Mens Suit FAQ : I look like I own the place.
book
posted by Agent Pugsly Wed, 2007-08-08 16:37
The basics of shopping for a suit:
Particularly if you've got an event coming up that you need a suit for (the two most frequent being weddings or job interviews) my one piece of advice is START SHOPPING EARLY.
Finding a great fitting suit doesn't have to take a long time, but it shouldn't be done in the span of one night, one day, or even a few weeks. My rule: Start shopping for the suit AT LEAST a month and a half before your event, if not more like two or three months.
The longer you give yourself to find a suit, the better the fit, the quality, and price you’ll find. Plus, tailoring will factor into your time window, so don't think you can simply buy a suit and go.
Why buy an "expensive" suit versus a hunk of crap from Men's Warehouse?
Before I talk about the technical aspects of what makes a nice suit, let's look at it another way:
Let's say you go into a diner one day and order a hamburger. At the diner, they take a nice fresh piece of ground beef, make it into a patty, grill it, put it on a toasted bun, add on some nice crispy lettuce, pickles, onions, tomatoes, and top it with ketchup and mayo. They serve it to your table, you take a bite, and HOLY SHIT what an amazing tasting burger! It's juicy and flavorful, warm and toasty, thick and meaty... It's sex on a bun, basically.
After you finish eating your burger, the waitress brings you the check and your total is $8.00. You say to yourself, "Wow, that was the great burger. I'll remember that burger for a long time. For $8.00 I can't eat one of these burgers everyday, but I'll come back real soon."
The next day you're driving around hungry, and you drive past McDonald's. You see a sign in the window: HAMBURGERS 89 CENTS!
"Oh!" You yell. "They have hamburgers for 89 Cents! That's much cheaper than $8.00."
You drive your burnt orange 1982 Honda Civic hatchback into the first parking space in the lot and run inside for your cheap hamburger. You give the clerk your wrinkly dollar and she gives you a hamburger wrapped in paper. Sitting down at a booth, you eagerly unwrap your hamburger and take a big bite.
Your stomach turns as you chew your burger. You realize the patty is not only not fresh, it's rather cold, as well as your tomatoes and lettuce, which are wilted and taste something like the dehydrated vegetables you get in ramen noodle cups. Only the ketchup tastes the same as the $8.00 burger.
You begin to weep at your table, "This isn't anything like my $8.00 from the diner. This barely qualifies as a hamburger!"
Stores like Men's Warehouse and K&G are exactly the same as McDonalds. Yes, they they sell suits, but they're not the same quality of a good suit. They won't fit as well, they won't look as nice, and they won't hold up as long, period. You are ALWAYS better off taking the $250-400 you would have spent on a crappy suit from Men's Warehouse/K&G and putting into a $1000 suit.
89 Cents may seem tempting for both a hamburger and a suit, but in the long run they're both going to make you feel sick.
AND NOW:
----------------------------------
PART TWO – TELLING A GOOD SUIT FROM A BAD SUIT AND HOW TO FIT A SUIT.
-----------------------------------
WHAT MAKES A NICE SUIT, VS. A SHITTY SUIT.
There are three things that separates a high-end suit from one you buy at Wal-Mart for $8.93
#1- Fabric
#2- Cut
#3- Name recognition
NUMBER ONE -- LETS TALK FABRIC
There are a lot of things from which you can make a suit. Linen, cotton, cashmere, and silk are all options.
But, the most common thing suits are made of is wool. Of course, not all wool is equal. Wool, like cotton has a thread count. If you've ever slept at a hotel that has 1000 count egyptian cotton sheets, you know there's a difference between them and the 200 count cotton sheets at your home. Same thing goes for suits!
Cheap suits are made with a wool/polyester blend. Usually about 60-70% wool and 30-40% polyester. Wool/poly blend suits look cheap and usually wear out fairly fast because the polyester doesn't hold up very well. Also, since polyester isn't a natural fiber (and therefore doesn't breathe) cheap suits are hot to wear. If you like to sweat in the middle of December, cheap suits are for you!
Mid-range suits are made with 100% wool, but usually have a low wool thread count, usually between 70-100. 100 thread count wool is generally the accepted value where a suit turns from being "not too bad" to "hey this is pretty nice." Mid-range suits are also more breathable and airy and are more comfortable to wear.
