How A Suit Should Fit - Men's Suits Fit Guide - Gentleman's Gazette

Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette! Today, we have a two-part video series for you about how a suit should fit. In the first video, we discuss all the basics and in the second one, we go to more advanced things so you look your best and you know what to look for in a proper suit and when to leave it behind. You can hear it all over the place, fit matters the most and while I wholeheartedly agree, the problem is it's rarely outlined what that thoroughly means so you can follow a script book and say this is a good fit and this is a bad fit. For that reason, we decided to create the ultimate suit fit guide so it will be very easy for you to buy a suit and judge whether it fits you or it doesn't and ultimately, it will make you feel comfortable and look your best. The big question is why should you care about fit? First of all, a well-fitting suit is almost as comfortable as wearing a sweater and sweatpants. Second of all, it makes you really stand out from the crowd and people will look at you and think you're really dapper but they can't pinpoint that it's the fit of your suit. So of course, you might ask why does a properly fitting suit make me look better? The answer is actually quite simple. A suit hides everything that's asymmetrical about your body and hides all the flaws at the same time, highlighting features such as your shoulders and your chest, giving you a natural v-shape that's very flattering and attractive. So if you feel more comfortable, it has an impact on the way you look, the way you stand, and the way you walk. Everything says I'm more confident and that little extra notch will help you to land that job or get that respect that you deserve. So what's the big problem? When I'm on the street, I see 99% of the men wearing suits that fit not so well or terribly ill. And even sometimes, when people tell me, oh I found a suit that fits like a glove, chances are their standards are not high enough so they just are satisfied with something that is not really a proper fit. So before we go into the details, what exactly is a suit? A suit means it is a matching garment of jacket and pants made of the same cloth. You can add a vest, you don't have to. If you do, it's called a three-piece suit, if not, it's called a two-piece suit. Whether it's double-breasted or single-breasted, it doesn't matter. The term suit comes from the French suivre which means to follow, it means the jackets follow the trousers or the pants follow the jacket. So the pictures you can see here are suits matching pants and jacket. What you can see here is a combination, for example, with a blazer or a sport coat or a tweed jacket. So first, let's start with the fit of the jacket. The first thing you can look at when you buy a suit or have a suit made is the collar of the suit. It should fit snugly against your neck without being overly tight and it should never stand away or gap. If you have a round shoulder the way I do, chances that your jackets gap more easily are much higher than if you have a straight posture. Because of that, you always have to go to the alterations tailor or talk to your made-to-measure provider or tailor and make sure you get a proper fit. The problem is when you stand, most jackets look good. The issue starts when you start moving, when you lift your arms and you still want that jacket collar to sit tight against your shirt collar. So do natural movements, sit down, move your arms, drink something from a bottle, maybe eat and if it stays in the back and it stays by your shirt tips, you know you've got a well-fitting collar. Even if you have an ill-fitting collar, the good news is it can be fixed by an alterations tailor so just pay attention to that. It's not an easy fix but it can be done. Next up is the shoulder. Ideally, you want the shoulder seam on top to be just slightly extended from the bone on your shoulder. Unlike a dress shirt which ends exactly at the bone, you want it to be slightly hanging over to give you a broader look and enable a range of movement because when you have multiple layers of fabric, the outer layer always has to be a little longer to be comfortable. You want the top part of your shoulder to be smooth and not puddly. If you encounter a jacket that has puddles, it's too big, you should leave it behind because changing it is almost impossible. You also have a poorly fitting shoulder if you see huge dents right underneath the top of the padding and your actual arm. It makes you look more like a football player and you should always leave those suits behind. On the other hand, if the shoulder is too tight, you'll have a hard time moving forward and moving your arms naturally because it constricts you in the back. If you're unsure, you can always measure your shoulder width from bone to bone and add about half an inch or a centimeter to get the right shoulder width that you should have on a suit. Next up are armholes. Most armholes on suits are too big because suits are industrially made and they want to have the one size that fits it all. The problem is if you have huge armholes, it may seem like it's more comfortable but it actually isn't because as soon as you move, your entire jacket moves with you and constricts you. On the other hand, if you have a tight armhole that ends just below your armpit, you can easily move and comfortably wait for a cab and look dapper all day without feeling constricted. If you have an armhole that is too small, you'll see wrinkles on the sleeve head and it also constricts you when you reach forward because you reach a point here that just makes it impossible to reach forward. If you have a bespoke me to measure, you can sometimes ask to give you a little more space in the front of the armhole and in the back and have it very tight on your armpit. That way, you get the range of movement, you get the nice look, the fabric drapes well, and it almost feels like a sweater. When it comes to the good fit of the chest, it's not always easy to see because some chests are fuller and they have more fabric that drapes well and for that, it's called drape. On the other hand, you can have a very lean trim cut chest that's sometimes more popular with slim fit suits but it will never have that same amount of drape. The advantage of fulls is that it makes your chest look bigger and it gives you that v-shape that's very attractive to the opposite sex. In the 1930s, you had a drape cut that was very extreme. I think the suit I'm wearing here right now is a little more constricted but you can still see I have excess fabric and it provides a nice silhouette of my body. When your chest width is too tight and you move around, you can see your lapel break a little bit simply because it's not enough room. Also, you likely see vertical pleats in the front and in the back. Ideally, you should always measure your chest at the widest point. In Europe, a size 50 means you double it by two which means it's a hundred centimeters. If you measure a hundred centimeters, you probably have a size 50 should be right for you. If you're in the US and you have a size 42 regular, for example, it means the chest should be 42 regular. Now, that being said, manufacturers have different ideas of how suits fit and sometimes, I found old English suits in a