﻿Slim Guy Buying Suit [0:00:00]
So, I got this question the other day, “Antonio, a good friend of mine
is getting married in a few months and he asked me to help him out with his suit.
I’m honored, but there is an issue. He’s a slim guy with scoliosis. My first idea
was the traditional black suit with a vest and bowtie. But, if you have any other suggestions,
I’m all ears.” Warmest regards, Peter. Now, for those of you not familiar with scoliosis,
this is where there’s a curvature in the spine. The fact that he mentioned this,
I assumed that it’s pretty severe, something that is noticeable. In addition, he’s slim guy. So,
you skinny guys know that most clothing is made way too big coming off the rack.
So, how is this guy going to look like a million bucks on his important day? Find out, gents,
in today’s video. [Music]
Now, if you’ve watched more than a few of my videos here at Real Man Real Style. You
guys know that I am a right-brain guy that I like to use tools to be able
to figure things out to make things easy. So, with that being said, let’s go right to the
style pyramid. Starting off with the top, we’ve got the cut. This is going to be the fit of the
clothing, how it’s going to fit on your particular body and how it’s going to compliment your built.
Next up, we’ve got the construction of the garment. This is going to be the fabric,
this is going to be the build quality. This is all the details the materials that go
into making what you’re wearing. And for the base of the pyramid,
let’s talk about communication. This is the function of the clothing. Is it
sending the message you want to send? Is it the right piece of clothing for the job?
So, let’s start things off talking about fit. And, by the way, I know a suit is more than just
a jacket and pair of trousers. Of course, you need to have a shirt, you need to have shoes,
all those other details that go with it. But, I think focusing in on the suit and
the fit of that suit is going to be the most important thing because it
can be the hardest thing to get right. Now, you’ve got a few options. You can look
at bespoke, you can look at custom, or you can look at off-the-rack.
Now, off-the-rack has a lot of things going for it. First up is the suit is out there,
you can get it quickly and if you find a skilled tailor, you can actually get this
adjusted to fit the body reasonably well. It all starts with what you have to start with
because you can walk into a store and if they’ve got tons of options,
you may find something that fits really well and just needs a few minor adjustments.
That being said, you can also find off-the-rack suits incredibly inexpensive. You may have
something that was handed down to you. You may have something you can pick up at thrift stores
for a few dollars. Or you may go into a box store and find a steal, something made in Italy of high
quality for just a couple of hundred bucks. So, it sounds like off-the-rack is the way to go.
Not exactly. This gentleman sounds like he’s a little bit hard to fit.
Besides being slim, he’s got that scoliosis. And, depending on the severity of that,
we may want to look at either made-to-measure also known as custom or bespoke.
So, bespoke, this is going to be the complete opposite of off-the-rack. This is where every
single piece is made individually for the man. Bespoke comes from term
spoken for. This is when you walk in, you chose the fabric, they cut the fabric,
and then over a period of week, sometimes even months, they would actually build the suits.
Seriously, bespoke suit can take 50 to 60 to sometimes well over 100 hours to
make a single suit, while, you know that stuff off-the-rack, oftentimes in a matter of hours.
That being said, again, you can get some great deals off the rack, but if you’re very difficult
to fit like this gentleman, not only does he have that little bit of curvature, but he’s thin,
we may want to look at a hybrid, and that is made to measure, also called custom.
Made to measure isn’t – they don’t make every single piece for the individual,
but they do actually bring different pieces together. So, they can actually make something
that’s going to have a little bit higher armholes, which would be great for him because he’s thin,
they’ll have slimmer sleeves. So, that, again, is going to work with his slimmer build.
The overall design of it is going to be made for the slimmer individual.
Made-to-measure, if you can imagine that’s where they take all these pieces and they
can create thousands and thousands of outcomes and oftentimes you’re going to get a more precise fit
than you could ever get with off-the-rack. That being said, if you really want bespoke,
you’ve got the money because that can cost thousands of dollars and you’ve got the time.
That’s the most important thing. He said that he has a few months,
but sometimes getting your first bespoke suit can take at least two to three months. So,
I really want to make sure that we’re able to meet this time frame, I would look at made-to-measure
or finding an off-the-rack that fits you extremely well that can be adjusted by a competent tailor.
Now, how should a suit fits you exactly? Well, first up, if you’re buying off-the-rack,
you want to make sure it fits you as close to perfect when you’re first putting
it on. That means it’s going to fit you right in the shoulders. It should look like this.