High end suits are not only made with 100% wool, but have a thread count of 110-200. I have a suit that's 130 thread count, and it's like wrapping myself in kittens while jumping in a pile of feathers. The wool is light and airy, but at the same time structured and smooth.
When you're shopping for a suit, spotting cheap shit is easy. First, look at the suit. Mid and high end suits should have a slight sheen to them. Because the wool is more tightly woven with higher thread counts, the wool should reflect light. Sometimes this is not true, wool can be treated to look more matte, but IN GENERAL a nicer suit will have a sheen. Cheap suits always look matte, flat, and one-dimensional.
If you ever have a doubt, run your fingers over the suit. High end suits won't feel like that wool sweater your granny knitted you for x-mas, but cheap suits will. High end suits will feel soft, smooth, not-rough, not scratchy, almost silky. Cheap suits will feel like sandpaper.
If you still have any doubts, check the tags, or ask your friendly sales associate what the suit thread count is.
A note about "super" wool. Super wool usually means the wool is VERY tightly spun, making it naturally stain resistant, wrinkle resistant, and water resistant. 99% of the time, if you see something advertising "super wool," you know you're dealing with a good suit.
Only once have I seen a suit that had some sort of scotch-guard type spray on it. The asshole salesman was trying to pass it off as "super" wool because it had the scotch-guard spray. It was total bullshit. Like I said, that was only once, so don't worry too much about it. 9.9/10 times you see super wool, you're dealing with a quality suit.
NUMBER TWO -- CUT
Basically there are two types of cuts in the suit world- English and Italian. It's important to note that neither cut is "bad" per se. English cuts look great on some guys, and Italian cuts look great on some guys.
In general an English cut will have a more "square" shape. The shoulders will generally be wider, and the width will be more accommodating to wider men. Generally guys with broad shoulders look great in English cut suits, because the broadness of their shoulders frames the suit well, and if cut properly, the shoulders will allow the sides to pinch in slightly, giving the man good definition on the sides of his body, and avoiding a "boxy" look. English cut suits can have shape, it's simply less of an narrow cut than an Italian cut suit.
Italian cut suits are cut narrower, with suppressed waists, which creates shape on someone who is (generally) thin and shapeless. Some Italian brands are more slim than others. At the end of this post, I'll talk about specific brands, because there are too many to list here.
A great looking suit can either have a English cut or Italian cut, or lean a little in one direction or the other, but a cheap suit won't have any sort of cut, and it'll look like you've put on a burlap sack.
Knowing which suit type looks better on you all depends on your body type, shape, etc.
NUMBER THREE -- NAME RECOGNITION
Whether good, bad, or indifferent, we all know the fashion world thrives on name recognition. And, for the most part, suits with recognizable names are good quality, after all, how do you think they came to be recognized?
Like a lot of things in fashion though, you can't always believe 100% in every brand. I love about 8/10 of what Armani Collezioni does, but some of their stuff fits me better than other stuff. The key here is TRY ON, TRY ON, TRY ON.
The more brands you try on, the more you'll know what you like/dislike about each brand, and the more informed you'll be.
What makes a suit "fit":
There are basically three (3) things that you need to be aware of when you're buying a suit.
#1- How it fits in the shoulders
#2- How it fits in the torso area
#3- How the pants fit
NUMBER ONE -- THE SHOULDERS
The first and MOST IMPORTANT feature of a suit is that the shoulders MUST MUST MUST MUST MUST MUST MUST MUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSTTTTTT fit, or else nothing else will look right. Shoulders on a suit are the "frame" for the rest of the suit. You CANNOT get suit shoulders altered by a tailor and expect the suit to look how the designer intended. Because the shoulders are the frame of the suit, in almost all cases, altering the shoulders will make the suit hang crooked, move strangely, and look bad all around. Trust me, it's not worth it, plus it’s fucking expensive.
How do you know your shoulder size? You ask the sales person to measure you, that’s how.
They'll take a tape measure and measure you around the chest, under your armpits. They'll give you a number. Let's say you're a 42, because that's a pretty common size. If you're a short guy (let's say under 5'8" or 5'9") you'll be a 42 Short, if you're a average sized guy, you'll be a 42 Regular, and if you're a tall dude (let's say over 6'1" or 6'2"), you'll be a 42 Long.
Have your friendly sales associate help you figure out if you're a S,R, or L, if you're unsure. You can't tailor a long to a regular or a regular to a short, so if something is too long/short, get it right. There's no magical fix for a jacket that's too long.