size 42 which were way too baggy on me versus other suits are 44 and they're way too tight. So don't just rely on the actual number but measure the jacket, measure your chest, and ideally, try it on. Next up are vents. Today, most jackets have side vents, they're the most flattering. Ideally, you want high long vents that end exactly where your jacket pocket ends. In the last hundred years, center vents have been in and out of fashion but originally, they were meant for horseback riding so unless you wear a jacket on the back of a horse, skip it. In the 20s and 30s, you could often see ventless jackets and it's still popular for evening wear because it gives you the ultimate clean line, however, if you sit a lot or if you sometimes put your hands in your pocket, center vents are much more flattering. Personally, I have a big bump and because of that, it's very easy for vents to gap but you should avoid that. If you have a big bump, you should pay particular attention to keeping your vents closed and I know that because I have one. If you go ventless and it's too tight, you can actually feel it, it's constricting you and chances are, you will see some wrinkles above your bum. The next critical aspect of a jacket fit is the length. It's very important to get it right in the first place because even though you can physically change the length of the jacket, it will always look off if you do so. The proportions will simply not work and the location of your pockets will seem off as well as the buttoning point and therefore, if you encounter something that is too short or too long, simply leave it behind. So what exactly is too short or too long? Most tailors will have jackets that are slightly longer in the front than they are in the back because it provides a flattering silhouette. Sometimes, they also do it very flat and that's something you usually only find in bespoke because even made to measure can't adjust the patterns to that. Also, if you have a round back, for example, the way I do, you need to have extra length in the back to get the right proportion. Traditionally, the proper jacket length always meant that at least your bum was covered. In recent years, especially with younger men, jacket lengths have become a lot shorter and sometimes you can find older gentlemen complaining about that and they say, it looks like you got a jacket from your younger brother. The proper way to look at jacket length is into an optical relation to your entire height and to your pants. So ideally, if you stand and you look at the profile from the side, the length from the back of your neck to the bottom of your jacket should be exactly the same length as from the bottom of your jacket to the bottom of your pants. Obviously, you need someone to help you with that because you can't measure it yourself but if you get those proportions exactly one to one, you will always look very well-dressed and dapper and timeless. The problem with going with a jacket that is too long is that your torso appears longer and your legs shorter which makes you look goofy. Same thing the other way around, if you have very long legs and a short torso, it just seems off. The great thing about a tailored suit is that it can hide certain flaws. Personally, I have a long torso and short legs but using the suit and using those one to one proportions, I can look exactly the same as someone who has long legs and a short torso or someone who has regular long legs and a regular long torso. Next up, let's talk about the sleeve. A sleeve should always hang very nicely without any wrinkles. If you see all the wrinkles, chances are the sleeve pitch is wrong which means the way and the angle the sleeve was set in. That can be fixed by a tailor but they have to be quite skilled. Of course, sleeve length is often a subject of long discussions and there are all kinds of opinions and if you want to learn more about them, please check out our sleeve length guide video where I explain everything you need to know about sleeve length of a jacket. One thing that's often not talked about when it comes to sleeves is the upper sleeve. If you want to have a great movement and a comfortable jacket, you need some extra fabric on the top of your sleeve simply to reach forward. Otherwise, if it's too tight, it may look great when your arms hang down but as soon as you move, you're constricted in that area. It's the fall, I see a lot in ready-to-wear jackets to this day especially now that slim fit suits are trending. Going made to measure or bespoke has a great advantage that you can specify those things and a small armhole in combination with a wider upper sleeve will provide you a much more comfortable jacket that looks the part. The outfit I'm wearing today is a three-piece suit tailored of a Harrison's of Edinburgh fabric. It's a fine houndstooth in a dark brown with an off-white. Because this is a more casual suit, I opted for a more casual cut inspired by the 1930s suits from Clark Gable. It happened one night. I have three patch pockets with nice pleats that open up in the front. It's a single-breasted suit, lapels are not too wide, not like in the 30s, more contemporary. It is a three-row suit which means you only button the middle button. The waistcoat is single-breasted without a lapel and I leave the bottom button unbuttoned because that's a tradition and you can learn more about that in our guide here. The pants have a fishtail back, they're tailored for suspenders specifically so there are no belt loops. They have inward facing pleats because I have big eyes and that gives me extra room. I opted for a light turquoise lining because it adds a dash of color especially since I wear the jacket unbuttoned with my vest. The pants have nice cuffs but the real special thing about the suit is the back. It's a so-called action back which has shooting pleats that makes it very easy for me to move my arms around because it gives me extra room and it has more decorative elements and side vents which is unusual because traditionally, they only had no vents. The suit was custom-made for me by a tailor according to my pattern specifications and so it's really the style that I wanted. It has a Milanese buttonhole which you can see has a raised silk thread and it's a very neat little detail that just shows someone thought about it. I'm pairing it with a plain white fine hemline with a dress shirt from Sini Scalchi. It has a very close collar and as such, it's perfect to be worn with a collar pin which I'm doing here with a gold one from Fort Belvedere. It pairs well with my orange silk knit tie from Fort Belvedere and my gold monkey fist cufflinks likewise from Fort Belvedere. The ring is citrine and gold which goes well with the warm tones of my outfit which are perfect for fall and winter. The socks I'm wearing pick up the brown colors as well as the blue of the wool silk pocket square from Fort Belvedere and the socks are from Fort Belvedere as well. The shoes are chukka style boots with a leather sole, Goodyear welted, they're made out of a brown suede that goes well with the ensemble. I like the last about it which is round but not pointy. At the same time, it's not the usual round you encounter. Now that you know all the basics of how a suit should fit, make sure to watch the second part because without it, it would be incomplete.