A Perfect Suit Fit

When you think about wearing a suit what are the first few things that come to mind? How killer it makes you look (aka, the fit) is obviously numero uno. Know the question is how to know whether a particular suit fit you well or not. Let's go back to the basics and understand the 5 keys to a well fitted suit.

We can divide fit in two broad categories. Each has further sub areas to get a perfect fit

    a)  Width / Girth

         1.  Shoulder

         2.  Collar

         3.  Mid-Section

    b)  Length

         4.  Jacket Length

         5.  Sleeve Length

1.  The Shoulder - Proper fitting shoulder means when the padding in the shoulder is aligned with wearer, creating a smooth, straight line from the collar to the sleeve. Then, the jacket will drop sharply like a cliff when it meets the sleeve. The shoulders should lay perfectly flat, with no divots, rumpling, or pulling on the shoulders. 

If you have more rounded shoulders, the seam should still end in the same place, you would just need a little more padding in the shoulders to make them appear less rounded. If the shoulders are too big or small, a tailor will have a very hard time fixing this, and it would be very expensive – even if it is possible. So ensure these fit properly when buying a blazer from anywhere, as well.

Most Common Problems – 

• Jacket Shoulder is wider than wearer shoulder. When the wearer’s shoulder does not fill out the jacket, you see the dreaded shoulder divot where the shoulder pad and sleeve cap meet but there is nothing underneath to hold the shoulder’s shape. The jacket collapses in on itself, wrinkling into a shape that appears as a chunk of the jacket’s shoulder has been carved away.
• Too narrow of a shoulder will cause the sleeve to pull the fabric across the top of wearer shoulder and rumple, further pulling the lapel out towards the shoulders. This won’t feel comfortable or look comfortable.

2.  The Collar - On a properly fitted suit, the jacket’s collar, the lapel and the shirt collar should all come together at the wearer’s collarbone. A lot of parameters effect the collar & lapel fall like shoulder length alignment, Shoulder slop, chest measurement etc.

Most Common Problem

• Gap between Shirt collar and Jacket Lapel & collar
• Lapel Lifting

3.  The Mid Section - The perfect amount of waist suppression tapers without pinching in too much so the jacket doesn’t flare out at the hips, but still accentuates the wearer’s V-shape. 

There are two Main things need to take care to get good mid-section Fit

• V-SHAPE - All of us love the V-shape & with the help of perfect fitted suit, we can achieve this. There is also a very important term called Drop, which help to get the V-shape.

        Drop is the difference between wearer chest size to Waist size.

• BUTTON STANCE - The blazer’s second button from the bottom (aka the top button) should lie just above your belly button, never below. Thumb rule ½ to 1 inch above and never, ever below. Otherwise, it will throw off your body’s proportions and you will look odd.

Most Common Problems

• Too loose / Too tight – If Jacket is too loose at waist it will look baggy. If it is too tight, it will start pulling button & will create an ugly X.
• Wrong Button Stance

4.  Jacket Length – Technically, the jacket length should be approximately half the height of the distance between the points that is the base of your neck down to the ground.

Since the majority of men, have arm lengths in proportional to their height. When arm length is in proportion to height, first thumb knuckle lies in the center of distance between shoulder points to foot.

Is this rule fix for all heights? 

No, Jacket length need to change a bit if consumer is too short or too long. We can take 5’9” as a standard height. If consumer is shorter than 5’9” Jacket length should be close to mid crotch & if consumer is taller than 5’9” Jacket Length should be between Mid to Lower crotch.

5.  Sleeve Length - Jacket sleeve must follow the Goldilocks rule. Not too long, not too short, but just right. Jacket sleeve should end right above the top of your wrist bone (or the hinge of your wrist). To show proper amount of dress shirt cuff shirt sleeve should end at the base of your hand. Once these two are properly fitted, you will notice that naturally, some shirt sleeve cuff will show.

The general rule of thumb is that you want to show 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch of shirt cuff, so feel free to adjust your garments to achieve your desired look.

Your Turn - You can ask a question about Suit Fitting.