After you know your shoulder size, all you have to do is find the rack with your size suit and start trying shit on.
A well fitted jacket should contour your shoulder smoothly and evenly. When you push on the sides of your shoulders with your hands, you should not have extra shoulder pad sticking out from the side of your suit. You should also not be able to poke your finger under the pad and into your shoulder, creating a "divot" in your suit. If this happens, go down one or two sizes in the suit. Also, of course, when you put the suit on, if the shoulder feels absurdly tight or loose, go up or down accordingly.
A note about suit brands: English cut suits like Hickey Freeman, Burberry, Oxxford, Hart Shaffner Marx, etc will be bigger in the shoulder BY DEFAULT. They are cut larger in the shoulder because they are cut for men with bigger shoulders and larger bodies. They're not made with skinny little Italian guys in mind, they're made for broader shouldered men. That doesn't mean guys with smaller shoulders can't wear them, but you may need to go down a size or two in one of these brands to properly fit the shoulder.
Italian/fashion brands are cut slimmer all around, including the shoulder. This does not mean that bigger shouldered guys can't wear them, but you may need to go up a size or two to properly fit the shoulders.
But probably the best way to know if a suit fits you in the shoulder is to simply ask the sales person, "hey does this fit me in the shoulder?"
NUMBER TWO -- THE TORSO AREA
This isn't too tricky, but you need to pay attention.
First of all, you need to realize that the torso is the part of the suit that you're probably going to need to get altered. So don't go into a store expecting a jacket to fit you like a glove right off the rack. It doesn't happen, so get over it.
The general idea when fitting a jacket is two fold:
a) A smooth, straight line from the middle of the shoulder to the end of the jacket. The back of the jacket shouldn't excessively "poof" out near the small of your back, nor should it look like it's glued to your body.
b) The jacket should pull in slightly in the under-armpit-mid-torso area, giving you a nice shape. Unless you're going for the ultra-slim look, the suit shouldn't be suction cupped to your body, but it shouldn't look like a giant square box on you either. Even Hickey Freeman (a very boxy brand to begin with) can give guys good shape, if they've got the right body type for it.
You can ask your friendly sales associate to pinch the back of your jacket with their hands, therefore simulating what the jacket will look like after tailoring. If the jacket doesn't hit you in the right places, or looks strange, try another brand, or another design by the same brand.
NUMBER THREE -- THE PANTS
Most suits (that are not sold as separates) have a drop of six (6), meaning that there are six sizes between the shoulders and the waist. So, if you're a 42 (S,R, or L, doesn't matter) the pants would have a waist size of 36.
Most suit pants have extra fabric built in them to go up or down from the drop by two or three inches. Any more/less than that, and the pants will have to be re-cut down the sides, which can be somewhat expensive ($50-100 at least.) If you're way out of the drop range on a suit, you may want to investigate suit separates.
Also, nearly all suit pants are un-hemmed at the bottom, so you will have to get them cuffed.
OKAY! So we now know what makes a suit fit well. It's now time for:
----------------------------------
PART THREE – SUIT COLORS AND STYLES
-----------------------------------
COLOR MY WORLD
Let’s say you’re going out to buy your first suit. You go into the store and approach the rack. You begin to look…
Black, gray, navy, olive, brown, tan, white, cream, dark gray, light navy, dark olive, light olive, light brown, dark tan, off-white, gray with pinstripe, black with shadow stripe, navy with windowpane….. holy shit what color do you pick!?!?!?!
When it comes to versatility, there are two suit colors in which every man looks good.
The most versatile suit, and the one that every man should own is a dark gray/charcoal suit.
Gray is the ultimate neutral color. Nearly any shirt/tie can be put under a charcoal suit and it will look great. For a job interview or other classy event, a crisp white shirt and red tie is all you need. Or, funk up your gray suit a little with a shirt color like pink or purple and a badass tie.
The second most versatile suit and the one every man should own if he already has a charcoal suit is navy. Navy is also versatile, and looks clean and crisp on almost all men. Also, it is simple to dress up/down a navy suit because it is equally as neutral as gray.
If you already have both a gray and navy suit, I would suggest the following colors in terms of versatility (excluding stripes): brown, black, tan, olive, cream, white.
TO STRIPE, OR NOT TO STRIPE?
