How a Back Issue tee fits: the boxy cut, measured

A Back Issue tee is cut boxy, with dropped shoulders: square through the body rather than tapered, with the shoulder seam set out past the point of your shoulder so the sleeve starts partway down the arm. Take your usual size for the cut as it was drawn, or size up for more room. There are six sizes, S–3XL, and a medium measures 59 cm across the chest, laid flat.

Below are the full measurements in centimetres and inches, how to check them against a tee you already own, and which way to go if you land between sizes. Every figure comes from the size guide, and the same tee carries every design on the all issues shelf, so one size answer covers the whole rack.

What boxy with dropped shoulders means

A fitted tee follows the body. Its shoulder seam sits on the point of the shoulder and the sides draw in towards the waist. A boxy cut does neither: the body falls straight from the chest, so the tee reads as a square rather than a taper.

Dropped shoulders are the other half of it. The seam that joins sleeve to body is set lower, out on the top of the arm, which is where the relaxed, slightly slouched line comes from. It is also why the shoulder figure on the chart is probably wider than your own shoulders measure. That is the cut, not a sizing mistake.

It moves the sleeve too. The sleeve figure on the chart is measured from that dropped seam, not from your shoulder, so on the body the sleeve starts lower on your arm than its length alone suggests.

The size chart in cm and inches

Every figure is the garment laid flat, with a tolerance of ±2 cm. The inches are converted from the centimetres and rounded to the nearest half inch, so read the centimetres when you want the exact figure.

Chest is measured flat across, so the full chest is twice the figure: a medium's 59 cm is 118 cm all the way round. Body length runs from the highest point of the shoulder, next to the collar, straight down to the hem, so a large is 76 cm long.

The steps between sizes are even. From S to M, the chest goes from 57 cm to 59 cm and the sleeve from 22 cm to 23 cm, and every size up the chart moves by the same amounts.

How to measure a tee you already own

The surest way to choose is to measure a tee whose fit you already like. Lay it flat on a table, smooth it out, and take four measurements:

1. Chest: straight across, armpit to armpit.
2. Body length: from the highest point of the shoulder, next to the collar, straight down to the hem.
3. Shoulder: seam to seam across the back, where each sleeve is set in.
4. Sleeve: from the shoulder seam to the edge of the sleeve.

Find the row on the chart closest to your tee. Chest and body length are the two to compare first, because they decide how the tee hangs. The shoulder will measure wider than on most tees in your drawer, for the reason above, so do not let that figure alone push you down a size.

Measure the tee whose fit you want, not just one with your size on the label. If you are after the loose, boxy look, measure your roomiest tee, not your neatest.

Between sizes: which way to go

The size guide puts it plainly: between two sizes, the smaller one fits closer and the larger one hangs looser. On a boxy cut, closer still means relaxed. It is not a slim fit in any size.

Size up if you want an oversized look. Stay with your usual size if you want the cut as it was drawn: square, with the shoulder already dropped. If your own tee falls between two rows, decide by how you want it to hang, not by the label you usually buy.

One size up moves every figure a little. From a medium to a large, the chest goes from 59 cm to 61 cm flat and the length from 74 cm to 76 cm. Two sizes up is a different look rather than just a looser one, so check the length column before you do it.

Still unsure? Write to us with your height, your usual size and how you like a tee to fit. Do it before you order, not after.

The fabric, the print and the fit

The tee is a vintage-wash tee, 270 gsm, 32s cotton, pre-shrunk. The 270 gsm is the fabric weight in grams per square metre, and a heavier fabric helps a boxy cut keep its square shape instead of clinging. In 32s cotton, the 32s is the yarn count: the higher the number, the finer the yarn.

Pre-shrunk means the fabric is treated to shrink before it reaches you rather than in your first wash; it cuts shrinkage down, it does not rule it out. The care line is short: wash cold, inside out, hang dry, and do not iron over the print. Heat and tumbling are what shrink cotton most, which is why the care line keeps it cold and off the dryer.

The back print is up to 40 × 53 cm, the most the printer takes, and each design's exact size is under “The print” on its page. The front badge on the chest is about 10 cm.

If the size is wrong

A wrong size can be swapped. You have 30 days from the delivery date on tracking to ask, and the tee has to come back unworn and unwashed. Email first: nothing comes back without a go-ahead and a return address.

On a size swap, you pay to send it back and we pay to ship the new size (first swap per order). If we sent the wrong size, we pay both ways. The replacement is printed once the original has arrived and been checked, so it starts a new processing time. The full rules are on the returns page.

Before you order

Measure a tee you own, find the closest row on the size guide, then take your usual size, or size up for more room. Every tee is printed after you order it and leaves within 2–4 business days, so a minute with a tape measure first is time well spent.

Then pick a design from the full rack.

Read next: 270 gsm, 32s cotton, vintage wash: what the tee is, and how to wash a DTG-printed tee so the print lasts.

Back Issue is fan-made, unofficial merchandise. We are not affiliated with, licensed or endorsed by any studio, publisher or rights holder. Character names, titles and marks belong to their owners and are used only to describe what a design shows. Rights & IP