Advice on perfectly fitting suits except too tight around thighs/seat?

[chriskirk]

I have 23" thighs, and measured 37" waist although my BR jeans are 33" and are even loose fitting (not sure how jeans are really measured).

I have decided to splurge on a few off-the-rack suits and went to C21 in Manhattan the past few days to try some on. My existing suits are all tailored and fit absolutely perfect even after 5-6 years. I bought a Cerutti 1881 suit that was really nice and brought it to a very good (probably the best) tailor in NYC while wearing my tailor suit and basically asked him to alter it according to how the tailor suit fits. He said the seat is too tight as I have relatively thick thighs which cause the pockets to bulge out and that cannot be fixed. Furthermore, the waist was a bit loose and would have to be brought in which would further exacerbate the bulging issue.

The suit is a 42R (jacket fit perfectly) with accompanying pants. Obviously off the rack suits cannot be mixed and matched (going with a 44R pants with 42R jacket) so I decided to try on a bunch of other suits at C21. I tried everything from varvatos, boss, versace, sand, CK and about 4-5 others that I can't remember and they were all too tight in the seat area.

I'm a bit discouraged as there are some really nice suits off the rack that can be had and coupled with a good tailor to alter them, I believe I will be able to get a close fit even to my tailor suits.

A few of the salespeople advised me to go to 44R but the jackets looks absolutely ridiculous and boxy - a look I can't stand and I doubt my tailor would even go about performing whatever major surgery that would be required to have it fit properly. Even so, a major surgery like that would probably cost so much that I might as well just get them all tailored.

Am I forever stuck with tailored suits? I don't mind it tight in the seat but I cannot have the pockets bulge out. Maybe a slight bulging of 1/2" would be ok, what do you think?

Perhaps I should try elsewhere other than C21 - I only tried there because they do have a decent selection at one location. My tailor did also suggest that the suits I was trying might be slim fitting ones and that my seat requires at least 1 pleat which would free up the seat area and he would be able to go about his work on them.

Any thoughts or recommendations? I'm really hoping to pick up 4-5 suits for business and casual use at decent prices $500-1200 each with an extra $200-300 on alterations each.

I'm located in Manhattan.


Thanks in advance.

 

[HenryFlower]

You are looking at fashion forward slim-fitting clothes. I take a 40R and have 24" thighs and slim fit stuff just doesn't fit. Look for pleated plants with fuller cuts but most stuff that's not crazy slim styled should be fine.

If that doesn't work, Benjamin (eHaberdasher) sells high quality suit separates so you can take a 42R jacket and 38 pants.

 

[phxlawstudent]

23" thighs + 37" waist should equal normal fit in my estimation...

Thus, I tentatively agree with Henry.

 

[rennavate]

But then what about someone like me? (Sorry chriskirk, I don't mean to hijack your thread.)

I'm 6'0", 180lbs, 38 chest and 32 waist, and my thighs are 25 and 26 inches! What is someone like me supposed to do; slim-fit pants rarely fit me, but slim-fit jackets are perfect. It's hard for guys like chriskirk and I.

 

[phxlawstudent]

Be thankful your not fat and go MTM?

Cold answer, but that's basically the reality I myself have come to accept (grudgingly).

 

[Mr. Sartorial]

I'd go MTM or go something a little hint more relaxed and have it taken in at waist, seat and thighs.

Trouble with a suit that's too skinny in the thighs is that there is virtually nothing you can do about it most of the time. I learned that the hard way on one pair of pants. Most of the time there;s not even any fabric to work with in that area.

Other option is keep looking. there are lots of different cuts out there, and maybe you'll find one that is better than the rest for your body type. That's why some people become so attached to the certain cuts that brands put out.

Good luck!

 

[chriskirk]

Just as an update, I found that Hickey Freeman suits - although not top of the line but quite decent really - fit extremely well. I took it to my preferred tailor in NYC who is very good and he said that to make it fit to my expectations that only the seat needed to be taken in slightly. The pants are flat front and the pockets don't bow out at all. I was extremely impressed that a suit off the rack could fit so well. This is after trying on 12 different suit makers mind you though.

On this note, does anyone know of any other suit maker that makes cuts like Hickey Freeman?

 

[pvrhye]

We sound nearly the same proportions. In any case, which line of Hickey Freeman. Make sure you know if you're wearing mainline or the downmarket Hickey line.

 

[chriskirk]

How do you know if it's mainline or downmarket HF? These suits I bought were $1500 and $2000. They are canvased but can't tell if they are basted lapels, etc.. One of them is in fact from Mitchells and has the Mitchells tag along with HF in the inside of the jacket.

 

[pvrhye]

Originally Posted by chriskirk

How do you know if it's mainline or downmarket HF? These suits I bought were $1500 and $2000. They are canvased but can't tell if they are basted lapels, etc.. One of them is in fact from Mitchells and has the Mitchells tag along with HF in the inside of the jacket.

I'm pretty sure canvassed = mainline.

 

[chriskirk]

Yup, found a few good reference sites on the Internet and confirmed it. Sadly, the 3rd one I bought seems to be Ltd and therefore not mainline and was $1500.. Not sure if I'll keep that one - although it does seem to be constructed to a similar level of quality.