-sleeved undershirt or t-shirt will hang down pretty low.

The best way to determine whether or not an undershirt sleeve will be short enough would be to:

• Measure the length of your existing undershirt sleeves (measurement “D” in the undershirt measurement graphic below)
• Measure the length of your undershirt’s side shoulder/shoulder strap (from where the sleeve attaches to the body to where the collar attaches)

Undershirt Measurements

The combined length of 1+2 above determines whether or not the sleeve of your undershirt will extend beyond your short sleeve shirts.

Buy A Short Sleeve Undershirt or T-shirt With Shorter Sleeves

The bottom line is that if this is happening to you, you are wearing an undershirt that does not fit you right and it’s time to find one that does.

When picking an undershirt, be sure to find one that fits properly in the shoulders where the shoulder seam sits on top of your shoulder and stops at the edge of your shoulder.

If you’re in search of undershirts (sometimes still called a t-shirt) with shorter sleeves, check out the following articles. They have a list of the most popular undershirts in each style, all of which should have shorter sleeves.

Top Deep V-Neck Undershirts	Where To Buy Tight Collar Undershirts
Compression Undershirts for Men	Best Tight Neck T-Shirts
Best Undershirts To Wear Under White Dress Shirts	Undershirts For Tall Men

Other Ideas To Consider

Buy A Smaller Short Sleeve Undershirt

Find a fitted/stretchy undershirt you really like and buy one size smaller.

In most cases, the sleeve openings will be narrower, the shoulder strap will be shorter, and the sleeve length will be a bit shorter than one size up.

Since the undershirt is stretchy, the smaller size will still likely fit you.

Hopefully, the combination will help the short sleeve undershirt fit a little better around your arm and not creep up as much.

Hem The Sleeves Shorter

Take your undershirts to a dry cleaner or seamstress and see if they can either shorten your sleeves or make the sleeve opening more narrow by simply opening the seam and re-stitching it tighter.

Other Helpful Articles

If you’re looking for ways to keep your undershirt sleeves in place, check out this article.

Make sure you are wearing an undershirt, not a t-shirt. This article explains the differences between t-shirts & undershirts.