Bespoke suit fit check

[Janshi]

Hi all,

Had my first bespoke suit done by a local tailor in NYC, Albert Lam. 100% Italian linen.

I had asked for minimal padding and shoulder, but after the initial fitting and delivery, there is still noticeable padding. The chest piece in particular feels very stiff, which I was hoping to avoid with a linen suit as it's more casual.

I'm pleased by some aspects but not quite in love with others. The jacket feels restrictive when I raise my arms, and especially on the right side, a collar gap appears, to varying degrees of aggressiveness. Also when I do anything with one arm, the other side of the suit tends to raise/buckle. Compare that to my SuitSupply La Spalla, which lays flat with minimal movement even if I move my arm up fairly high, and keeps the collar snug.

(bespoke on left, suit supply on right)

This is my first bespoke suit so I'm not sure if my issues are unreasonable nitpicking or not. Would love a more experienced eye to help me assess the fit and whether I should be happy as is or bring it back for adjustments.

 

[Crispyj]

Linen does not have much give if any compared to wool. Average tailors won't be able to cut enough room for you to move around. Since they are only cutting a suit to look clean and fitted when you are static.

You look like you need more room around the shoulders and sleeve head.

 

[Janshi]

Could you explain a little more what you mean by more room around the shoulders and sleeve head? Do you mean extending it?

 

[Crispyj]

More room means bigger measurements. Slightly extending shoulders, sleeve head needs to be larger than the armhole. It's up to the skills of the tailor to make you not see the extra room built into the jacket.

Cutting a suit for static pose is easy, cutting for movement takes a lot more knowledge.

 

[DorianGreen]

Assuming that it's a preference of yours to have a slim jacket, it looks too trim to me.
From what I can see, I concur with the impression that you could need more room in the shoulder area. Traditionally, the shoulder is a little extended on a jacket, beyond the natural line, giving more room for movement. In your pictures it seems that you have instead no exceeding room at all.

 

[Leiker]

I agree with the comments regarding the shoulder width in particular. It might be interesting to take very careful measurements of the two jackets pictured and note any differences. In my experience a difference of as little as 1/2 inch in shoulder width can make a significant difference in fit.

 

[Janshi]

Thanks for the feedback, DorianGreen and Leiker! I'll share them with the tailor.

Dorian, you mentioned the jacket looking too trim, do you mind elaborating on that?

Also, currently the chest pieces feels very stiff and the jacket is fully lined, which is very much against what I was looking for in a summer linen suit. Even just putting the suit on in my own home feels suffocating. Is it okay to ask him to remove the lining and replace the chest pieces with a less stiff material?

 

[maxalex]

As noted above, linen has no stretch and performs differently than wool. A complication is that bespoke tailoring often feels “tight” to a first-timer because the cut is closer to their body’s shape than what they’re used to getting from OTR. Add stiff linen to the mix and it might indeed feel constricting at first.

Although it’s best to limit dry cleaning of tailored clothing, linen will soften with a first cleaning as the fabric is usually sanforized, like denim.

Overall the suit looks pretty good to me. The shoulder is natural which is what you requested; the overall cut reflects a New World interpretation of Neapolitan styling, which does not have a lot drape in the chest (exceptions like Rubinacci aside). You could talk to the tailor about more room in the chest and shoulder although ideally that would have been a conversation to have at an earlier fitting.

People associate linen with summer, but linen suiting fabric is often quite heavy—especially Irish linen (10-13 oz). It’s not like wearing some gauzy guayabera.

This can be an advantage as heavier linen wrinkles less, and in broad folds. By contrast, lighter Italian linen (8-9 oz) will wrinkle like crumpled paper as soon as you put it on.

Jacket lining can be removed or minimized although that may require more work on the inner stitching, as the seams will then be visible.

I have a minimally lined tobacco linen suit made from heavy W. Bill Irish fabric that I tend to wear more in shoulder seasons, not so much when it’s really hot. Sweat stains it, and the stains can’t be removed with water although they come out in dry cleaning.

 

[Janshi]

Thank you Maxalex for your reply. Appreciate you sharing your experience with linen material and suiting. Great to know that this isn't fully unexpected, and that it'll break in. A few follow-up questions:

A complication is that bespoke tailoring often feels “tight” to a first-timer because the cut is closer to their body’s shape than what they’re used to getting from OTR

How to tell between tightness that is because I'm unused to it, tightness because of the heavier linen, and tightness that can be adjusted? My main concern is that when I raise my arms past a certain level, a collar gap appears and my arm and shoulders feel tight. While I'm not planning to sling a football in a suit, I think I should be able to expect to shake hands, hold a drink, or dance without feeling restricted, right?

You could talk to the tailor about more room in the chest and shoulder although ideally that would have been a conversation to have at an earlier fitting.

Is it about having more room in the chest or changing/removing the chest piece material? I don't know if you can see it in the pictures but it is remarkably stiff, even stiffer than OTR stuff I've tried on or have. I had mentioned this to the tailor during the first fitting but he assured me that it would work out, and now I worry that the stiffness of it is contributing to how the entire jacket moves when I raise one of my arms.

 

[maxalex]

Thank you Maxalex for your reply. Appreciate you sharing your experience with linen material and suiting. Great to know that this isn't fully unexpected, and that it'll break in. A few follow-up questions:

How to tell between tightness that is because I'm unused to it, tightness because of the heavier linen, and tightness that can be adjusted? My main concern is that when I raise my arms past a certain level, a collar gap appears and my arm and shoulders feel tight. While I'm not planning to sling a football in a suit, I think I should be able to expect to shake hands, hold a drink, or dance without feeling restricted, right?


Is it about having more room in the chest or changing/removing the chest piece material? I don't know if you can see it in the pictures but it is remarkably stiff, even stiffer than OTR stuff I've tried on or have. I had mentioned this to the tailor during the first fitting but he assured me that it would work out, and now I worry that the stiffness of it is contributing to how the entire jacket moves when I raise one of my arms.

My guess is the jacket does not have a lot of canvasing. Linen has no stretch. Maybe the tailor should have accounted for that but I don’t know. If it feels that bad, talk to him. Some collar gap is to be expected if you pose like an athlete with arms above your head. There shouldn’t be any in normal positions.

 

[DorianGreen]

Thanks for the feedback, DorianGreen and Leiker! I'll share them with the tailor.

Dorian, you mentioned the jacket looking too trim, do you mind elaborating on that?

Also, currently the chest pieces feels very stiff and the jacket is fully lined, which is very much against what I was looking for in a summer linen suit. Even just putting the suit on in my own home feels suffocating. Is it okay to ask him to remove the lining and replace the chest pieces with a less stiff material?

I'm referring mainly to the shoulders.

Look at this picture: the shoulder seam is exactly where the arm is. It looks good to me, but could be the reason because you feel restricted in the movement.

 

[Janshi]

My guess is the jacket does not have a lot of canvasing.

Does the chest piece count as canvasing? If so, it's definitely canvased at least in that area, and quite stiffly.

Thanks again all for your feedback, I'm going to bring it back to my tailor next week to see how we can solve these issues. Will update when I have more information.