How to Tuck in a Shirt: Tips and Tricks to Elevate Your Look

Smooth with the palms of your hands

I opened the fly of my pants, and tucked just the front of my t-shirt in, smoothing everything down flat with the palms of my hands.

Stretch your arms

Once the shirt was tucked in at the front, I lifted my arms, which pulled exactly enough fabric out for me to be able to move around comfortably.

Pull out more fabric

Next, I pulled a bit more fabric out, and let it fall over the waistband of my pants, smoothing everything out, so it would lay nicely.

Tuck in the sides

Depending on body shape, you may want to tuck the shirt in along the sides as well, but I don’t recommend going any farther back than that.

Make the back look good

I took a bit of fabric from the center-back hem of my shirt, and tucked it into the back of my pants, letting the rest of the fabric fold gently over the waistband of my pants.

I adjusted everything and smoothed the shirt down so my outfit would look polished and neat.

How to tie a knot in the front of a t-shirt

I crossed my arms and grabbed the fabric at the bottom of my shirt.

I pulled the fabric of my shirt up and forward until it was gathered at my waist.

While holding the gathered fabric in one hand, I adjusted the fabric on the sides and the back of my shirt, tucking the edges up, and smoothing everything down.

Once I was satisfied with how the sides and back of my shirt looked, I twisted the gathered fabric in the front of the shirt and tied it in a knot.

If I want to show a bit more skin, I tuck the knot up into the shirt and fold the fabric in the back up a bit.

Use an elastic to hold some gathered fabric in place

This is not really a way to tuck in your shirt, but I find it gives a little something special to an otherwise boring t-shirt. I lifted my shirt and gathered a bit of fabric slightly to one side, on the inside of my shirt. Then I wrapped a small hair elastic around the gathered fabric to hold it in place. 

The gathered fabric on the inside creates a starburst pattern on the outside of the shirt, giving it a bit more detail.

Button-down shirt

Unbutton the bottom of the shirt

I unbuttoned the bottom buttons of my shirt until the fly of my pants was visible.

Tuck in one side

Then, I tucked one tail of my shirt into my pants, smoothing it down with the palm of my hand to prevent any bulk or bulges.

Adjust the front and sides

As with the t-shirt, I lifted my arms to pull some of the fabric out and let the excess fabric fold gently over the waistband of my pants. 

Adjust the back

Finally, I adjusted the fabric in the back, folding the bottom hem underneath the shirt, to give it a smooth, clean, effortlessly cool look.

Tuck in both shirttails

Another option for tucking in a button-down shirt is to tuck both the shirttails into the front of your pants. To do this, I held the bottom edges of the plackets together and tucked them into my pants together. I smoothed everything down with the palms of my hand and ensured that the buttons were aligned with the fly of my pants.

Adjust

Once again, I lifted my arms to pull a bit of fabric out, and smoothed everything out so the fabric folded gently over the waistband of my pants. This is called a french tuck. 

Tuck in the back

If I want to tuck in some of the fabric on the back of my shirt, I tuck only a bit from the center-back hem into the back of my pants. 

Adjust

Then I smooth and adjust the fabric, so it lays nicely.

How to tuck a button-down shirt into high-rise or slightly see-through pants 

This next trick is very useful for when I’m wearing pants or a skirt with a very high waist, or if I’m wearing white pants that are slightly see-through. I tucked my shirt in all the way around my body, smoothing out both the front and the back with the palms of my hands. Then, I pulled the fabric up just a bit, to help get rid of the line from the bottom hem of the shirt that was visible across my butt. 

How to tuck in a silky button-down shirt

For a silky button-down shirt, I prefer to tuck it in all around my body. I start from the side of the shirt with the placket of buttons, and work my way around, smoothing everything down with the palms of my hands as I go. I use the same trick of lifting my arms to pull some fabric out and adjust everything so it lays nicely.

Chunky Sweater

Tuck to one side

To tuck in a chunky sweater and avoid any awkward bulges, one trick I use is to tuck just a few inches of the bottom hem of the sweater into the waistband in the front of my pants, slightly to one side, and smooth it down with the palm of my hand.

Adjust

Then I just adjust the sweater so it folds over the waistband of my pants and lays nicely.

Tuck into your bra

This is a great trick: Instead of tucking my sweater into my pants, I tuck the front hem of the sweater into the bottom band of my bra.

Then I just let everything fall into place, creating this beautiful yet casual look. 

I hope this tutorial gave you some good ideas about how to tuck in your shirts while keeping the lines of your outfits smooth. Let me know if you use any of these tips!