Suits for men

Every man needs at least one suit. Even if you wear a uniform or something more casual to work there are certain occasions that require a suit. At the bare minimum, a suit is required attire for the big life occasions, weddings, and funerals. There’s also the next level of event where a suit should be worn. These include job interviews, some religious gatherings and holidays and some fancier parties like engagement or anniversaries. On top of that, if you have a good, tailored suit you’ll want to want to wear it even more and will score big points if you take your partner out to a fancy dinner in a sharp looking suit.

Back in the day, the easiest and most convenient way to purchase a suit was to go down to your local mall or department store and find one that was generally your size on the rack. If it was a little ill-fitting the store or your local dry cleaner or maybe even a real tailor, if you were lucky enough to live by one, could make the needed adjustments to make the suit look presentable. However, those days are over.

Today, there are so many options to get a tailored suit, both online or in-person at men’s stores, department stores or specialty suit stores and sites. Whether you wear a suit once or twice a year or every day, making the small investment in a tailored suit will make you feel incredible and look like a guy who was born to wear that suit.

When picking a tailored suit you have to decide on the color, pattern, cut and the details. These decisions will be made by you based on your style, what’s in fashion now and what the suit is for. The first big decision is color and pattern. You can never go wrong with the standard black, blue or grey. There are also all kinds of pinstripes and patterns, either subtle or bold, to choose from. The simple rule of thumb is this – the fewer suits you own, the simpler it should be. If you’re buying a suit that you plan on wearing over and over again, make it simple and classic. If you decide on an olive green pinstripe number as your go-to attire, people are going to recognize that it’s your only suit. A black or dark blue suit will work for any occasion and can be made to look different every time with the right shirt and tie combo.

There are a whole host of other details to consider when purchasing a suit as well. Single vs double breasted. One, two or three buttons. Notch, peak or shawl lapels. Vents, lining, sleeve buttons and of course, just to make things difficult, there are at least 5 styles of pockets! Not to worry, a two button, single-breasted, double vent suit will be great for almost every occasion and the really good news is, it’s not about the style or even how much it costs. What will make a suit look like magic every time is the tailoring. If the suit fits well, you’ll look like a million bucks wearing it.

How to measure

The first thing you want to do is measure yourself or better yet, have some do it for you. All you need is a cloth or flexible tape measure, sometimes called a “sewing tape”. If you are ordering online or aren’t able to get measured directly by the tailor who’s making or altering your suit it’s easy enough to do at home.

First, wrap the tape around the thickest part of your upper torso to get your chest measurement. Don’t suck in or wrap it too tight. You want to make sure this is truly accurate to give you the best suit fit possible. Next, measure your height in feet and inches to find out if you need your suit in short, regular or long. For your waist measurement, wrap the tape around the area you want the waistband of your pants. The trick here is to put two fingers between your waist and the tape to give yourself a little extra room for sitting.

Keep moving down and measure your inseam. For this, you will definitely need another person. Stand with your legs shoulder width apart and measure from the crotch of your pants to the bottom of your shoe. Now move to your seat and measure around the widest part of your hips. Use the same two-finger trick here you used for the waist. Finally, measure for the sleeve. Start from the shoulder and measure down to two inches past the wrist.

There’s a famous saying, “measure twice, cut once”. While you won’t be the one cutting your suit, you want to make sure the person who does, does it accurately so go ahead and take all the measurements twice just to make sure they’re right on. Another tip is to take the measurements in both inches and centimeters, especially if you’re ordering online so you can provide your exact size no matter what country the suit is coming from.

Now that you have your measurements, you’re ready to order your tailored suit. One more word about fit before you pull the trigger. Today, slim fit is all the rage. You don’t want a baggy suit, they’re sloppy, not in style and will make you look like a kid borrowing a suit from your dad or uncle. However, make sure you know how slim you can go. If you’re tall and rail thin, first, congratulations, you can wear anything and in that case, go with the trendy, ultra slim fit suit for sure. If you’re a bigger guy though you never want to look like a sausage stuffed in a casing. This is why you get a tailored suit to begin with. When you buy a suit made to fit your exact measurements it should be the ultimate in both style and comfort.

So no matter where, when or why you wear suits, getting a tailored suit will be a win for you. Take some time, do your research and make sure you get your measurements spot on. From there you’ll be able to order a custom, tailored suit that will make you look like a GQ model for your next wedding, interview or date night.

This article was sponsored by Webdesigner Frankfurt