This is where we start getting into a little bit less of the “basic” section and head more toward “advanced.” Stripes aren’t bad, but there are too many widths, styles, and colors to say categorically that stripes are good or bad.
In general however, the less busy/noticeable the stripe in the suit is, the more it’s considered conservative. It’s pretty simple, I mean, if you’ve got a gray suit with big thick purple stripes, that’s going to be far less conservative, than one with subtle thin white stripes.
If you have any questions about any specific stripe/color combinations, feel free to ask.
BREASTS (NO, NOT THAT KIND)
Stick with single breasted suits. Double breasted suits are for old men and highly conservative businessmen. If you’re over 50, or are a CEO of a multi-million dollar company, go ahead and wear a double breasted suit.
TWO, THREE, OR 12 BUTTON SUITS?
In the suit world, there’s always a debate about two or three button suits being “in” or “out.” It’s like an absurdly long, and might I note, unfunny, running joke that no one seems to want to end.
So here’s the deal: Two or three button suits are neither “in” nor “out,” they simply are. If you like the look of two button, wear a two button. If you like the look of three button, wear a three button. Neither of the two will ever go out of style for any extended period of time.
One button is usually reserved for tuxedos, but a one button suit can be done.
Do not wear more than a three button suit. Period. Four and five button suits are out there, but please don't wear them.
----------------------------------
PART FOUR – BRAND FIT BY BODY TYPE
-----------------------------------
Here I’ll describe a body type and then list some brands (from above) that would most likely look good on you. Please take this only as an approximation. I encourage you to try on as many different suits as you can, so you can find a brand you really like.
PLEASE NOTE: The brands are arranged in an order of which brands you may want to try first, based on how I’m guessing they’ll fit you.
#1 -- I’m a big guy with big shoulders, and a square body. It’s not like I have a beer gut, or anything, I’m just big all over.
Try these brands: Hickey Freeman,
Hart Shaffner Marx, Burberry, Isaia, Oxxford, Hugo Boss Black Label.
#2 – I’m a guy with broad shoulders and a square body, but I also have a beer gut going.
Try these brands: Hickey Freeman, Hart Shaffner Marx, Burberry, Oxxford and/or Oxxford Crest, Brooks Brothers.
#3 – I’m a pretty average guy. I don’t have overly big or overly small shoulders. Also, I’m not especially wide, or especially fat.
Try these brands: Burberry, Zegna, Hugo Boss Black Label, Isaia, Etro, Corneliani, Armani Collezioni, Oxxford and/or Oxxford Crest, Brioni.
#4 –I’m sort of a skinny guy. I’m not super skinny, but I’m skinnier than most other people.
Try these brands: Hugo Boss Black or Red Label, Armani Collezioni, Zegna, Corneliani, Paul Smith, Etro, D&G, Prada, Isaia, Brioni, Burberry.
#5 – I’m a motherfucking stick figure. When I turn sideways, I disappear.
Try these brands: Paul Smith, Armani Collezioni, Hugo Boss Red Label, Dolce & Gabbana, Christian Dior, Brioni
Particularly if you've got an event coming up that you need a suit for (the two most frequent being weddings or job interviews) my one piece of advice is START SHOPPING EARLY.
Finding a great fitting suit doesn't have to take a long time, but it shouldn't be done in the span of one night, one day, or even a few weeks. My rule: Start shopping for the suit AT LEAST a month and a half before your event, if not more like two or three months.
The longer you give yourself to find a suit, the better the fit, the quality, and price you’ll find. Plus, tailoring will factor into your time window, so don't think you can simply buy a suit and go.
Why buy an "expensive" suit versus a hunk of crap from Men's Warehouse?
Before I talk about the technical aspects of what makes a nice suit, let's look at it another way:
Let's say you go into a diner one day and order a hamburger. At the diner, they take a nice fresh piece of ground beef, make it into a patty, grill it, put it on a toasted bun, add on some nice crispy lettuce, pickles, onions, tomatoes, and top it with ketchup and mayo. They serve it to your table, you take a bite, and HOLY SHIT what an amazing tasting burger! It's juicy and flavorful, warm and toasty, thick and meaty... It's sex on a bun, basically.
After you finish eating your burger, the waitress brings you the check and your total is $8.00. You say to yourself, "Wow, that was the great burger. I'll remember that burger for a long time. For $8.00 I can't eat one of these burgers everyday, but I'll come back real soon."
