A men’s suit is a classy attire that helps make a fashion statement without looking silly or over the top. This versatile piece of clothing can be worn at important events or meetings, or even for dinners at lavish hotels. When buying a suit, you can go off-the-rack or custom. Custom or bespoke suits are comparatively expensive, but they are also more popular because you have a direct say in the whole suit-making process. If you are looking to buy a custom suit, the following tips shall help you tailor-make the right one for you.

Have a Basic Idea

Having a general idea of what you want in your custom suits is important. However, it shouldn’t be at the expense of not being willing to explore your choices in terms of patterns, ideas, and styles. In other words, you should have a basic idea of the occasion you’d be wearing the suit, which would help you look for options in that particular suit segment.

Have a Budget

As aforementioned, custom suits don’t come cheap. Have a budget in place so you know what you’re playing with and what your options are like. A predetermined budget would help you learn your material, design, and brand choices. Do not, however, focus too much on brands. Instead, focus on the suit type and adjust as required.

Keep It Simple

If it’s your first time buying a custom suit, you do not want to be overwhelmed by the myriad of colour and pattern choices. However, if you are certain about what you need, then you may experiment with colours and styles. If not, stick with the basic hues, such as black, grey, and navy blue.

Get the Fitting Right

Slim fits are in vogue, and for the right reasons. They hug your body well in the right places, without feeling too tight or confining. When trying on the fit, check if the suit restricts your body’s movements. The right fitting is not just about the suit accentuating your body shape, but it’s about comfort too. If the suit is too tight or loose, it would impact how you carry yourself in the suit.

And do not forget the trousers. The objective of a pair of well-fitting trousers is to lengthen your body or at least create that illusion. A long leg, minimal break, and narrow opening help add visual height easily. Make sure the trousers you wear below the jacket conform to these rules.

Choose Proper Fabric

With custom suits, you get multiple fabric choices, which include cotton, linen, cashmere, wool, and silk. During winter, thicker wool, flannel or tweed work the best. Fabrics with a lot more breathability, such as silk, cotton, or linen, should be your choice if you want to withstand the summer heat. Choose a suit material considering when you’ll be wearing the suit and also your region’s general climate. Most importantly, listen to your inner voice. If a fabric feels right, then it certainly is.

The Little Details

• Buttons: Two-buttoned jackets are a safe choice, especially if it’s your first time wearing a suit. These jackets also have a classic vibe to them.
• Lapel: The lapel shape and size can significantly alter the look of your suit. Generally, notch lapels are the safest option. If you are confident of carrying more extravagance and flair, peak lapels would be ideal. Slim lapels offer a contemporary appearance; wider lapels, on the other hand, offer a bolder look. Ideally, the lapel’s width must match your tie’s width.
• Shoulder padding: Padded, thick shoulders work best for business meetings and boardrooms. Shoulders with no or little padding provide ease of movement and increased comfort. If you want a modern look, ditch the pad and go with a natural shoulder.

Engage with the Best

Most importantly, work with the right tailor. The right tailor is not necessarily the best in town, popular, or someone who charges a premium for his/her services. Remember, expensive services do not always mean the best results. The right tailor is someone who specializes in suits, is not inundated with job orders, is willing to listen to your every requirement, and doesn’t charge a bomb for the service. If it’s your first time buying a custom suit, get custom suit tailor references from your friends or colleagues.

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A Guide to Buying Bespoke Suits for the First Time

Bespoke suits are growing in popularity for many reasons. These suits are timeless, they flatter every wearer, and most importantly, they can instill in you a great sense of prominence and confidence. When you wear a bespoke suit, you feel dignified, authoritative, and admired.

However, getting the best fit for a suit is not always easy. You cannot simply buy a suit from a store. Instead, you need to put more work into finding the suit that perfectly fits you.

This means that you should know where to go. A trusted tailor, highly skilled and experienced in creating fine custom suits, is the person to see.

You should also be mindful of how you will be using the suit. Your purpose for having a suit tailored makes a huge difference — a suit for a wedding is different from one that is suitable for a court appearance, finding a new job or a funeral.

