My Hunt for a Rugby Shirt That Fits Just Right

While browsing for secondhand options I found a lot vintage men’s Lands’ End rugbies, but mostly in small or medium, which would have been comically large. As an experiment, I decided to try a modern-day men’s shirt in size extra small to see if it might fit better. Alas, the shirt was still far too long and the cut was slim rather than boxy, resulting in a somewhat frumpy silhouette.

I quite liked the berry and fig stripes on this Patagonia option, but something about the collar just didn’t work. Starched and stiff, it looked too formal turned upright and too sloppy spread open. I kept tugging at it, trying to find a suitable position, to no avail. The size extra small was a great fit, however, with a just-right relaxed silhouette and a subtle crop. I’d bump this shirt up on the list if the collar weren’t so annoyingly finicky.

This J.Crew shirt, which I got in extra small, also had a cropped cut and boxy fit that I liked, and thankfully the collar was more amenable to laying flat. Unfortunately, the jersey-stitch fabric was quite lightweight — definitely the thinnest cotton on this list — and very prone to wrinkling. Between the lighter material and the pastel colors, it felt more suited for spring than fall, and I’ll probably be more inclined to pull it out once April rolls around. (The lilac-and-sage variation I tried is mostly sold out now, but J.Crew just introduced a few new colors, including navy and white and burgundy and orange.)

Fabric is the reason I also designated this Lands’ End women’s rugby as a runner-up. It’s soft and almost feels more like a fine knit sweater, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But to my mind, a rugby shirt should be thick, solid, and durable, able to withstand some heavy roughhousing — not so fine that I feel like I should wash it on a delicate cycle. I did like the pale-blue and forest-green accents, though, as well the Johnny collar, which features a buttonless placket and gives the shirt a sleeker look.

I loved the fun retro pattern on this L.L.Bean rugby — I think I have a minor affinity for variegated stripes over consistently alternating ones. This shirt also comes in the most inclusive size range on this list; it runs from extra small to extra large in regular and petite sizes as well as 1X to 3X in plus sizes. I went with an extra-small regular, and while it offered just the right amount of relaxed slouch, I think maybe a petite extra small or small might have been a better fit, as the sleeves covered the majority of my hands. It’s also not quite as cropped as some other options, hitting well below my hips — I wish it were just an inch or two shorter.

Putting on Mersea’s Amelia rugby tee was like a Cinderella’s-glass-slipper moment. It has the same Johnny collar as the Lands’ End shirt, but the fabric was a just-right medium weight that draped nicely. It also has lightly cropped sleeves for showing off my bracelet stack, and the green-and-blue stripes feel very classic and traditional. I couldn’t award it winner status, however, because it only comes in one size, petite, which according to the brand’s size chart translates to about a U.S. size 4–6. It’s got a roomy, oversize fit, so I can see it being flexible on a range of body types, but despite it being a perfect fit for me, it won’t be a perfect fit for everybody.

The first thing I noticed when I tried on Kotn’s shrunken rugby shirt was how much thicker it felt than every other shirt on this list. When I inspected the inside, I found a tag from Barbarian, a heritage jersey manufacturer that’s been making rugbywear since 1981 — it turns out Kotn’s entire rugby line is made in partnership with Barbarian, using the same substantial heavyweight cotton sourced from North Carolina. The shrunken style is essentially the same as the brand’s best-selling rugby shirt, just tweaked with a more fitted body and shorter length to make it more tailored for women’s proportions. I opted for size small instead of my usual extra small, and I’m glad I did; in the small, I get my desired looser, boxier look instead of a more slim-fitted one. The shirt also comes in a panoply of handsome color combinations, from lemon and taupe to maroon and salmon. It’s precisely what I had in mind when I started my search, and it’s the shirt I’ll be wearing until first snowfall.