How to Buy a Suit

Since every man should own at least one nice suit, you may be wondering how to buy a suit. Regardless as to whether you only need one for special occasions or you are working in an industry that requires you to wear one in order to be taken seriously, there are some things that you should know whenever it comes time to buy a suit.

Choose The Right Style For You

There are suit jackets available with two, three or four buttons on them. The two-button style is actually quite popular but styles change frequently. This is something that you will also want to keep in mind as you look at the pants styles that are available. Some other things that you will want to keep in mind are:

• Pleats will not only look dressy but give you room for movement but flat-front pants are slimming.
• Cuffed legs are formal and make your legs look shorter while legs without cuffs are informal and make your legs look longer.

Choose The Right Color And Pattern For You

Take some time to look through the various colors and patterns that are available. If you choose to buy a suit with a patterned fabric, make sure that it lines up at your shoulders and lapel seams.

Choose The Right Fabric For You

The most versatile suit fabric is high-quality worsted wool. If you want to buy a suit just to wear in the summertime though, then you should opt for either cotton or linen. Regardless of the material that you do choose, you should avoid blends that have a lot of polyester in them since they won't breathe well and they may actually look cheap. It is also a good idea to crumple the fabric to ensure that it will bounce back instead of wrinkling (of course, a linen material is meant to wrinkle, so you won't need to do this).

Get Measured For Your New Suit

Once you know what type of a suit you are after, it is time to get measured. You will not only need a number for both the pants and the jacket but you will also need to know whether you need a short, regular, long or extra-long size.

Make Sure The Suit Fits

Now that you know the size of suit that you need, you will want to find one to try on. Some things that you will want to keep in mind whenever you try on the jacket include:

• The collar should lie flat on the back of your neck.
• You will want to be able to see ¼-inch of your shirt collar.
• Make sure that the shoulders are lightly padded but that they don't look too boxy or sloped.
• Your suit's sleeves should reveal between ¼ to ½-inch of your shirt cuff.
• The suit jacket's sleeves should fall 5 inches above the tip of your thumb.
• Make sure that the jacket is comfortable and that it doesn't bunch up whenever you sit down.
• The suit pants need to sit on your waist, not on your hips.
• You want your suit pants to drape over and break slightly at the top of your shoes.
• Make sure that your socks don't show whenever you walk.