critique my suit and educate me pls

[superfans124]

after posing and having these pictures taken, I'm really confused of what to think and say of my understanding of dressing suits, I thought I had gotten better along the way, but now I can't say so certain. unlike mr.spiffy, I'm not sure about the way I dress, so please chip in, and all comments are appreciated, if you can also post illustration as references, if would be even more superb.

first of, I'm 27, 6'2-3, really slender build, 160 lbs-ish. At my age and income level (also matureity level), I prioritize "look" more than anything else (work and material quality, details, etc).

The black pinstripe in the first pictures is the end result of my learning curve. It is my 2nd suit bought a few years ago for my 1st real job, a way overpriced tommy hilfiger for $500-something, and took it to a shaitty tailor recommended by TH staff at georgetown, DC., paid additionally overpriced $200 to have it tailored (double ouch!). Since I didn't know better, I couldn't quite pin point what I felt off and what I wanted exactly, so when I came to HK then China, I found a shanghai tailor who's much cheaper and more knowledgable (and eager to listen), he showed me how the first tailor butchered the suit (pucked shoulders that needed rotation, damaged fabric and half-assed work quality where untrained eyes wouldn't pay attention to), at that point I said "F it" and decided to use that suit as a lab rat to create a look I "vaguely" knew that I wanted.

The suit has undergone through some severe alteration: one thing the shoulders have been altered to fit me better (according to most on SF, shoulder alteration is severe enough by itself I believe), and serious waist suppresion. the sleeve length in the 1st picture looks short than it really is in reality for some reason. waist doesn't look severely suppressed in the frontal view, but from the back and side, you can see. when I pull my arms forward (in the side view pic), the back really hugs my curve. This is something I'm not sure about: whether have I gone beyond the limit, or am I being a little bit progressive? I thought since suits are about "fit", if the back hugs me, it's not against the principle. but does the back look too tight (from the back view), do I have absolutely TOO MUCH ripple (upper back and lower back)? on a side note, what could be done to bring this suit look "better"?

and then it comes the space suit, bought this versace knowing I won't find any appropriate occasion to wear, but against my better judgement I bought it at deep discount. anyways I purchased it, and this is how it looks on me right now, I'm not satisfied with the look, I want it to look more like I'm wearing a versace (I know the way I put it sounds very deutschy). I think there's room for alteration, except this time I want to be more knowledgable and cautious than the last time.

(pics 4-6 are the versace, and note the shirt has gone sideways) sleeves are long that I can tell, I also feel the shoulders aren't perfect fit, I think the TH shoulders fit me better from the pictures. let's say if we are not concerned about pucked shoulder seams, does TH have a better shoulder fit? another aspect I'd like to see more is the suit hugging my torso, to create more space between my arms and body (and maybe to enhance the look with more flair on the skirts), I can accept some radiating ripples from the tied suit button. I've tried to achieve it on the TH, but the back looks like it's already at its absolute peak of tightness yet the front doesn't look close enough to what I wanted, what am I missing?

one of my fundamental questions is: have I butched my suits by altering them too much? since I never had the financial means to shop really highend suit shops, I've never encountered a suit that looks "just right" on me OTR, even RTW highend labels (like this versace), so I thought either I have to do severe alteration or go full bespoke. the high cost of tailor alteration in the States might be one primary reason why people are against excessive tailoring (only my guess), so since now I'm in Asia and it's cheaper here, I can experiment as much as I want, is this view wrong?

another perspective crashing lesson came from these pictures. I suddenly realized what I normally view myself is drastically different from what an average person view me. the way I see myself from a 6'2 view angle is pretty neat, but from an eye level of a regular height person, I look really flat and shapeless (as in these pictures). "what I see myself" and "what others see myself", how do you more experienced dressers adjust to this perspective dilemma?

all in all, I hope these learning curves all goes to the bank, and pay off eventually when I get my first bespoke suit that I'm planning on getting later this year in HK.

thank you all very much for spending the time going through my problems.

 

[1400PennAve]

You could have spent a whole lot less and got better fitting and looking suits...For the money you should have gone the bespoke route.

 

[sii1981]

the black pin stripe looks ok, though your skinniness means the extra back suppression dont make the back hang nice. get a few burgers down ya.
as for the shiny piece, yuck! forget the cut, why this material?

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

Originally Posted by sii1981

the black pin stripe looks ok, though your skinniness means the extra back suppression dont make the back hang nice. get a few burgers down ya.
as for the shiny piece, yuck! forget the cut, why this material?

why are you giving advice?

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

The versace doesnt do you any good, the shoulders are too big. I would return it and start over. You need a slim cut that also includes slim shoulders.

