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One of the chief advantages of having a bespoke suit is that you can make sure you get a suit that’s completely flattering to your body type. So clue yourself up on what’s going to look great on you, and talk through your choices with one of our tailors so we can make ill-fitting suits a thing of the past.
Finding well-fitting clothes can be a difficulty for taller gentlemen at the best of times, and when it comes to suits it can be even harder. Longer limbs mean that often you are in the extremes of the sizes that are offered when buying off the rack, although you might always match the rest of the measurements of these items. This is the problem of ‘scaling’, as the length of the leg or arm of the suit get bigger, often other dimensions of the suit will in turn. This means that you can be left with arms that are long enough, but a jacket that’s too big, or a jacket that fits better around the body, but where the arms are too short.
Having trousers, shirt and jacket sleeves that are the ideal length can make a real difference to the overall look of the suit- and unlike your waist, these measurements are unlikely to change over the course of your lifetime, making it a great investment to get a suit that fits!
For the taller and longer limbed amongst you, we’d suggest a closer fit of suit, to avoid the billowing out of the garment. FashionReal Men Real Style also offer a useful recommendation of using horizontal lines to break up your figure, with your belt for example. Further, if you’ve been blessed with a long torso, then you can afford to cover some of it with a waistcoat.
Again, it’s likely that larger gentlemen are going to have trouble with the problem of scaling when buying off the rack. What might fit you in one area is too tight or too large in others. Settling for a suit that has too large a profile in areas can only serve to exaggerate your size, rather than one which matches all your different measurements.
Having a suit which is neatly brought in in the right places can avoid bulging fabric and a baggy and untidy look, but avoid going too tight or you might give the impression of forcing yourself into too small a suit.
This is a really common question and we’ve gone into it in some depth in a previous blog, so do have a browse for a detailed dissection of dos and donts! You can find our detailed guide here: www.nortonandtownsend.co.uk/bespoke-suits-for-shorter-men/
One of the most important things to remember is avoiding excess cloth to make sure you don’t look like a school child in a blazer that’s a few sizes too big. Nothing will undermine the impression you want to make more so than this particular look.
Also be sure the skirt of the jacket doesn’t overlap the trousers too much, to ensure that the length of your legs is accentuated.
If you’re on the skinnier side, one of the most frequent problems you’ll face when looking to buy a suit off the peg, is the way you can appear to be drowning in excess fabric. You can seem to be struggling to fill out the standard fits of suits available, which tend to compromise for the sizes of different potential wearers.
Ask your tailor to give you a sharp and slender silhouette avoiding excess fabric around the shoulders and the baggy look of trousers that have been bought off the rack and you’ll be looking your best in no time. You can match the slim fit of the suit with slender lapels and a narrow tie for a particularly elegant look.
This may seem like a problem that most men would like to have, but finding a suit that’s flattering and well fitting for the more muscular physique can be quite a challenge. If the fit isn’t right it’s hard to tell between musculature and just size. This is another area where the bespoke suit offers a great advantage.
A better fit around the chest can be achieved by adjustment of the chest darts in the suit jacket. Other details, like allowing a little extra room on the shoulders for those bulging delts can make a great deal of difference, avoiding the impression that you’ve borrowed the suit of a smaller man. The suit jacket should also be nipped in a little around the waist, otherwise the breadth of the jacket can obfuscate that hard earned ‘V taper’.
Bare in mind if you’ve got an athletic physique with chunky glutes, that a centre vent option might be more sensible than the side vent option to keep the shape and fit of the skirt of the jacket better. A tapered trouser fit might well be a better option than the slimmer fit as well.
