To determine if a suit is a good fit, it should be comfortable and not too baggy. The jacket and pants should allow easy movement, and the sleeves and pant legs should be the right length. The jacket buttons should rest comfortably on the stomach, and the lapels should not protrude.
In an age when many people buy their clothes off the rack, it is sometimes difficult to find the right fit for a suit. However, by keeping a few simple ideas in mind, it’s possible to determine if a suit is really a good fit and worth buying. Here’s what to consider when tailoring a suit for general use or for a special occasion.
One of the fundamentals of a good fit for a suit is that it should be comfortable. That means the jacket and pants don’t inhibit easy movement at any time. The shoulders of the jacket must allow the wearer to reach up without pulling the material against the seams. Pants must allow sitting and standing with equal ease, as well as allow the individual to bend at the waist without bulging out of the pants pockets.
While comfort is important, a proper fit for a suit also dictates that clothing not be too baggy. The cut of the jacket should basically follow the width of the shoulders, with the seams that join the sleeves to the body of the jacket resting comfortably along the point where the arms meet the shoulder sockets. The waistband of the pants should rise to the natural waistline, creating a simple look for the fit. The waist should be snug enough to stay in place without the need for a belt or suspenders, but loose enough to allow four fingers to be easily inserted between the body and the belt area of the pants.
The length of the sleeves and pant legs is also crucial to the proper fit of a suit. The sleeves of any suit jacket must reach the top of the palm of the hand when the arm rests at the side of the body. This is true even if you wear a long-sleeved shirt with your jacket. Pants, with or without cuffs, must have the hem skimming the top of the shoe, both front and back, when standing. The idea is to create a straight line of sight that moves the eye from the pant line to the shoe without any puddling or bunching along the top of the shoe. At the same time, this length ensures that the socks are not visible while standing; they only become visible when the individual is seated.
A good rule of thumb for fitting a suit jacket is to make sure the jacket buttons rest comfortably on your stomach. When the top button of the jacket is activated, the lapels must not protrude from the body or cause the tails of the jacket to rise. If this is the case, the jacket is too tight and a larger size should be considered. Keep in mind that a proper fit for a suit requires that the jacket always have clean lines and that it does not bind the wearer at any point on the body.
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