We’ve written a lot of guides about fit – everything from sleeve pitch to balance. And sensible checklists you can use when shopping for a suit or sport coat.
Truth be told, the things I see every day around the city are a lot simpler. There are two kinds of guys in tailored clothing: ones who don’t care about how they look and others who do. The first is more likely to be wearing their jackets a size or two too big; the others a size or two too small.
Blame magazines and social media. For years, fashion writers have told people they need to drag themselves out of the ‘90s and get with the hip, more tailored times. And the key to getting that tailored look: size down until you physically can’t size down anymore. And when I search for photos of men in suits, I find the kind of images you see above.
If you’ve been reading Put This On for a while, you probably already know what’s wrong with these suits: collars that don’t stay on the neck, lapels that buckle away from the chest, and sleeves that that look like they have a vice grip on the wearer’s biceps. Then there’s that telltale sign of any poor fitting suit: the X across the buttoning point that indicates your jacket is too tight (any sales associate that tells you this is “the trend” is just trying to bank some commission).
Our friend Voxsartoria sometimes posts nice photos of the suits he commissions from Steed, a bespoke tailor in the UK. Your suits don’t have to be cut like his – silhouette is an important choice in finding your own style – but his photos exhibit a really basic principle: tailored clothing should fit cleanly, which means no wrinkling, buckling, puckering, pulling, or any other kind of mess. There are a million ways you can achieve a certain look, including slim Mod-ish styles, while still following that basic idea.
If your suits or sport coats fit anything like the photos above, you need to size up. If sizing up doesn’t give you the silhouette you want, try a different line. If you’re trying to achieve a slim look, remember that wearing a jacket a size too small will always make you look heavier than you are.
(photos via Empire Outlet)
