suit jacket - too small?

whiskeybeard · Aug 7, 2010

So I recently picked up a suit for an outdoors/daytime wedding that's next week, and now that I've got it home I worried that the jacket might be too small. It's tagged 40, and normally I'm 40/39, but it is a bit snug in the shoulders and back, so I wanted to see what you guys thought. (Sorry the pictures aren't great, I had to take them set up on a timer.)

(I guess I should say preemptively, I'm aware that the jacket has an almost comically high closure and small lapels, but at this point I'm considering that a separate issue. Let's just say I'm working under time/budget constraints. Furthermore, this isn't a shirt I'd be wearing with the suit, it's just what I had on.)

Thanks!

literasyme · Aug 7, 2010

Looks a little snug, but not too bad across the shoulders. The buttoning point is absurd, though, as you know -- it looks like a 4-button coat. Is it? Either way, no matter what your time & budget constraints are/were, was this really the best you could find?

whiskeybeard · Aug 7, 2010

Thanks for your reply. It is a 3-button jacket, although the top button is placed so absurdly high -- about an inch above the nipples -- that I can't imagine it was meant to be closed (you can see where the top button hole is in the first picture.)

As for the question of whether this was the best I could do.. honestly, somehow, it was. I live in a town where there's not much to be had locally. I asked for advice on this forum several times and watched B&S closely for a while, but nothing workable seemed to turn up. I ordered a few things from Yoox, but the fit was so off that I gave up. So this is what I ended up with. If anyone has ideas for better options -- given that I have to fly out for the wedding on Thursday now -- I would be all ears.

Sanguis Mortuum · Aug 7, 2010

It is a bit tight across the back of the shoulders, but that's a relatively minor complaint compared to the peculiar button stance. Looks like a 3-roll-2 but with the buttons much higher than would be usual.

The buttons themselves are a bit nasty too; plastic I take it? If you could switch them out for some horn or MOP it would look a lot better.

BrianVarick · Aug 7, 2010

Looks fine to me?

whiskeybeard · Aug 7, 2010

I agree, the buttons aren't great, and I'll look into switching them. However, I'm hoping at least part of why they look so bad in these pictures is that the shirt I'm wearing also has black plastic buttons. The shirt I would be wearing with the suit has white MOP buttons, which I'm hoping will look less severe.

Gus · Aug 7, 2010

Originally Posted by whiskeybeard

It is a 3-button jacket, although the top button is placed so absurdly high -- about an inch above the nipples -- that I can't imagine it was meant to be closed (you can see where the top button hole is in the first picture.)

This just isn't right. I hope you can find another option with an appropriate fit. Good luck.

acecow · Aug 7, 2010

The fit is fine... How about cutting off the middle button and just using the bottom one, pretending that it's a 1-button jacket?

Master-Classter · Aug 7, 2010

better pics would really help me help you... Try standing further away

JayJay · Aug 7, 2010

It doesn't look too small to me.

arc · Aug 7, 2010

The buttoning point is awfully high. I'm worried about the length from that.

Shoulders and chest look fine to me though.

BrianVarick · Aug 7, 2010

SInce the button stance is so high, I would try just buttoning the middle one and try to train it to roll.

whiskeybeard · Aug 7, 2010

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm glad people seem to think the fit is pretty much okay in the shoulders/back/chest.

That leaves the button problem. As requested by Master-Classter, here are a few more pics taken from further away by my roommate, who just got home. (Once again this is not the shirt nor obviously the pants I would be wearing, as those are being altered.)

While the goofy buttons do make me cringe a bit to look at, I'm sort of hoping it is something that it will pass largely unnoticed to the untrained eye. I just don't know what I would be able to get in the next couple days that would fit me better OTR. But let me know what you think, or if you have suggestions for easily obtainable alternatives that could fit a fairly trim build acceptably off the rack.

cptjeff · Aug 7, 2010

Return it and buy something wherever the wedding is. The length is fine, but the buttons look comical.

literasyme · Aug 7, 2010

The buttons are ugly, but in these shots, the jacket doesn't look as bad. It's obviously not a timeless piece, and is going for a Mad Men aesthetic, so it'll probably read as cool and current at a wedding. The fit's pretty good for RTW, I'd say, though not perfect (if you can live with the length, or lack thereof). I would replace those buttons with light grey ones and be done with it.

suit jacket - too small?

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Distinguished Member

Distinguished Member

Senior Member

Stylish Dinosaur

Distinguished Member

Distinguished Member

Stylish Dinosaur

Senior Member

Distinguished Member

Senior Member

Distinguished Member

Senior Member

Classic Menswear Featured products

Similar threads

Featured Sponsor

Definitely full canvas only

Half canvas is fine

Really don't care

Depends on fabric

Depends on price

Forum Sponsors

Forum statistics

FOLLOW STYLEFORUM ON: