Please Critique My Suit!

[dopamine]

Alright, so I bought my first suit last semester while in NY for a conference - hit up Bloomingdale's and bought a John Varvatos suit on sale. Of course, back then, I knew very little about suits. Now that I'm on Style Forum, I'd like to take advantage of the vast wealth of knowledge here and see how I did. I'm almost most probably going to try and get some alterations done - the sleeves seem far too long. I'll update this thread tomorrow when I have daylight to get more shots of the pants and whatnot. Also, please disregard the shoes - I know they're absolutely awful and cheap, I just haven't had a chance to pick up real shoes yet. I'm quite slim and small, and it was difficult to find a suit that fit me properly. I was hoping for a more slim-fitting pair of pants, but oh well. Anyways, here are pictures:

Suit: John Varvatos
Shirt: H&M Slim Fit
Tie: Brooks Brothers
Shoes: Crappy ass Steve Maddens I bought for like $30 on Black Friday from Amazon

I'm particularly concerned by the break of the pants, as I'm not exactly sure if they're too long. Also, keep in mind that while I'm using this suit for interviews and presentations (I'm an undergraduate business student), I also like to wear slim-fitting clothing and more modern cuts. Unfortunately, I can't afford Dior, so this is the best I could find with my limited knowledge.

 

[dj-jd]

I'd take the pants up just a bit. If I ever wonder about a fit, I'll go into the taylor and ask.

 

[Zenny]

Originally Posted by dj-jd

I'd take the pants up just a bit. If I ever wonder about a fit, I'll go into the taylor and ask.

+1

Id prefer less break. Wear them with the shoes you'll be wearing most with them, and then get a fitting.

 

[dopamine]

Thanks for your replies! What do you guys think of the rest of the fit?

 

[Egdon Heath]

Wow, I think that looks really swell. (Though most here, but not me, distain black suits). The tie and the crisp white shirt really make it come alive. Nice shoulders, great waist. On the pants take-up: a rule-of-thumb that works well for me is to let the hem sit exactly 1" off the floor when you're standing (in front of a mirror) shoeless, in stocking feet. But anyhow: you made a fine choice.

 

[dopamine]

This is a bit OT, but how does one go about making those ridiculously tight and perfect tie knots that one sees in menswear advertisements or on the Brooks Brothers website - such as here: http://www.brooksbrothers.com/tieknots/tieknots.tem My four-in-hand and Half Windsor don't exactly look shoddy, but they definitely aren't works of art.

 

[cvac]

Hard to judge fit with a picture of the back.

Next time buy a charcoal gray or navy suit.

Definitely get a real pair of dress shoes whatever you do.

For better tie knots, practice. I actually don't like those super tight knots where the tie is being "strangled" b/c they cause really bad wrinkles in the tie that don't go away. Take a look at well dressed people in real life - their tie knots typically don't look like that either.

 

[cvac]

The sleeves are too long b/c they don't show at least 1/4" of shirt cuff. Break on the pants is personal taste, I personally go for very little break. Also, I don't like plain bottom trousers on suits, I go for a 1.5" cuff.

 

[eHaberdasher]

Your left sleeve looks longer than the right. As everyone else pointed out, the hem of the trousers can afford to come up a little more, and since this appears to be a slimmer fitting suit, I recommend sticking with t plain bottoms - not cuffs.

 

[eHaberdasher]

And at least shine those shoes!

 

[MilanoStyle]

Looks aight for RTW suit.

 

[goodlife]

As others have noted, both sleeve and hem are a little long. It also seems like the sleeves are a lot fuller then necessary especially in the upper arm area. It could just be the way you are standing, but something looks off in the back, maybe one of the more experiences members could provide some guidance. Overall, a pretty decent looking suit.

 

[hadamulletonce]

I really like the suit. John Varvatos makes really nice slim cut. I do agree the hem needs to come up a tag. The sleeve length difference could be from the way you're standing in the picture. Sleeve do need to come up - you should see about a dimes length of shirt cuff if it fits right.

As for shoes, if you have another $30.00 on ebay you could do much better than the Maddens. Right now is a great time to buy dress shoes.

 

[dopamine]

Thanks for the comments! I'm in the market for a nice pair of stylish dress shoes hopefully costing no more than $150. Do you think it'll be difficult to take the hem in on the pants and shorten the sleeves? The buttons on the suit are non-functional. Does anyone know of a decent tailor in either Sacramento or Philadelphia that could be relied upon for these alters and hopefully not cost too much?

 

[knittieguy]

Looks surprisingly good for off the rack. Although black suits do tend to make one look like either an undertaker or a diamonds salesman on 47th street.