Versace isnt a slim cut, simply heavily waist suppressed cut, it remains with big shoulders and full sleeves. Works well for athletic people.

 

[Newcomer]

"The versace doesnt do you any good, the shoulders are too big. I would return it and start over. You need a slim cut that also includes slim shoulders.

Versace isnt a slim cut, simply heavily waist suppressed cut, it remains with big shoulders and full sleeves. Works well for athletic people."

+1.

 

[laphroaig]

From the back shots I can see the same problem in those suits as I had in my first suit. You attempted to fix incorrect width of the suit using waist suppression. That doesn't fix incorrectly fitting shoulders and chest and you end up with the folds under the armpits at the back. For comparison you can see the same problem in my first suit if you find my first or second post here. Apart from that at least the suit length looks good. I didn't even get that right

. The sleeves on the second need shortening but that's a minor alteration. From the front the suits look OK though. Take this with a grain of salt, I'm not a tailor, not even an iTailor.

 

[superfans124]

Originally Posted by sii1981

as for the shiny piece, yuck! forget the cut, why this material?

I actually went shopping looking for gray suit with sheen, this one just blinded my eyes...kinda like how the creature from lord of the ring glees his eyes when he sees something shinny

 

[mkarim]

Originally Posted by 1400PennAve

You could have spent a whole lot less and got better fitting and looking suits...For the money you should have gone the bespoke route.

I thought bespoke ones cost quite a but more than that. Are you talking about bespoke machine-made or bespoke hand-made?

 

[bowtielover]

Not the best quality suits considering what you payed for them. You should look for something that is an all wool and stay away from synthetic fabrics. You can still find some pretty good deqals without sacraficing quality. Also the sleeves on the first coat are too short the others are fine in the sleeves but a bit big in the shoulders. You will also find that the less quality the suit the harder of a time your going to have trying to get a perfect fit.

 

[superfans124]

Originally Posted by 1400PennAve

You could have spent a whole lot less and got better fitting and looking suits...For the money you should have gone the bespoke route.

I am getting there, but since I already paid the tuition, why not finish the course? I'm certain a experienced bespoke suit maker will hand me perfection (or close), but that won't teach me a whole lot. tbh, I'm not even close to the idea of being smart, I cannot fully conprehand and memorize a concept until I've put them to practical use, trail and error is my way of life, sadly.

 

[superfans124]

Originally Posted by SkinnyGoomba

The versace doesnt do you any good, the shoulders are too big. I would return it and start over. You need a slim cut that also includes slim shoulders.

Versace isnt a slim cut, simply heavily waist suppressed cut, it remains with big shoulders and full sleeves. Works well for athletic people.

those are some really hurtful truth...guess I'll have to hang it up, and start working on upper body muscles, and hopefully when I pull it out of closet in 10 years, my gut won't outgrow my arms and the suit isn't too painfully out of style.

 

[Toorman]

At 6'2" and 160 lbs. you're screwed. As you stated, you're going to have a tough time finding suits that fit well off the rack. You can't just buy any suit and expect a tailor to make it fit. The goal is to have to do as little work as possible to guarantee the best results. You need to try evertyhing on in hopes of finding that model that comes closest (recognizing nothing will be prefect off the rack). You might benefit by going to a store that has a knowledgable sales staff to assist you. Once you've identified a workable model and size you can look for it on sale, etc. Or, since you are in Asia, try and find an afforable tailor and try bespoke. Don't expect miracles as results vary considerably. Oh, dump the Versace.

 

[superfans124]

Originally Posted by laphroaig

From the back shots I can see the same problem in those suits as I had in my first suit. You attempted to fix incorrect width of the suit using waist suppression. That doesn't fix incorrectly fitting shoulders and chest and you end up with the folds under the armpits at the back. For comparison you can see the same problem in my first suit if you find my first or second post here. Apart from that at least the suit length looks good. I didn't even get that right

. The sleeves on the second need shortening but that's a minor alteration.

From the front the suits look OK though. Take this with a grain of salt, I'm not a tailor, not even an iTailor.

searched and found it, yours looks better on you than mine on me (maybe I'm being self-critical, but who isn't here at SF? /shrug), being young, shorter than normal jacket length is alright to me, passable as being fashion forward (I think it still is). I hope you solved the shoulders problem, I'd wear it in a not-all-serious business environment.

 

[sii1981]

Originally Posted by SkinnyGoomba

why are you giving advice?
not advice so much. just what i see. you can ignore all of it if you like, if i put up anything to be critiqued i wouldn't mind any one saying it sucked.