In the torso area, it should look like this. You want to make sure the length is correct,
so it should be approximately this length. Now, if you’re specifically interested how a suit
should fit, I’m going to link to a video down in the description where I go into a lot more detail,
along with an infographic that breaks this out easy to understand, so you can find the perfect
fitting suit. Or if you’re getting your suit adjusted, you can get it to fit perfectly.
Now, let’s talk about the construction of the suit. That’s going to be the fabric,
the materials, everything that goes into the build of the suit and the style of it.
[0:05:04] So, the easiest yet
hardest way to spot a well-constructed suit is to look for one with a floating canvas.
Most people have no idea what this is, but a floating canvas is the bones. On the inside
of the chest piece, if it is sewn together in a way that allows for a bit of movement,
this is one of the most expensive ways to make a suit.
You don’t see it on too many off-the-rack suits. You should see it in higher end bespoke
and custom made-to-measure suits, but oftentimes they shortcut this. How do they
do that? They glue the pieces together. I’m not saying that gluing is horrible,
but I am saying in general, it’s not nearly the same quality. It’s come a long way,
but over time, you often have separation of the glue, puckering. It’s just not is great.
Now, you will see half canvas suits. And that’s going to be where they do a little bit of sewing,
they do a little bit of spot gluing. I think that that is fine, it actually makes a lot of sense.
But, whenever you’re looking at a suit and you’re talking to a knowledgeable salesman
or if you’re looking and you’re doing research on suits and they talk about this is a half canvas,
this is a floating canvas, this is a full canvas. You want to pay attention to that because
that right there is a great sign of quality. You can’t see it though, it’s on the inside of
the garment. But, there are other things that you can look for that indicate that they’re probably
going to have paid attention to the inside. The first thing is the quality of the fabric itself.
Now, gents, if you’re enjoying today’s video, do me a favor, smash that like button. Why? Well,
you know those people over at Google, they don’t like Real Men Real Style. Why? Because
they don’t like the way we’re dressing. They are saying, “No, those guys are way too formal.
We’re going to press them down.” No, they’re not oppressing us. Just
simply helps the videos, guys, whenever you interact whenever you leave comments,
whenever you like or maybe dislike if you don’t like the video. Point is is interact,
let me know that you guys are out there. So, how do you determine high quality fabric?
Well, unfortunately, you can’t look at the super numbers. I know some people say, oh,
it’s a super 220, therefore, it should be really high quality.
Not exactly. That information those numbers are not regulated. So, one company’s super 220
could be another company’s super 120. And, it is something it’s confusing, I admit this and
every company does it differently. What I would highly recommend
is look to the older mills. So, companies like Zegna, VBC Vitale Barberis Canonico,
Reda. All of these companies, you want to look for the history on the mill, look at the fabric.
Oftentimes, if you look on the inside of a jacket, they will brag that it’s actually is coming from,
oh, this is, you know, if it’s a particular type of tweed, it’s a Harris Tweed.
Why do they say that? Because those particular fabrics are sought after. They’re very high
quality and they’re expensive. And that’s key because to make a suit,
it takes about three and a half meters of fabric. And if every meter of fabric is causing them $50,
$100, $200, a thou – yes, there are fabrics that are a thousand dollars a meter.
So, the base material cost 3,500 bucks, you know that that suit you’re getting charged maybe like
10,000 for, which I know is extremely high-end. But, the point is is you know if they’re spending
a lot of money on the materials, they’re going to take care with the build quality. Because the
build quality, unless you have owned really nice suits, it’s difficult to be able to spot that.
But, I do recommend, go into the best men’s store in your area and try on that thousand-dollar suit,
that $2,000 sports jacket, those $500 shoes. Why? I know you may not have the money for it, you
want to feel what luxury feels and looks like, because it enables you when you spot
it when you see little details like you notice on those expensive sports jacket, the way that
they do the inside lining, all the piping. All those little details, they never have loose
threads. They actually go for a half lining or even unlined on the inside and how that’s a sign
of great quality. You start to speak the language, you start to see these things, the nuances.
And then, all of a sudden, when you see that other jacket that’s in off-the-rack and it’s on sale,
normally a thousand bucks down for some reason 200 or 150 bucks, you know to jump on that,
because it’s an amazing deal and you were able to spot that quality and you know the
small – the small details matter. So, in most cases, you’re going to
want to forget the super number, but do pay attention is it 100% wool? If it is mixed in
with a manmade fiber, you want to be careful. I’m not going to say that you can’t find great suits
that are 50% polyester 50% wool, but I would rather always go with the luxury material wool.