The next day you're driving around hungry, and you drive past McDonald's. You see a sign in the window: HAMBURGERS 89 CENTS!
"Oh!" You yell. "They have hamburgers for 89 Cents! That's much cheaper than $8.00."
You drive your burnt orange 1982 Honda Civic hatchback into the first parking space in the lot and run inside for your cheap hamburger. You give the clerk your wrinkly dollar and she gives you a hamburger wrapped in paper. Sitting down at a booth, you eagerly unwrap your hamburger and take a big bite.
Your stomach turns as you chew your burger. You realize the patty is not only not fresh, it's rather cold, as well as your tomatoes and lettuce, which are wilted and taste something like the dehydrated vegetables you get in ramen noodle cups. Only the ketchup tastes the same as the $8.00 burger.
You begin to weep at your table, "This isn't anything like my $8.00 from the diner. This barely qualifies as a hamburger!"
Stores like Men's Warehouse and K&G are exactly the same as McDonalds. Yes, they they sell suits, but they're not the same quality of a good suit. They won't fit as well, they won't look as nice, and they won't hold up as long, period. You are ALWAYS better off taking the $250-400 you would have spent on a crappy suit from Men's Warehouse/K&G and putting into a $1000 suit.
89 Cents may seem tempting for both a hamburger and a suit, but in the long run they're both going to make you feel sick.
AND NOW:
----------------------------------
PART TWO – TELLING A GOOD SUIT FROM A BAD SUIT AND HOW TO FIT A SUIT.
-----------------------------------
WHAT MAKES A NICE SUIT, VS. A SHITTY SUIT.
There are three things that separates a high-end suit from one you buy at Wal-Mart for $8.93
#1- Fabric
#2- Cut
#3- Name recognition
NUMBER ONE -- LETS TALK FABRIC
There are a lot of things from which you can make a suit. Linen, cotton, cashmere, and silk are all options.
But, the most common thing suits are made of is wool. Of course, not all wool is equal. Wool, like cotton has a thread count. If you've ever slept at a hotel that has 1000 count egyptian cotton sheets, you know there's a difference between them and the 200 count cotton sheets at your home. Same thing goes for suits!
Cheap suits are made with a wool/polyester blend. Usually about 60-70% wool and 30-40% polyester. Wool/poly blend suits look cheap and usually wear out fairly fast because the polyester doesn't hold up very well. Also, since polyester isn't a natural fiber (and therefore doesn't breathe) cheap suits are hot to wear. If you like to sweat in the middle of December, cheap suits are for you!
Mid-range suits are made with 100% wool, but usually have a low wool thread count, usually between 70-100. 100 thread count wool is generally the accepted value where a suit turns from being "not too bad" to "hey this is pretty nice." Mid-range suits are also more breathable and airy and are more comfortable to wear.
High end suits are not only made with 100% wool, but have a thread count of 110-200. I have a suit that's 130 thread count, and it's like wrapping myself in kittens while jumping in a pile of feathers. The wool is light and airy, but at the same time structured and smooth.
When you're shopping for a suit, spotting cheap shit is easy. First, look at the suit. Mid and high end suits should have a slight sheen to them. Because the wool is more tightly woven with higher thread counts, the wool should reflect light. Sometimes this is not true, wool can be treated to look more matte, but IN GENERAL a nicer suit will have a sheen. Cheap suits always look matte, flat, and one-dimensional.
If you ever have a doubt, run your fingers over the suit. High end suits won't feel like that wool sweater your granny knitted you for x-mas, but cheap suits will. High end suits will feel soft, smooth, not-rough, not scratchy, almost silky. Cheap suits will feel like sandpaper.
If you still have any doubts, check the tags, or ask your friendly sales associate what the suit thread count is.
A note about "super" wool. Super wool usually means the wool is VERY tightly spun, making it naturally stain resistant, wrinkle resistant, and water resistant. 99% of the time, if you see something advertising "super wool," you know you're dealing with a good suit.
Only once have I seen a suit that had some sort of scotch-guard type spray on it. The asshole salesman was trying to pass it off as "super" wool because it had the scotch-guard spray. It was total bullshit. Like I said, that was only once, so don't worry too much about it. 9.9/10 times you see super wool, you're dealing with a quality suit.
