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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There are lots of style options available online or on the high street, and which style you opt for will largely depend on where you usually wear your coat (to work, or out with your friends). You might prefer to buy two coats: one professional for going to and from work, and one more casual for the rest of the time.

A good coat will rest somewhere between the top of your thighs and your knees and it will comfortably fit over any jacket you might need to wear as part of a suit.  A woollen coat will keep you toasty warm, but some people find that the collar and cuffs irritate their skin. You could still go for a warm woollen coat and just wear a scarf and some gloves as a layer between your coat’s fabric and your skin. There are coats that have a layer between the lining and the outer fabric filled with down or man-made insulating material to add extra warmth – ideal if you travel to work by public transport and have to spend a lot of time standing around in the cold.

If you know what size suit jacket you would normally take, buy your coat in the next size up to allow room for whatever clothes you’ll be wearing beneath. Make sure you can do up the buttons with no gaping holes in between when you stand up straight. Check that the cuffs reach just past the cuffs of your jumper or shirt jacket.

Dark, neutral coloured coats will go with pretty much any item of mens clothing and won’t need to be washed as often as pale-coloured coats would. Check the wash instructions before you buy and be sure that you’ll be able to keep it clean easily. Many coats especially those with an high wool content are dry-clean only. Be sure to give it a good clean after you have finished wearing it for the year (when the weather picks up) and keep it somewhere safe and dry until next year. If you’ve chosen a classic style you’ll be able to wear it year upon year.

This is a guest post by Claire Chat a new Londoner, travel passionate and animal lover. She blogs about Pets and Travelling in Europe. If you want Claire to write you specific content, you can find email her here or contact her on Twitter (Claire_Chat).

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Get the Full Picture

If you’re shopping online, it’s important to pay attention to what you’re buying. Luckily, you’re average menswear website will offer some good quality photos of their products, so you can be sure you know what you’re getting. Problems may arise however when photos don’t correctly display the entirety of the garment. I once had a friend who bought a pair of shorts online, only to be disappointed to find that when they arrived, they had a giant spider’s web design stitched the whole way across the back. Learn from his mistake and be careful with what you’re buying.

Is the Website Safe?

This is more of a general web safety tip, but it especially applies when clothes shopping online. Does the website look secure? Can you pay with most major credit cards or via Paypal over a secure connection? If you can, this is a good sign that the site is genuine. Also, be careful of deals that are too good to be true. If a website is offering designer goods at a fraction of their retail price, they are most probably poor quality fakes and there will be something hidden away in the website’s terms and conditions that stop you from returning the goods for this reason.

Shipping

Ordering clothes from a menswear website can be ideal if you’re too busy to spend your weekends traipsing around shopping centres, so most are happy to pay a small fee for shipping if online shopping saves them time. It’s always important to check exactly what you are paying for shipping though, you might not have realised that you were shopping on a foreign website, which might charge a large fee to ship to your country. If possible, also arrange a delivery time for your clothes that is suitable for your circumstances. You save very little time if you have to keep heading to the post depot to pick up your online orders.

Sizing

One of the hardest things about shopping for menswear online is that you have no way of getting your sizing right for sure. If you’re shopping on the website of a high street chain that you already buy from regularly, you should be fine. But if you’re ordering from an online-only company, make sure to check their sizing guides to give yourself the best chance of getting the right fit. If not, it isn’t the end of the world, most online retailers will offer a 30-day returns policy similar to what any chain store would offer you.

Stylepilot is menswear website for men to discover which styles and items to purchase.

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