But, when you see wool being mixed with cashmere, that’s when the price
is going to start to shoot up. You see wool being mixed in with linen, cotton with linen.
Linen and cotton by the way, these are going to make rougher suits, they’re more summer suits,
they’re in general going to be more breathable. I typically like to stick with wool. Worsted wool
in particular, that’s going to be the finally woven wool that gives a really nice sheen and
it’s the type of suit that you’re looking for. He said a black suit. And this is something
I would be careful of. Yes, black suits are predominantly the most commonly sold
suits out there. But, in my opinion, they have a stark contrast and they’re – they
just don’t look as great in my opinion of charcoal gray. It’s much more versatile.
[0:10:04] Or go with a dark navy. And I
know this is your wedding suit. A lot of people think they need to wear a tuxedo black tie. No,
you don’t on your wedding day. You know, it seems like everyone’s pushing at the rentals and stuff.
I would say go with the timeless suit. Why? Because you can use it again and again.
You can get your money’s worth out of this thing. You can use it as an interview suit. You can use
it as you’re going to attend the wedding, you need to look good. When your little girl
in a few years, you know, is getting baptized. You can wear it to the baptism.
Suits are incredibly versatile. But, tuxedos, black tie, that stuff is more relegated in our
society. And, maybe you’re in New York and you got more opportunities, but the vast majority of
people will only have a few opportunities in their lifetime that they can ever wear black tie.
I recommend going with the suit because even if you’re a master electrician or you’re a plumber,
your little girl is going to get married someday, your son is going to have that graduation for the
Air Force Academy and you’re going to want to be there looking good, feeling great,
and jut show him that dad can get dressed up. And that’s when that suit is going to come in handy.
Now, I know that maybe thinking too far ahead or for some of you guys just maybe a few years,
but I do think that finding and investing in the right suit, it’s investment in yourself. But, make
sure, don’t go with anything super light color, don’t go with anything super bright. You don’t
need to go with any outlandish patterns, just simply something that’s going to fit your body
and something that is styled classically. So now, let’s talk about the style of the suit;
one-button, two-button, three-button. Are you going to go with a double-breasted and
then all the different options you have there. Keep it simple guys.
A two-button suit is what 99% of you guys should start off with. Three buttons? Well,
maybe and I think there are some great options. I think two and a half, which is basically a
three-button that’s not made to be buttoned up at the top, the lapel rolls over a bit
is a great look. But, for the vast majority of men going with a two-button is perfect.
You’re going to see one buttons occasional especially
for shorter guys. You’re going to see it on black ties as well. Four buttons,
I think are, you know, yeah, they’re an abomination. Don’t even touch those things.
Double-breasted, I think if you’ve got seven or eight suits already and you
wear suits pretty often and you understand what a double-breasted is going to do for your wardrobe,
go for it. Start off classic, the solid color, but double-breasted is more for the guy that own quite
a few and they are a very small percentage of suits out there. Most of the time you
got to have them actually custom made. Let’s look at the other style options.
If you’re buying it off–the-rack, most of these are already going to be determined,
but you want to make sure that you’re not buying anything that doesn’t have, again, incredibly
accessibly wide lapel. Especially if you’re a thin guy, you want to go for thinner lapels.
You’re looking in general for notch lapels. That’s one style. You’re going see sometimes peak lapels
on a single-breasted jacket. Peak lapels originated on double-breasted jackets and,
really, that’s where they belong. But, I do think that it’s a little
bit more fashion forward and it’s fun. I’ve got a couple single-breasted jackets
with peak lapels and that looks good. Shawl lapels, you’re going to see these on black
tie. I don’t really think it looks that great on suits. You’ll see it on sweaters occasionally,
like sweater vest or sweater jackets. I think that looks fine. You’ll also see
them occasionally on a double-breasted, but, again, in the black tie realm.
Now, pockets, you want to go for two flat pockets. You want to make sure it’s got a breast pocket
usually on the left side and the back of the jacket. You’re going to see double vent,
single vent, sometimes no vent. No vent is more of an Italian look.
I don’t recommend it for most men just because it can make the suit
a little bit more constricting and tight. The single vent is the cheapest vent that’s
manufactured. I try to avoid it because I do think it looks bad when you put your hand
in your pocket. All of a sudden, that back opens up. The double vent is in my opinion
where it’s at. It costs more and it’s a sign of a higher quality made suit.
