How To Ensure A Proper Fit

Button-down shirts

Shirts divided into more basic areas...

Sleeves & Cuffs
Dress shirts tend to shrink after a few washings, so before buying and getting a shirt tailored, make sure the sleeve is slightly longer in order to counteract any eventual shrinkage. So what's the right length when it comes to shirt sleeves? They should cover your wrist and reach the beginning of your thumbs. As well, your cuffs should be tight enough to prevent them from slipping down your wrist. If you opt to leave your button-down shirt untucked, it should hang just above your pants zipper (at back pocket level). When wearing a jacket and extending your arms, the sleeves should land between a half-inch and one inch past the jacket. Anything longer is cause for tailoring or buying a smaller shirt.

Collars & Shoulders
If the shirt's seams meet at the shoulder, you know it fits quite well. Your forefinger should be able to fit in between your collar and your neck when the shirt is buttoned to the top. The collar's tips and outer edge should be covered by your blazer or suit jacket's lapels. To ensure that this happens, always fit your dress shirts and button-downs before fitting your jackets and blazers.

Blazers
The blazer or jacket's sleeve should rest at your thumb knuckle when your arm is extended, and the blazer or jacket should cover your backside. The blazer/jacket's collar should leave about a half-inch of your dress shirt's collar visible. If you plan on wearing your sports jacket frequently over sweaters, bring a thin or regular knit sweater with you when trying on or tailoring the blazer or suit jacket.

Pants & Trousers
Determining whether you have the right fit when it comes to slacks is fairly simple. Try them on without shoes; they should just touch the floor. With shoes on, the back part of your pants should barely touch the ground (one rule of thumb is that pants should break at about 1/3 of the way down the shoe). And if you need one more sign that your slacks might not fit well, remember that your socks should not show when you walk. When belting slacks, don't pull too tight, or you risk bunching up the fabric around your midsection. This will make your gut appear larger than it is. If you're hemming your pants at the waist, place them below your belly button. And of course, remember that slacks -- like shirts -- usually shrink when you wash them. Buy (or have a tailor create) pants just a shade longer than what you actually need.


Jeans
Jeans, like any casual clothes, shouldn't require any sort of tricky tailoring or complex tips to look right. You should, however, be familiar with the basic jean varieties out there, so that you can make a purchase with your body's best fit in mind. There are three basic jean styles: regular, relaxed and loose.Regular fit is as the name implies; traditional and somewhat slim-fitting. Relaxed fit features an extra half-inch in the butt. Loose fit includes anywhere between one and four inches of additional fabric in the butt and thigh. Jean leg styles include straight, flare and boot. Flare-cut jeans are wider around the calf, while boot-cut jeans are flared around the ankle.

Neckties
The simplest way to ensure a well-fitted necktie is to have a well-fitted shirt to wear it with.Here are some guidelines to remember:
Your tie should always hang barely above your belt buckle. The size of the tie knot should not lift the tips of your shirt collar. The inverted triangle of the tie knot should fit snugly into the triangle created by your buttoned-up shirt collar.

Topcoats & Overcoats
Some resources suggest buying a coat that's one size larger than your suit size, to ensure that it'll fit over your sweaters and suits.Topcoats come in two basic designs: knee-length and midcalf. The coat's sleeve should rest at your thumb knuckle when your arm is extended. The coat's back should be straight and flat, like a suit jacket. Horizontal wrinkles will indicate that the coat is too small. Vertical wrinkles will indicate that the coat is too large, and requires tailoring.

Belts
When it comes to belts, you should buy one size bigger than your pants. A 34" waist means a 36" belt. The buckle's notch should fit into the center hole of the belt (usually hole number three; most belts have five holes). The tail of the belt should end just past the first loop on your pants. The edge of the belt buckle, the row of buttons on your shirt and your fly should all line up vertically.


Created by www.mycustomtailor.com

The Ten Most Common Men's Fashion Mistakes

Is it really that important to your career, romance, or influence over others?

It’s a scientific fact that people who don’t know you make up their minds about you on a subliminal/prehistoric basis in 30 seconds or less. This evaluation of you by others takes place so quickly and is so entrenched in the human brain that it is not usually conscious thought. Behavioral scientists tell us that we notice the following about another human being and in this order: Skin color, Sex, Age, Bearing (height, body language, etc.), Appearance, Direct Eye Contact, and Speech. The first three we can do nothing about, but we can take advantage of this knowledge to enhance and control how to present the best image of ourselves. Since 80% of what others see is our clothes lets look at some basic faux pas:
1. Never wear a short sleeve shirt with a tie. Short sleeve shirts are perceived as lower class apparel. Fine as part of a uniform or if you aspire to be a fast-food manager, not if you want to project a professional image.
2. Shoes are one of the most evaluated elements of men's wardrobes. Your shoes should be clean, shined, in good repair and appropriate for the occasion. If you are wearing a suit, wear lace-up shoes. Don’t wear the same shoe on consecutive days and keep shoetrees in your shoes when you’re not wearing them.
3. Trousers should be long enough to cover your socks, and socks should cover your shins even when you cross you legs. Pants are long enough if they have a slight break in the front. Pleats and cuffs are traditional and functional. Pleats let you sit down comfortably and cuffs add weight to the bottoms allowing for proper drape.
4. Never wear both a belt and braces (suspenders). You'll appear insecure.
5. Socks should match your trousers.
6. Belts should match your shoes.
7. Ties should reach your belt line. This is neither arbitrary nor negotiable. Too short of a tie makes you look like a rube.
8. Properly knotted ties have a “dimple” under the knot. Clips and tacks are out of date.

9. Suit and Sports jackets are symbols of authority. However the bottom buttons of men's jackets are not designed to be buttoned, since King Edward VII gained weight, and started a fashion trend. Single Breasted suits can have one, two, three or more buttons. Two and three button jackets are classic, one or more than three get you into the fashion forward arena, which is more suitable for social events than business. With two button jackets only the top button is fastened. With three button jackets, you can close the middle, or middle and top button. Some suits are made so that the lapels roll to the middle button. On those suits you leave the top button unfastened. Some East Coast hipsters fasten only the top of three buttons! Four or more button jackets may be designed to fasten all the buttons, even the bottom. If the bottom button of a four button can be closed without a noticeable pulling of the fabric, it’s ok to close or leave it open.
Double Breasted suits are the more formal of the two styles and can have four to six buttons with one or two “to button”. They are often identified by a two-number designation such as 4/2, 4/1 or 6/2 (also “four to two”). Translated, the first number gives the total number of front buttons and the second is the number of functioning buttonholes. It doesn’t always mean that all the buttons have to be fastened. Often only the middle or upper button is secured on a 4/2 or 6/2, but the Duke of Kent started buttoning only his lower button creating a longer diagonal line across his chest giving the wearer a thinner, more dynamic look.
Why do men never button the bottom button of your suit, sports jacket, vest or Cardigan sweater?
King Edward VII, “Bertie”, son of Victoria (1841 – 1910, King 1901 - 1910) was so heavy that he could not get the bottom button fastened on his vest or to be more historically kind, maybe he just forgot. His subjects taking it as a fashion statement followed his lead and today most men’s suits, sports jackets or vests are not designed to button the bottom button. The tradition of not buttoning the bottom button may have also come from the early waistcoats, which were very long. It may have been out of necessity of being able to walk that the bottom buttons were left undone.
10. Suit and Sports jackets should fit properly which includes showing 1/4" to 1/2” of “linen” or shirtsleeve at the jacket sleeve.


We remain with regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com