How to Pick the Perfect Suit For Your Body Type

It is true that every men have to play the hand you’re dealt, no matter what shape you’re, short, tall, skinny, large or ripped. Why can James Bond be always look so good when he struts into the room? It’s not what he has. It is the suit. A man wearing a suit with a perfect fit is a man looking as perfect as he can. A great suit would add poise, confidence, respect for you, but it should be a good fit instead of how much it costs, as even the finest suits worthy $5,000 are not good if they don’t fit you well. The importance of fit can’t be underestimated. It must not look or feel good if a suit that’s too large, too small or too tight. On the other hand, a perfectly-fitted suit is the best way to embrace your body and accentuate your best features. That is what we, as the tailors, always looking for, to make the best fit for everyone. So each suit is handmade to order here, not massively produced for off-the-rack in stock.

 

The key point to look your best in a suit is knowing your body shape and type. Most men fit into one of five body types as shown above. The guides here will help you identify your body shape, and how tactical tailoring can help enhance and transform your build, and how you can find a suit that fits.  

1. The Triangle

Men with larger waists and hips in comparison to their chest and shoulders have triangle body types. It means you should reduce the effect of a disproportionately larger lower half with the help of the suit. How to create the necessary balance?

Jacket and Shirt: Padding on the jacket to Broaden Your Shoulders

The structured shoulders from the suit jacket make them look wider for the more square frame look for you, as they would enhance and emphasise your shoulders. Here the jacket with little padding will work well to broaden the shoulders, but never buy a suit with too wide shoulders for you. It will just look oversized and the sleeves will drape off of you clumsily.

Draw Attention Away from the Belly

Single-breasted suits help to create a narrower waist that tapers inwards from your shoulders. Otherwise, double-breasted suits will add bulk to the waist, and the extra customizations such as ticket pockets would focus on the belly area, those are not good for you.

Trousers: Give Your Legs More Substance

It seems the fashion trend is skinny or heavily tapered trousers, but it would make your midsection look larger than it really is. Otherwise, the wider and straighter legs would create a streamlined silhouette to make you look the best.

 

2. The Inverted Triangle, as the muscle man

Men with significantly broader chests and shoulders than their waist and hips have inverted triangle body types. Usually it is the muscle man such as heavy lifting in the gym to form the wide upper body and narrow lower body physique.

Jacket and shirt: Soften the Harsh Sharp Lines of Your Torso, and show your natural perfect shape

No need of an overly-tailored suit, the softer shoulders and notch lapels will unify your body’s contours, just avoid wide peak lapels that will make you look disproportionate. The slim fit jackets with subtly taper towards your waist, and the well-tailored single-breasted will perfectly show your natural “V” shape, but note it is not the skintight.

 

Avoid skinny Trousers

The slim pants with slight taper will fit you best, instead of the skinny trousers to make your shoulders appear too oversize relative to your waist, stay clear of skinny trousers.

3. The Oval

Men with wider midsection than the shoulders and hips have the oval body shape, usually it has bigger belly. In comparison, the arms and legs are disproportionately slim and mostly shorter too. However, a well-tailored suit can give your body definition and that svelte look.

Jacket and shirt: The proper fit is the point

The key to contour the shape is creating long and lean lines, with a suit that fits you just right. Instead of a loose suit to accommodate your larger shape, or too small only to emphasis your body’s bulk. Here also the single-breasted, two buttoned jacket with slight taper will give the illusion of a narrow waist and elongate your torso, for a more shapely look. A structured shoulder with the correct width will add authority to the shoulders without making you seem broader. A peak lapel will attract the attention and stay away from your midsection, adding height and bringing better proportions.

Fabric and/or pattern to Create Vertical Visual Lines

The narrow pinstripe or herringbone will draw the eye to your length, rather than your girth, while dark colors naturally slim a bigger build. Here the full essential series three piece suits  with dark colors are both slimming and stylish.

