The plague of the French tuck has ruined your fits for too long. It's time to do something about it |
I read recently about something called the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon. And when I say "read", what I mean is "watched a TikTok", because I'm in my 30s. Anyway, it's that thing where once you notice something for the first time - a word, an idea, a person - you suddenly start seeing it or them everywhere. It's like when you google an actor, and then he's in every movie poster and trailer on the planet.
I'm telling you this because lately there's been one thing Baadering the fuck out of my Meinhof: shirt tucks. A week or so ago, I told my friend it kind of annoys me to see people tuck only one portion of their shirt and not the other. Then, I was seeing it everywhere. At the tube station, a guy in a real nice denim shirt, tucked into his belt between his hips, with the tail flapping about in the Victoria-line tunnel air. Or a man who had slipped the left side of his T-shirt into his chinos but, for some reason, not the right.
I know why this happens, of course. I could blame Tan France from Queer Eye for teaching straight men the term "French tuck". But really, it's not surprising that guys do it: it feels like making an effort, but not too much effort. It's like, "Sure, I tuck it in a little bit to show I'm neat, but I would never tuck it in all the way because I'm not 80 years old." I get it.
The thing is, you're shooting yourself in the foot. The issue with the so-called French tuck is that it just looks unfinished. Like you had just enough time to shove the front of your shirt into your waistband, but couldn't possibly spare the 2.5 seconds to do the rest. It's the spiritual sibling to wearing loafers with no socks (which I know you know I hate). You did all the hard work and then didn't close out the deal! You did all three legs of the triathlon, but didn't walk through the ribbon.
Allow me to push you across the finish line: your shirt will always look better fully tucked or fully untucked. Never halfway between. I know that sounds like a big call, so let's look at some cold hard proof.
Maybe someone told you a half-tuck would help with your "proportions", making you look slimmer and taller. Not untrue, but the full tuck does this better. Observe 5'8" Tom Holland, with the full tuck of his long-sleeved T-shirt into trousers: neat, draws the eye to the waist, doesn't cut him off. Now, look at 6'5" Jacob Elordi in almost the same outfit: neat, draws the eye to the waist, doesn't cut him off! (This has a lot to do with the cut of your trousers, too - they should sit just above your hip and break cleanly on your shoe. Roomier is better than slimmer.) |
Then there's the button-up. You might think that tucking in your button-up would veer too finance bro and/or grandpa's good shirt for Sunday lunch. No. Here's Drew Starkey making a silk shirt and jeans look intentional and chill, despite wearing bubblegum pink. |
If you're really anti-tuck - and you're allowed to be - don't half-arse it. Just leave your shirt completely out. This at least makes the whole thing look like you thought it out (as long as you steam it). Really, this technique only works if your shirt is a straight cut, rather than slim. If this feels like it's making you feel sloppy or look shorter, take a page from Jeremy Allen White and crop the shirt by a few inches, letting it below the waistband but not past the hips. |
"Lionel Messi and Adidas have been best pals for 20 years now. And while their sneakers are usually baby blue (inspired by Argentina) or neon pink (inspired by Inter Miami), their first post-World Cup drop has gone full emo mode." -Adam Cheung, style writer |
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Office-sourced hits from GQ HQ |
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