We’d be wrong to say that there aren’t any pitfalls in acquiring your new suit however; no matter how confident you are of your own sartorial prowess, there are a few dos and don’ts when it comes to choosing a suit. To help you avoid some of the pitfalls, the team here at N&T are sharing their professional insights into the biggest suit buying mistakes and how to avoid them.
Trust your tailor
The path to a perfect fitting suit begins with that all-important first meeting with your N&T tailor. The importance of listening to your tailor’s advice is something we can’t stress highly enough. Our tailoring team each have more than 18 years of industry experience and what they don’t know about bespoke tailoring could be fitted onto the back of a postage stamp.
But surely buying a made to measure suit is all about personal choice, we hear you cry! This is absolutely true, but bear in mind that your tailor understands which type of cloth will suit your skin tone, or whether a particular style will flatter your body shape. Yes, bespoke tailoring is a collaboration between you and your tailor, but as we’ve seen and created literally thousands of suits over the years, it’s safe to say we understand what will work and what won’t.
Whilst we’re on the subject of trusting your tailor, keep an open mind when it comes to the actual construction of your suit. We often come across articles in men’s magazines which insist that every modern suit should be fully canvassed. We know from experience that this isn’t always necessary and that the amount of canvassing required will depend on your chosen cloth.
Suits you, sir
Finding a picture in a magazine of someone who’s 6’4 and weighs 12 stone is all well and good but don’t expect to be able to look like that if you’re around the 5’6 and 16 stone mark. Your N&T tailor will have a pretty good handle on what works well for particular body shapes and idiosyncrasies; they’ll talk you through options that will actually suit you, helping you avoid the pitfalls of expectation over reality.
Checkmate
Checked fabrics look great on some men but they don’t always work for others. Yes, checked suits seem to be everywhere at the moment, but big checks doesn’t always mean better. Once again your N&T tailor will guide you on this, so check (ahem) with them first to make sure your chosen fabric isn’t unflattering or in danger of overpowering you.
Think long term
Buying a bespoke suit is a long term investment. Whilst we all want to look bang on trend at any given moment, choosing a style and fabric that’s still going to look great in ten years time is the best way to avoid buying something that’s suddenly incredibly passé. By all means include a couple of subtle nods to what you’ve seen in the magazines or on the catwalk, but fashion is fickle and what’s on trend now can change in the blink of an eye.
Wedding plans
When it comes to that all-important decision on choosing a suit to wear for your wedding, it’s very easy to get carried away with having your dream suit made, but without thinking about how it’s going to fit into the overall theme of the wedding. If your fiancée can be there to keep you grounded then that’s great, but if not, your tailor will keep you on track by asking all the right questions on the venue, grooms men, bridesmaids’ dresses, flowers…
Norton & Townsend – here to put the enjoyment back into bespoke tailoring
Bespoke tailoring sometimes has an unfortunate reputation for being an intimidating and confusing process. We believe it doesn’t have to be this way. We’re here to help you avoid the pitfalls so the end result is a suit you love, looks great and fits you perfectly. Our Style Guide offers lots of inspiration and then you know what to do next – get in touch with us and we’ll take it from there.