Men’s Guide: How To Find The Right Fitting Clothes

When it comes to how a man dresses, it mostly breaks down to how his clothes fit. Yes, you can have the most expensive clothes on the planet, be relaxed, confident and cool but if your clothes don’t fit, your marks will be reduced significantly. A good tailor on your side might help but an eye that scans the room and finds your exact fitting clothes is priceless. You won’t even have to consult the tailor all the time. All it takes is paying closer attention to the details of apparel and everything flows naturally.

It is very important to have someone record your body and feet measurements before in-store or online shopping. Whether you are athletic built, slender, stocky built, average or tall, you have to know finding the right clothes fit largely depends on your body type. It is quite common to go to a store and have a hard time finding your right fit. For example, most athletic built men take longer than average to find their best fitting shirt. Even if you’re not athletic built, it is normal to take longer than usual to find your perfect fit. After all, everybody is unique and there is no ‘one size fits all’. Regardless, there are some details you have to be on the lookout for whenever you are buying your clothes.

1. Shirts- If you opt for a dress shirt, the length should be convenient for you to bend and make natural movements without the shirt getting untucked. Moreover, the wormholes should not be too low or too tight around the shoulders. To make sure the collar is not too constricting, button the collar and try to fit in your two fingers between your neck and the collar. If your two fingers don’t fit, your collar is too tight and you can probably not turn your head without the collar turning with it. The shoulder seam should hug the shoulder bone comfortably. Even for t-shirts, the shoulders should be complimented by the design. The sleeves should not be too tight that you can almost see the veins inside your arms like a see-through. Neither should the sleeves be too loose to swell up. A balance that is not too tight or too loose is what you should aim for. The cuff should be placed at least 2cm up your wrist bone, at the tip of your palm. A cuff should not maneuver more than inch past your wrist whenever you bend your arm. However, it should not be tighter than your watch and not go further above your wrist than your watch.

2. Suit jackets and blazers- Of course a good fitting jacket or blazer should not completely cover the shirt collar but leave out a little space with at least 2cm. Avoid suits that make an ‘X’ shape along your abdomen whenever you button it. That means the suit jacket is too small. The second button from below should also not fit below the belly button but just above it. Probably the most important rule of wearing a suit coat is the shoulder seams should streamline your shoulders. Skinny or not, if you’re wearing a suit that does not properly hug your shoulders, it will spoil your whole look. While standing straight with arms at your side, the sleeves should subtly conceal the wrist bone. Neither should the sleeves go further than an inch up your wrists whenever you fold your arms. However, it doesn’t mean that the suit coat or jacket has to be too tight but rather close to your body in a precise manner almost looking like your second skin. If the bottoms of your suit jacket or blazer flare out making your attire look like a bell, it is time to find another jacket.

3. Dress trousers- For a dress trouser, you have to look for a size that is neither too tight nor billowing on the legs. You also ought to avoid pleats on the pants but a single crease down at each pant leg is okay. But you have to know the difference between a pleat and a single crease. Pleats are those annoying lines that appear at the tip of your pant when you tighten your waistline too tight with a belt - usually because your trouser waistline is way too bigger than your natural waistline. For that reason, avoid picking dress trousers that have a waistline that is way too big for you.

4. Chinos- Just like dress trousers, pleats on chinos should be avoided too. In fact, the same rules that apply on dress trousers should also work for chinos. However, whenever you are shopping for a chino, go for a pant that does not need a belt for it to adjust to your waist.

5. Jeans- Avoid bootcut jeans. Instead, opt for the jeans that are straight from the knee-down and slim on the thighs. Although jeans are supposed to be slim on the thighs, it doesn’t mean you wear those jeans that are too tight that will make you look like you are wearing hipster jeans for women. Make sure the waistline matches your size too. Due to their versatility, breaks or otherwise known as ‘stacking’ on jeans are quite common and usually accepted. If the length of your jeans requires you to cuff, go ahead and do it. Just don’t overdo it till your socks are visible.

6. Shoes- Well-fitting shoes should be roomy but not enough to easily put a finger behind your heel without struggling a little bit. Neither should the front of your shoes exert pressure on your toes but you should be able to comfortably scratch the front with your toes. Just because the shoes match the length of your feet in inches, doesn’t mean it is an obvious fit. You also have to consider the narrow or wide measurements of your feet. There should not be too much pressure or vacuum on the sides of your feet that whenever you are walking you feel like you’re trying too much.

7. Ties- The general rule of wearing a tie is that it should not pass the center of your gravity or rather your belt. Usually, a larger knot will compliment a wider collar while smaller knot matches with a narrow collar. A full-windsor knot will rhyme with a cutaway just like a four-in-hand knot will go with a pointed collar. However, you are free to experiment and find out which knot will suit you. Just don’t tighten your tie around your collar too tight until it chokes you.