NUMBER TWO -- CUT
Basically there are two types of cuts in the suit world- English and Italian. It's important to note that neither cut is "bad" per se. English cuts look great on some guys, and Italian cuts look great on some guys.
In general an English cut will have a more "square" shape. The shoulders will generally be wider, and the width will be more accommodating to wider men. Generally guys with broad shoulders look great in English cut suits, because the broadness of their shoulders frames the suit well, and if cut properly, the shoulders will allow the sides to pinch in slightly, giving the man good definition on the sides of his body, and avoiding a "boxy" look. English cut suits can have shape, it's simply less of an narrow cut than an Italian cut suit.
Italian cut suits are cut narrower, with suppressed waists, which creates shape on someone who is (generally) thin and shapeless. Some Italian brands are more slim than others. At the end of this post, I'll talk about specific brands, because there are too many to list here.
A great looking suit can either have a English cut or Italian cut, or lean a little in one direction or the other, but a cheap suit won't have any sort of cut, and it'll look like you've put on a burlap sack.
Knowing which suit type looks better on you all depends on your body type, shape, etc.
NUMBER THREE -- NAME RECOGNITION
Whether good, bad, or indifferent, we all know the fashion world thrives on name recognition. And, for the most part, suits with recognizable names are good quality, after all, how do you think they came to be recognized?
Like a lot of things in fashion though, you can't always believe 100% in every brand. I love about 8/10 of what Armani Collezioni does, but some of their stuff fits me better than other stuff. The key here is TRY ON, TRY ON, TRY ON.
The more brands you try on, the more you'll know what you like/dislike about each brand, and the more informed you'll be.
What makes a suit "fit":
There are basically three (3) things that you need to be aware of when you're buying a suit.
#1- How it fits in the shoulders
#2- How it fits in the torso area
#3- How the pants fit
NUMBER ONE -- THE SHOULDERS
The first and MOST IMPORTANT feature of a suit is that the shoulders MUST MUST MUST MUST MUST MUST MUST MUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSTTTTTT fit, or else nothing else will look right. Shoulders on a suit are the "frame" for the rest of the suit. You CANNOT get suit shoulders altered by a tailor and expect the suit to look how the designer intended. Because the shoulders are the frame of the suit, in almost all cases, altering the shoulders will make the suit hang crooked, move strangely, and look bad all around. Trust me, it's not worth it, plus it’s fucking expensive.
How do you know your shoulder size? You ask the sales person to measure you, that’s how.
They'll take a tape measure and measure you around the chest, under your armpits. They'll give you a number. Let's say you're a 42, because that's a pretty common size. If you're a short guy (let's say under 5'8" or 5'9") you'll be a 42 Short, if you're a average sized guy, you'll be a 42 Regular, and if you're a tall dude (let's say over 6'1" or 6'2"), you'll be a 42 Long.
Have your friendly sales associate help you figure out if you're a S,R, or L, if you're unsure. You can't tailor a long to a regular or a regular to a short, so if something is too long/short, get it right. There's no magical fix for a jacket that's too long.
After you know your shoulder size, all you have to do is find the rack with your size suit and start trying shit on.
A well fitted jacket should contour your shoulder smoothly and evenly. When you push on the sides of your shoulders with your hands, you should not have extra shoulder pad sticking out from the side of your suit. You should also not be able to poke your finger under the pad and into your shoulder, creating a "divot" in your suit. If this happens, go down one or two sizes in the suit. Also, of course, when you put the suit on, if the shoulder feels absurdly tight or loose, go up or down accordingly.
A note about suit brands: English cut suits like Hickey Freeman, Burberry, Oxxford, Hart Shaffner Marx, etc will be bigger in the shoulder BY DEFAULT. They are cut larger in the shoulder because they are cut for men with bigger shoulders and larger bodies. They're not made with skinny little Italian guys in mind, they're made for broader shouldered men. That doesn't mean guys with smaller shoulders can't wear them, but you may need to go down a size or two in one of these brands to properly fit the shoulder.
Italian/fashion brands are cut slimmer all around, including the shoulder. This does not mean that bigger shouldered guys can't wear them, but you may need to go up a size or two to properly fit the shoulders.
But probably the best way to know if a suit fits you in the shoulder is to simply ask the sales person, "hey does this fit me in the shoulder?"
NUMBER TWO -- THE TORSO AREA
This isn't too tricky, but you need to pay attention.