If you are getting tailor-made suits for the first time, here is a guide you can use to make sure that you get the most out of your investment.

2-Piece vs. 3-Piece Suits

A 2-piece suit is less formal than a 3-piece suit. But if you are getting a suit for the first time, it would be better to get a 3-piece suit as this can be easily become a 2-piece suit by removing the vest.

Also, this can be worn to high-end occasions like dinner parties and weddings, maintaining a formal aesthetic while keeping the person wearing it warm at the same time.

Fabrics to Choose From

Bespoke suits are made from different fabrics. You may become overwhelmed by all of the available choices, but here are some of the popular fabrics you would want to stick to when getting your first bespoke suit.

●      Worsted wool

This is the most popular fabric choice for custom suits because of its high adaptability to temperature changes. Also, it gives off a slight shine, making it excellent for solid-colored suits. It is also quite versatile.

●      Flannel

Usually made out of worsted wool, this fabric is somewhat similar to herringbone and tweed when it comes to appearance, but is softer to the touch. This is also one of the highly recommended fabrics to use because of its wide range of weights and colors.

You can get a breathable, great-looking flannel that keeps you feeling comfortable during the fall and spring months.

●      Mohair

This is a silk-like fabric that is more textured than worsted wool.

●      120s

This fabric is best used in a three-season unit because of its luxurious lightweight wool.

Ideally, your suit must be made of a fabric durable enough that you will feel comfortable when it’s chilly, and lightweight enough that you will not overheat.

Brush Up on Your Tailoring Lingo

When getting suits custom-made, you can encounter a lot of unfamiliar terms. It’s a good idea to know something about a tailor’s profession. This way, you can speak the same language when talking about the suit you want.

Here are some of the important words you must keep in mind so you can describe the exact type of suit you are looking for.

• Vent – This refers to the slit at the back of the jacket that allows for easy mobility. The usual option is a center vent, but two side vents are becoming popular these days because it makes the jacket appear more fitted.
• Lapel – This refers to the part on each side of the jacket just below the collar, which can be folded back on any side. It can be peaked, notched or shawl.
• Pant break – This denotes how much of the lowermost part of the pants meets the shoes. The industry standard is a half/medium break, which results in a bit of fold over. Other options include a quarter break, full break or no break at all. For your first bespoke suit, you should choose a quarter or a medium break.
• Shoulders – This refers to padding. If you want a natural, soft transition from your shoulder to arm, consider getting shoulders without padding. But if you want to achieve a broader appearance, go for padded shoulders.
• Taper – This means diminishing the thickness of the suit towards the end. For a more fashionable and perfect fit, consider having your jacket and trousers slightly tapered.
• Side tabs – These are a great alternative to belt loops. There are several buttons on the side of the pants to allow for easy adjustment on the waist so you don’t have to wear a belt.
• Inner pockets – There are several inner pockets that can be fitted to a suit. Left and right inside pockets, for instance, can be used for keeping your mobile device and money clips. Ticket pockets are also a must so you won’t ever misplace your tickets every time you watch a show. Lastly, don’t forget to add a secret inner pocket for those important documents, such as your passport.
• Show or working buttons – Show buttons have no real function; they are just there for show. On the other hand, working buttons are indicative of bespoke suits that will allow you to easily roll up your sleeves.

These important terms will help your tailor better understand the kind of suit you want, from top to bottom.

Having the knowledge necessary for getting a bespoke is crucial. So before heading to the best tailoring shop in your location, you should familiarize yourself with how the process works and how to properly speak with a tailor. And most importantly, accept that you cannot rush this process, so be patient.

The advantage of gathering this helpful information is that the next time you get a custom suit made, your tailor will already have all your details and measurements on file. And you will have your gorgeous custom-made suit in your hands in no time.

AUTHOR BIO

AlphaSuit is the brainchild of Master Haberdasher, Sean McKee. Over a span of more than two decades, Sean has provided custom suits to some of the most successful leaders in America. With AlphaSuit, he now brings this same premium service to you, but at 60-70% less than the traditional price.

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