There are two ways to make your upper body look bigger: 1) workout and eat a high protein diet, and 2) deceptively manipulate your clothing selection until your arms and chest look more impressive than they are. If you’re looking to take advantage of option number 2 then continue reading. If you’re someone who is all about method 1, continue reading anyways, because you can still benefit from these tricks (Just like Chris Evans did in The Avengers).
Manage the Midsection
Tailored, fitted and regular fit. Those are the three standard variations of guys’ shirts, and choosing the right one for your body can be the difference between looking like the before or the after photo from those terrible workout infomercials.
Here is a general rule, if your stomach sticks out further than your chest, never wear fitted or tailored shirts. Here’s another, if your chest and stomach stick our roughly the same amount, reach for the fitted stuff. If your chest is considerably larger than your tummy, you probably want the tailored cut. If you have love handles, always stick to the regular or fitted shirts, depending on your overall size.
A classic, or traditional, cut shirt falls straight down from the arm pit to the bottom of the shirt along the side. Your fitted shirts taper in through the midsection slightly, creating more distinction between your upper body and waist. The narrowest cut is going to be the tailored shirts. They’re going to fit very snug to the body, leaving no room for anyone with 10% body fat or more.
Check the Sleeves
This trick is really easy, if the seam on a shirt’s sleeve falls over your shoulder it is too big and won’t make your muscles look very impressive. You want the sleeve’s seam to hit squarely at the top of your shoulder, right before your arm begins to fall. A little higher, almost on top of the shoulder (like Chris Evans), can work too, but only if the rest of your shirt first perfectly. Otherwise people will figure out what you’re doing and judge you mercilessly.
Another tip is to roll up the sleeves on your long-sleeve shirt. Just unbutton the cuff button, then roll the sleeve up tightly, just above the elbow. The slight bunching of the shirt material will add mass to your bicep.
Get the Pattern & Color Right
General style rule #1, horizontal stripes make you look wider. General style rule #2, vertical stripes make you look taller. Preston’s style rule #3, gingham makes you look taller and bulkier.
Gingham has both vertical and horizontal lines running through the pattern, either in the same or complimentary colors. The effect this pattern has on the body is that it appears to add mass all around, but also elongating the body. Assuming the shirt fits properly in the first place, wearing gingham will just further enhance the effects that make your muscles look vastly bigger than they are.
Or, you can just wear a solid color. The better shape you’re in, the lighter the colors you can wear. The worse shape you’re in, the darker the color you should get.
