How To Find The Right Suit Size – SUAVE OWL Suiting Basics

December 16, 2024

How To Find The Right Men’s Suit

When it comes to men’s suits, you need something that makes you feel your best. You want something that reflects your style and personality, it needs to make you feel good. However, there’s lots of other things to consider too: style, colour, material, accessories. Finding the right men’s suit for you can be a tricky process, we want to help make it easier.

One of the major considerations for men’s suits and menswear is fit. The right fit can make or break an outfit. Something too big will add bulk to your frame and make you look larger than you are, it also makes an outfit less formal and can make you look a bit unkempt. A suit that is too small will constrict you, it will also not flatter your features, and it will be uncomfortable all day long whilst making you look unkempt and unprepared. When there is already so much to consider when it comes to choosing the right suit, knowing how to get the right fit for you is imperative.

Read on for a summary of how men’s suit sizes work, how to find the right jacket size, how to find the right waistcoat size, how to find the right suit trouser size. If suit fit makes or breaks a men’s formal outfit, be sure to get it right so you can enjoy the suit choosing process…

Dion 3-Piece Suit, SUAVE OWL White Shirt, Plain Twill Tie & Pocket Square Set

How Do Men’s Suit Sizes Work?

When you look at men’s suits, the labels often have numbers and sometimes letters. The numbers on a suit jacket correspond to chest size, this is the same case in waistcoats. In suit trousers, the numbers reflect the inner leg length measurement.

A lot of men’s suits come as a set, usually using the 6-down method. This means if you’re a size 48 in the jacket, the suit will come with size 42 trousers. Whilst this works for some gentlemen, this often doesn’t work for the best fit in all three suit pieces. At SUAVE OWL, all of our suit pieces are sold independently, freeing you up to not only get the best suit fit in each piece but to also be more selective, you can mix and match suit pieces or just buy yourself the one piece if that’s all you want.

If you’re new to men’s suiting or are struggling to the find the best suit for you, consider utilising a size guide. By simply taking your measurements, of which there are plenty of videos and resources online to assist you in doing, you can apply them to a size guide and find your ideal sizing. This can be an excellent starting point for finding your ideal size and let you know the general ballpark to look in. Find all of our SUAVE OWL suit size guides here.

Jenson 3-Piece Suit, SUAVE OWL White Shirt, Paisley Tie & Pocket Square Set

How To Find Your Suit Jacket Size

When searching for the perfect fit in a men’s suit jacket, this is what you should look for:

Your suit shoulder needs to lie flat; the seam should lay on top of where your arm and shoulder connect. It needs to have no excess material, and it also should not ride up and have the arms start over your shoulder. Make sure to keep this strongly in mind, this is not an easy fix in tailoring like other aspects might be so making sure it fits from the get-go is a must.

Cody 3-Piece Suit, SUAVE OWL White Shirt, Plain Twill Tie & Pocket Square Set

Your jacket should be able to close. When closed, the sides of the jacket should smoothly meet without excess material hanging off the body or pinching material at the buttons with flare at the bottom of the jacket and wrinkles in the material. The body should be hugged but not constricted and the jacket should be comfortable.

The jacket sleeve by the hands should expose a small amount of the cuff of the formal shirt worn beneath. The traditional guideline is ‘half an inch of linen’, meaning only half an inch of the shirt should show. It should never be the case that the entire shirt cuff is visible, but it should also never be entirely hidden.

The jacket collar should rest against the collar of your formal shirt. None of this should be constricting or difficult to wear, but it also should not have massive spaces between the garments. A badly fitting suit jacket collar is usually indicative of other aspects of bad fit in a jacket, particularly shoulder fit. If a collar is too tight or too loose, it may be worth trying on different sizes and styles all together.

Caridi Jacket, Ted Waistcoat, SUAVE OWL Pink Shirt, Paisley Tie & Pocket Square Set

Lastly, jacket length is important and difficult to fix in tailoring. The suit jacket should fall past the waist and past the top of the trouser. It should drape over the top of the buttock but stop when the buttock begins to curve inward. If the jacket stops before the buttock or goes past it entirely, the jacket length is not right.

How To Find Your Waistcoat Size

When it comes to finding the right size in a waistcoat, this is what to look out for.

Wells 3-Piece Suit, SUAVE OWL White Shirt, Plain Twill Tie & Pocket Square Set

A men’s waistcoat should hug the figure but not constrict it. The material should be smooth against the body, not wrinkled or hanging off with excess. Whilst wearing a waistcoat, you should be able to have full movement of your body. Of all the suit pieces, a waistcoat should have the slimmest fit, it needs to stick close to your torso. Don’t worry if after a few drinks and some food it starts to feel a little tight, most waistcoats have adjustment bands in the back which can be loosened and tightened as necessary.

When wearing a waistcoat, none of the formal shirt layer beneath should be visible through the waistcoat or below it. When wearing a belt, the entirety of it should be covered and there should additionally be an excess of about an inch below it.

HM5 Stone 3-Piece Suit, SUAVE OWL White Shirt, Plain Twill Tie & Pocket Square Set

How To Find Your Suit Trouser Size

Last but not least, when searching for suit trousers, these are the aspects of suit trouser fit to watch for.

A key aspect of suit trouser fit is the placement of the waistband. It should sit at or just beneath the belly button. It should not contract the body, but instead hug it. The waistband should be secure without the addition of a belt or braces.

There should be no excess material on either the crotch or rear area, the material should also not stretch or strain across this area. The fabric should be smooth, not too tight or loose, but hugged.

Elwood 3-P iece Suit, SUAVE OWL White Shirt, Plain Twill Tie & Pocket Square Set, Braces

Length is also important in suit trouser fit. The bottom of the leg should graze the shoe when stood, but not pool over the shoe. It should not sit up on your calves, but instead remain by your ankles. If your suit trousers often sit too high up, looking at longer styles and sizes is likely worth it for your overall comfort and look.

What Should You Consider While Suit Shopping

Suit fit is an important, must-consider when suit shopping. The outfit will not look its best if it is not right for you. However, there are a few other things to consider too.

In some suits, or just generally while searching, you’ll have the choice between a single or a double-breasted jacket and waistcoat. A double-breasted waistcoat is the older, more traditional style with a cross-over of fabric in the middle of the torso and two rows of buttons. A single-breasted jacket has no cross over, and only the one row of buttons. These two differing styles have different impacts on the look of the suit and the wearer, often being more flattering for differing body types. To learn more about this, read our Suit Jacket Style Guide For Men.

Ted 3-Pi e ce Suit, SUAVE OWL White Shirt, Plain Twill Tie & Pocket Square Set

Put thought into the rest of your outfit. Wearing the right suit with the wrong shirt will not make you your most comfortable and confident. Having the perfect outfit with no accessories or ill-fitting, uncomfortable shoes will make you unhappy throughout the day. It can be easy to get caught up in the suiting aspect that you forget the rest of the outfit, make sure to consider it too.