Now, in trousers, in general, you’re going to want to avoid pleats.
Go with pleats if you’re a heavier guy, if you’re going to wear the trousers higher. And that’s
where pleats are actually at home whenever trousers are worn at the natural waist.
You’re going to find this only pretty much on custom trousers because those trousers have
to just be made with more material, you’re overall going to be held up with suspenders.
It’s a different cut of build. But if you’re heavier-set guy, consider it because they’re
incredibly comfortable and they’re going to give you more freedom of movement.
Now, when it comes to – I actually like the base of my trousers. I like to have,
you know, a pair of – what is it? Cuffs. I just like the way it looks. But, I get it,
most guys don’t. So, if you want to have more streamlined look, let’s say you’re 5’2”, 5’4”
and you want to look a little bit taller, then make sure that you’ve got just a no break down
there or just a very slight break down there at the bottom and you don’t have any type of cuffs.
Now, if you’re a taller guy, you definitely can go for cuffs on the bottom of your trousers
with a full-on break. I think it looks sharp, but I know some people don’t like the look.
In general, it’s up to you in what you want. And now, let’s talk about the communication,
aka, the function of the suit. You’re getting married, you want to look amazing right up there
with your bride. And, together, you want to make a timeless great looking couple that when
you look at these pictures in 25 years, you’re going to be proud, you’re going to feel great.
And, that’s why we’re putting together this outfit. What I would recommend, again,
is going to be a dark color. You don’t have to go with black. Charcoal gray, medium gray,
navy blue, all of those are going to work really just – see which one up next to your skin.
[0:15:02] If you’re an older guy,
I think navy works better. If you’re a really young guy, 20 years old, I do think
that charcoal is going to make you look a little bit more mature. Those are the small details.
In general, though, the function the goal of this is to look great, but not to stand
out with an outlandish color. So, when you’re putting together the other parts of that suit,
go, you know, you can go with a light blue, you can go with a white.
I wouldn’t recommend anything, you know, outlandishly colored like this. That’s just
not going to work. Although, you could pick up a few of those and that’s what I do like about
a dark conservative suit is that you could actually in a casual setting, you could wear
this shirt right here with no tie or with a solid, you know, blue tie and all of a sudden,
you got an interesting look, something that – but, not necessarily for your wedding.
For your wedding, it’s all about the contrast, the formal classic look. So, going with the white,
going with the light blue, going with a solid necktie, going with shoes if you’re going to go
with blue. I do think dark brown or a black could work if you’re going to go with charcoal gray or a
black suit, you know, you decided to go with that option, then I would definitely look at going,
you know, you want black shoes with that. With the vest, you’d said a great thing
about the vest and I think this is a solid option. A vest really adds a lot to it. And
if you’re going to get this suit custom made or you’re going to go with made-to-measure,
look to get a vest. You can get it with a matching color or you can go with a contrast and it will
be covered most of way by the jacket, but can have a little bit of color right in there.
You also mentioned bowties. Neckties are going to be more classic, but bowties can be just – and
they’re just as formal as any necktie. So, I mean, Winston Churchill used to rock
with that bowtie with the little polka dots. You could pull that off with a small repeating
pattern. You could go for a solid color. You could even maybe bring in a bit of color that
would match maybe the groomsmen or work – you could work that into the wedding colors.
Have fun with it though. And look at yourself in the mirror, put it on
and just make sure though, if you go with the bowtie or a necktie to tie it yourself.
Now, how to make this happen? Good, cheap, and fast, right? Well, here is the decision pyramid.
Now, I stole this from a sign I saw years ago, but these are the three types of service you
could expect in the clothing industry when it comes to getting a good looking suit.
So, you’ve got the pyramid here; good, cheap, and fast. But, here’s the trick. You can only choose
two. You can go with good and cheap, but it won’t be fast. Fast and good, but it won’t be cheap.
Or cheap and fast, but it won’t be good. So, Peter, hopefully this helps you help
your friend look great on his wedding day. And, gents, if you’ve got questions, let me know
down in the comments. We’ll go down there, maybe choose a few of them and make videos of them.
What videos to watch next? How about the seven deadly style sins? If you are committing any of
these, you are going to die. No, just kidding. But, they are pretty serious, so you should make
sure that you are not committing any of these. What are they, gents? Find out in this
video right here. [0:17:48] End of audio