First of all, you need to realize that the torso is the part of the suit that you're probably going to need to get altered. So don't go into a store expecting a jacket to fit you like a glove right off the rack. It doesn't happen, so get over it.
The general idea when fitting a jacket is two fold:
a) A smooth, straight line from the middle of the shoulder to the end of the jacket. The back of the jacket shouldn't excessively "poof" out near the small of your back, nor should it look like it's glued to your body.
b) The jacket should pull in slightly in the under-armpit-mid-torso area, giving you a nice shape. Unless you're going for the ultra-slim look, the suit shouldn't be suction cupped to your body, but it shouldn't look like a giant square box on you either. Even Hickey Freeman (a very boxy brand to begin with) can give guys good shape, if they've got the right body type for it.
You can ask your friendly sales associate to pinch the back of your jacket with their hands, therefore simulating what the jacket will look like after tailoring. If the jacket doesn't hit you in the right places, or looks strange, try another brand, or another design by the same brand.
NUMBER THREE -- THE PANTS
Most suits (that are not sold as separates) have a drop of six (6), meaning that there are six sizes between the shoulders and the waist. So, if you're a 42 (S,R, or L, doesn't matter) the pants would have a waist size of 36.
Most suit pants have extra fabric built in them to go up or down from the drop by two or three inches. Any more/less than that, and the pants will have to be re-cut down the sides, which can be somewhat expensive ($50-100 at least.) If you're way out of the drop range on a suit, you may want to investigate suit separates.
Also, nearly all suit pants are un-hemmed at the bottom, so you will have to get them cuffed.
OKAY! So we now know what makes a suit fit well. It's now time for:
----------------------------------
PART THREE – SUIT COLORS AND STYLES
-----------------------------------
COLOR MY WORLD
Let’s say you’re going out to buy your first suit. You go into the store and approach the rack. You begin to look…
Black, gray, navy, olive, brown, tan, white, cream, dark gray, light navy, dark olive, light olive, light brown, dark tan, off-white, gray with pinstripe, black with shadow stripe, navy with windowpane….. holy shit what color do you pick!?!?!?!
When it comes to versatility, there are two suit colors in which every man looks good.
The most versatile suit, and the one that every man should own is a dark gray/charcoal suit.
Gray is the ultimate neutral color. Nearly any shirt/tie can be put under a charcoal suit and it will look great. For a job interview or other classy event, a crisp white shirt and red tie is all you need. Or, funk up your gray suit a little with a shirt color like pink or purple and a badass tie.
The second most versatile suit and the one every man should own if he already has a charcoal suit is navy. Navy is also versatile, and looks clean and crisp on almost all men. Also, it is simple to dress up/down a navy suit because it is equally as neutral as gray.
If you already have both a gray and navy suit, I would suggest the following colors in terms of versatility (excluding stripes): brown, black, tan, olive, cream, white.
TO STRIPE, OR NOT TO STRIPE?
This is where we start getting into a little bit less of the “basic” section and head more toward “advanced.” Stripes aren’t bad, but there are too many widths, styles, and colors to say categorically that stripes are good or bad.
In general however, the less busy/noticeable the stripe in the suit is, the more it’s considered conservative. It’s pretty simple, I mean, if you’ve got a gray suit with big thick purple stripes, that’s going to be far less conservative, than one with subtle thin white stripes.
If you have any questions about any specific stripe/color combinations, feel free to ask.
BREASTS (NO, NOT THAT KIND)
Stick with single breasted suits. Double breasted suits are for old men and highly conservative businessmen. If you’re over 50, or are a CEO of a multi-million dollar company, go ahead and wear a double breasted suit.
TWO, THREE, OR 12 BUTTON SUITS?
In the suit world, there’s always a debate about two or three button suits being “in” or “out.” It’s like an absurdly long, and might I note, unfunny, running joke that no one seems to want to end.
So here’s the deal: Two or three button suits are neither “in” nor “out,” they simply are. If you like the look of two button, wear a two button. If you like the look of three button, wear a three button. Neither of the two will ever go out of style for any extended period of time.
One button is usually reserved for tuxedos, but a one button suit can be done.
Do not wear more than a three button suit. Period. Four and five button suits are out there, but please don't wear them.
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PART FOUR – BRAND FIT BY BODY TYPE
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Here I’ll describe a body type and then list some brands (from above) that would most likely look good on you. Please take this only as an approximation. I encourage you to try on as many different suits as you can, so you can find a brand you really like.