It is definitely not good to use a double-breasted suit or the ticket pockets, which adds bulk to the waist. Instead, try a pocket square to bring the focus to your chest, but away from the waist.

 

Trousers: Give Your Legs More Substance

Similar to the triangle body type, skinny or heavily tapered pants will make your midsection look more rotund than it really is. The wider and straighter legs trousers would create a streamlined silhouette to balance your appearance.

4. The Trapezoid, also the athletic man

The athletic man with the trapezoid shape, has a torso that’s broadest at the shoulders and slightly narrower in the waist and hip. In that case, you probably have the so-called perfect physique for a suit, even so, you can’t expect to be able to rock any suit — it should emphasis and show off your shape, rather than conceal it.

Jacket and shirt:  to Accentuate Your Shapely Figure

The well-balanced body can most easily find the fitting suits, even from the off-the-rack, and well play around with patterns, cuts and styles to flaunt your athletic shape. Just try bold colors, patterns and fabric combinations, in very low risk, but for the modern or fashion style. A slim-fit suit will follow your body’s natural contours, narrowing at the waist and hips. This will emphasise your enviable “V shape”. 

Trousers

Slightly taper your pants and the well tailoring for the good fit to look sharp. Don’t go overboard and cinch in your waist until it looks like your top button will pop off.

5. The Column

A man with a column or rectangular body type has a torso almost same wide as the shoulders all the way through the waist and hips. To create the effect of the illusion of a more sculptured look, the best suit for this body shape should widen the shoulders and narrow the waist.

Jacket and shirt: Smart Tailoring for Shape

The clever tailoring with the single-breasted jacket will create a silhouette that nips in at the waist and widens at the shoulders, a structured jacket with more padding in the shoulders will broaden the shoulders. Avoid the double-breasted jacket which would have the opposite effect.

Trousers: Streamlined From Head to Toe

The slight tapered trousers will work best for shape. On the other hand, straight trousers, will drag you back into rectangle-land. Pleated pants would widen the hips and thighs to give your lower body more definition.

Body Type Variations

So far all the discussion on body types are based on average heights. But if for shorter or taller ones? Consider these suit style on top of those given for your body shape.

The Short Man

The strategically tailoring can perform many a visual sleight-of-hand to give you the taller look.

Jacket and shirt: Create a Long Vertical Line

A single-breasted suit with peak lapels would help to add height by create the appearance of vertical long line from head to toe. Proper proportions are always extremely crucial, such a narrow lapels would prevent your shoulders from too wide appearance, and a relatively shorter jacket would slightly shorten the jacket to accentuate your legs, to keep a suit more in-line with your shorter stature.

Trousers

Keep trousers tapered and avoid turn-ups or drop crotches, as these will only emphasis short pins. To really give the illusion of long limbs, wear your trousers a little higher on the hips. Keep the break on the trouser leg to a minimum, or go with no break at all.

 The Tall man

Tall men have been blessed with height. It doesn’t just simply apply the opposite rule to look shorter. You’ll want to avoid creating long lines in your outfit and, instead, break up the continuity and consistency with bold patterns and colors, to bring your proportion balance.

Jacket and shirt:Keep Things Tailored for proper proportions

Usually, tall men should opt for a longer jacket and avoid having too much shirt showing beneath the bottom button to offset the appearance of gangly legs. The best option is to get a custom measurement suit, as the oversized suit may have unexpected larger shoulders or arms to look like barrels. The suit jacket length will balance the body proportion, and is determined by dividing the distance from the back of the suit collar to the floor by two. You can shorter the jacket length if you have a long torso. You can go with wider peak lapels to add more width to your torso, a double-breasted jacket is a great look if you are not quite stocky. 

The trousers:

As fashion rules for men go, there’s nothing worse than having trousers that stop short at the ankles and look like they’ve been shrunk in the wash. Long legs look better in trousers that stop at the shoes, without too much fabric creasing on the top of the shoes.

There's simply no better way to achieve the perfect fit than by donning your very own custom suit made precisely to fit your measurements.