How to Choose Suits

How to choose suits that look good and last? Here are the most important details you must consider when choosing a dress suit.

How to choose dress suits

American Cut Suit

American cut suits go well with the traditional Oxford cut suit and a tie. For most purposes, an American cut suit would go just fine.

British Cut Suit

British cut suits tend to come with pleated pants and side vents.

Italian Cut Suit

Italian cut suits tend to be double-breasted, a pleated pant and a wide lapel. This type of suit tends to be difficult to sit in.

The shoulder

With a well-tailored suit, the sleeve with fit smoothly into the armhole with no puckering; the smoothing in should be seamless. Also, you will want to make sure your suit has nice shoulder pads. These add strength to your physical appearance.

Buttons

How to choose suits? Check the material used to make the buttons on your suit. They should be made of natural materials (horn, etc.). Avoid plastic buttons as they will crack and become brittle when you send your suit to the dry-cleaner. A simple way to tell whether a button is made of plastic or horn is to check its color: plastic buttons have a uniform color, while horn buttons have a marbled appearance.

Buttonholes

After the buttons, check the buttonholes by fastening and unfastening the buttons a few times. The buttons should be neat and tight. Buttons should fit just barely into the buttonhole; there should not be too much room. Also check that there are no loose threads or frays at the hole – any loose threads will indicate that the buttonhole might unravel.

Doctor’s cuffs

High-end suit jackets will have buttons even on the sleeves, so you can close them at the cuffs. This is an expensive detail; the suit is probably fairly costly.

Lining

Good suits have a full lining. That is, the entire interior of the suit including the sleeves will be lined. Silk linings are best, as they create the slippery feel that help your suit fit better on your body. A full lining will also ensure that you can put on and take off the suit easily, without any wrinkling at the armholes.

Check the lining to make sure that it is nicely sewn and tacked down. Loose or shabby linings indicate a low quality suit.

Interlining

Good suits will also have interlining sewn into the shoulders and the chest of the jacket. This gives the suit its nice three-dimensional look and ensures that it is always well proportioned.

Patterns

Check the points where the seams meet; do the patterns blend seamlessly? If they are disjointed, this is an indicator of a not so high quality suit.

Pockets

How to choose a suit that is high quality? Check that the suit pockets can actually be used, and that it does not simply have a flap on the outside. For good quality suits, the jacket pockets need to be cut open with a pair of nail scissors; if you are not confident, request that your tailor do it for you.

Cuffs

Flat-front dress pants should not have cuffs at all. If you are wearing pleated pants that tend to go with a British cut suit or a traditional American-cut suit, then cuffs would be well-fitting.