Asking for advice on suit's fit

Hi all,

This is the first time I'm wearing a suit, so I'm not sure if I'm being too sensitive about the fit, or not enough.

It's actually tailored, but when I first got it, I didn't had the "oh yes it's definitely right" feeling. I felt disappointed instead. But I'm not intuitive enough to identify precisely what seems to be wrong.

I think the shoulders are too wide. When I fold my arms together, it starts to pucker and crunch up. The front of the suit has some canvas material supporting it, so it feels like I'm wearing some bullet proof kevlar. The problem is the stiffness of the front causes the entire suit to lift up above my shoulders if I make an exaggerated shrug.

I've read Flusser's "Style & The Man"'s advice on suits, particularly on the shoulders. I still can't tell if it it is right, or slightly too wide. Personally, I DISLIKE a boxy artificial feel. In fact, I already had the shoulder padding removed to a minimum.

Here are some photos:

Front view:
http://www........./shared/fd7j6vhx62
http://www........./shared/07nvkibgzz

When I fold my arms:
http://www........./shared/t0kbi6ejpm

The side:
http://www........./shared/u4psom970p

The back:
http://www........./shared/6zh6c3xzjk

The suit:
http://www........./shared/kdk24t9p02

Armholes

http://www........./shared/r8tz615a4x

My measured chest size was 39", and shoulders 18 3/4". The right shoulder is actually a 1/4" longer than the left. I measured. Was trying to find out why it seems one side reveals more cuffs than the other.

Apologies, ........ does not allow me to direct link to the jpg url. So I had to paste the links here. Oh pardon the mosaic too; shy

Help! Thanks

Jay

I don't think it is terrible by any means. It might be a touch wide in the shoulders, but nothing unwearable. The armholes look a bit low, which is a usual case for a suit lifting and shifting. What size is the suit? I bet it is a 40, try a 38 and see if that helps pre-tailoring. Though you have a 39" chest most suitmaker's sizes are a bit on the large size and can be tailored down. The next size down might be what you are looking for.

Originally Posted by patrickBOOTH

Click to expand...

I don't think it is terrible by any means. It might be a touch wide in the shoulders, but nothing unwearable. The armholes look a bit low, which is a usual case for a suit lifting and shifting. What size is the suit? I bet it is a 40, try a 38 and see if that helps pre-tailoring. Though you have a 39" chest most suitmaker's sizes are a bit on the large size and can be tailored down. The next size down might be what you are looking for.

Thanks for replying!

How is the suit size measured? I just measured the horizontal length of the suit front and back below the arm holes. It's about 46".

Are the armholes and shoulders reasonably alterable? I mentioned something about the armhole to the tailor before; he gave me some explanation that I couldn't understand - something about it being required for another thing.

I forgot - the back and side -

http://www........./shared/u4psom970p
http://www........./shared/6zh6c3xzjk

Originally Posted by blujay

Click to expand...

Thanks for replying!

How is the suit size measured? I just measured the horizontal length of the suit front and back below the arm holes. It's about 46".

Are the armholes and shoulders reasonably alterable? I mentioned something about the armhole to the tailor before; he gave me some explanation that I couldn't understand - something about it being required for another thing.

Suits are measured by the circumference of the chest, about 1" under the armholes. It will be hard to do this unless it is on a person and buttoned in a normal position.

On a ready to wear suit it is impossible to make armholes smaller in such a way it will give you more freedom of movement. You need an armhole that is higher up to your armpit. In ready to wear the only way to do that is to get a smaller size, or find a different brand that fits you better. With ready to wear it is very difficult. You have to find a brand that fits in the shoulders the way you like and have the tailor do the rest. If a suits does not fit well in the shoulders it throws off everything else and won't really be right.

Originally Posted by patrickBOOTH

Click to expand...

Suits are measured by the circumference of the chest, about 1" under the armholes. It will be hard to do this unless it is on a person and buttoned in a normal position.

On a ready to wear suit it is impossible to make armholes smaller in such a way it will give you more freedom of movement. You need an armhole that is higher up to your armpit. In ready to wear the only way to do that is to get a smaller size, or find a different brand that fits you better. With ready to wear it is very difficult. You have to find a brand that fits in the shoulders the way you like and have the tailor do the rest. If a suits does not fit well in the shoulders it throws off everything else and won't really be right.

+1, shoulders are difficult to alter

Originally Posted by patrickBOOTH

Click to expand...

On a ready to wear suit it is impossible to make armholes smaller in such a way it will give you more freedom of movement. You need an armhole that is higher up to your armpit. In ready to wear the only way to do that is to get a smaller size, or find a different brand that fits you better. With ready to wear it is very difficult. You have to find a brand that fits in the shoulders the way you like and have the tailor do the rest. If a suits does not fit well in the shoulders it throws off everything else and won't really be right.

Unfortunately this is not off-the-rack. It's actually tailor made. My luck to have a not-so-good fitting suit I guess.

But I don't suppose the alterability matters after the suit has already been made? Will a bespoke be more easily alterable than a OTR after it is made, besides that it should fit well in the first place.

Originally Posted by patrickBOOTH

Click to expand...

You need an armhole that is higher up to your armpit.

I think I have a guess why it went wrong despite being made for my measurements. The arm holes as you said. It's too big; if I pull up the suit, everything seems to resolve itself. The tail of the suit ends slightly after the butt and not too long as it is now. The shoulders seem to look more natural and less stuck sideways out.

http://www........./shared/r8tz615a4x

The amount I pulled up is considered a lot right? Should the arm hole of a suit fit on a shirted body just as how a shirt armhole should on a bare body?

Originally Posted by blujay

Click to expand...

I think I have a guess why it went wrong despite being made for my measurements. The arm holes as you said. It's too big; if I pull up the suit, everything seems to resolve itself. The tail of the suit ends slightly after the butt and not too long as it is now. The shoulders seem to look more natural and less stuck sideways out.

http://www........./shared/r8tz615a4x

The amount I pulled up is considered a lot right? Should the arm hole of a suit fit on a shirted body just as how a shirt armhole should on a bare body?

Wow! Yes, you could fit two more shoulders in there. A good fitting suit you should be able to only lift it up about an inch max. There is your problem right there.

Here's an update. Went back to the tailor to refit. According to him, "in 20 years", no customer has ever complained that the arm holes were too low and that the suit would lift up too much. Since the front has stiffeners, it will lift up and I should not expect the same fit as a shirt (not that I am). When I pointed out that the arm holes were very much bigger than my own arm and it is obvious even when standing still that there is about an inch of excess at the shoulder, he claimed that I did not ask for a "fitted suit". Instead, I asked for a bespoke suit, and supposedly, that was different from a "bespoke fitted suit". In any case, we reached a compromise of 1" off the shoulders and arm holes. Here is a thread that I found which explains the problem quite capably, and the loss of freedom of movement which comes with lower armholes: http://www.thelondonlounge.net/forum...c.php?f=4&t=60 Thanks for the advices.