PLEASE NOTE: The brands are arranged in an order of which brands you may want to try first, based on how I’m guessing they’ll fit you.
#1 -- I’m a big guy with big shoulders, and a square body. It’s not like I have a beer gut, or anything, I’m just big all over.
Try these brands: Hickey Freeman,
Hart Shaffner Marx, Burberry, Isaia, Oxxford, Hugo Boss Black Label.
#2 – I’m a guy with broad shoulders and a square body, but I also have a beer gut going.
Try these brands: Hickey Freeman, Hart Shaffner Marx, Burberry, Oxxford and/or Oxxford Crest, Brooks Brothers.
#3 – I’m a pretty average guy. I don’t have overly big or overly small shoulders. Also, I’m not especially wide, or especially fat.
Try these brands: Burberry, Zegna, Hugo Boss Black Label, Isaia, Etro, Corneliani, Armani Collezioni, Oxxford and/or Oxxford Crest, Brioni.
#4 –I’m sort of a skinny guy. I’m not super skinny, but I’m skinnier than most other people.
Try these brands: Hugo Boss Black or Red Label, Armani Collezioni, Zegna, Corneliani, Paul Smith, Etro, D&G, Prada, Isaia, Brioni, Burberry.
#5 – I’m a motherfucking stick figure. When I turn sideways, I disappear.
Try these brands: Paul Smith, Armani Collezioni, Hugo Boss Red Label, Dolce & Gabbana, Christian Dior, Brioni
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PART FIVE – Misc.
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Here’s a few random questions that I’ll answer before they get asked:
Q: What’s the “hot” trends for suits this spring/summer?
Q: What color should my socks be if my suit is _______?
A: Excluding black suits (in which you should wear black socks), your socks should be one shade darker than your pants, regardless of what color shoe you are wearing with them.
Q: What about matching shirts and ties with my shirts?
A: I purposely didn’t address this in the first post, because there is too much to write about shirt and tie matching. It’s an art all its own.
Q: Are there different types of lapels or is that only tuxedos?
A: There are three types of lapels on suits:
1)Notch Lapel- This is the most common type of suit lapel, and the most versitile. Great for almost any occasion, and can be dressed up, or worn casually.
2)Peak Lapel- This is a somewhat fancier lapel, usually seen on double breasted suits and tuxedos. Although a bit more fashion forward, single breasted peak lapel suits are available.... and they're awesome.
3)Mandarin Collar- The laughing stock of the suit world. Seriously, don't wear this. Period.
Q: Which of the buttons do you button on a suit jacket?
A: Two button jacket : First button only
Three button jacket: First and second together, or second only. NEVER BUTTON THE BOTTOM BUTTON
Q: What about cufflinks?
A: I love them! There are a few rules though.
1) Don't mix metals. If you're wearing a gold belt buckle, don't wear silver cufflinks, or vice versa. This also applies to your watch and ring (if you wear one.) All the metals on your body should match.
2) Don't worry about matching exactly. If you've got a pink tie, and you want to wear pink cufflinks, that's cool. Don't worry about matching the *exact* shade of pink from the tie. The idea is to coordinate, not match exactly.
3.) Traditionally you shouldn't wear french cuff shirts (and cufflinks) without wearing at least a blazer --if not a full suit. French cuffs are meant to go under a blazer/suit. Now of course, if you're trying to pull of some sort of fashion statement with cuffs with no blazer, that's something else entirely...
Q: Dry Cleaning or pressing?
A : Dry cleaning is where they use chemicals to "clean" (its more like freshening up) the suit. If your suit is simply wrinkled (but doesn't stink) just ask the cleaners to press the suit. Pressing the suit costs less, and all they do is steam the wrinkles out... no chemicals used. The other obvious thing, is use a dry cleaners that doesn't look like a shit hole. Ask some friends and see if they have any recommendations. If in doubt, go somewhere that has slightly higher prices. Believe me, the place that will press your suit for $2 won't take care of your suit as nicely as the place that costs $6-10.
How do I know if there's a Neiman Marcus Last Call, Saks Off 5th, or Nordstrom Rack near me?
NM: http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/info/index.jhtml
Saks: http://www.saksfifthavenue.com/stores/stores.jsp
Norstrom: http://about.nordstrom.com/MapPoint...aspx?origin=tab
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