The Perfect Fit
Purchasing a brand new sport coat or suit is not typically something that a man does every day… or every week, for that matter. It is important that much care is taken to pick the right jacket for you. Style, fit, versatility and functionality are all important features to consider when shopping for a new sport coat or suit.
When trying on a suit, you’re looking for a good fit in what’s called your “natural stance.” That means standing up straight with your arms relaxed at your side. It’s not actually a very natural posture for a lot of us, but it is the base from which most of our movement flows. If the suit doesn’t fit well in this stance, it’s not going to move comfortably with your body either.
A well-fitted shoulder lies flat. The seam on top of the shoulder should be the same length as the bone under it, and should meet the sleeve of the suit right where your arm meets your shoulder. We always tell our clients that the shoulders are one of the hardest parts of a jacket to adjust after construction, so don’t buy a piece with an ill-fitted shoulder. Odds are you’ll never be able to get it quite right with post-purchase alterations. This is why we make sure the jacket fits right in the shoulders first before any other mark is made.
“A half-inch of linen” is a good, old-fashioned guideline for the relationship between a suit jacket and the shirt worn under it — about half an inch of the shirt cuff should be visible beyond the jacket cuff. What you do need to be sure of is that the suit sleeve doesn’t rise above the cuff entirely — the seam where the shirt cuff joins the shirt sleeve should never be visible. Similarly, the jacket sleeve should never hide the shirt sleeve entirely. At least a small band of shirt cuff should always be visible