When consulting a customer on their bespoke suits, we try to make them avoid a piece that does not express their personalities. The style of the suit should mesh with their lifestyle. We also try to make them avoid a piece that does not flatter their physique. The suit must also be made according to the occasion on which it will be worn. A casual suit is different than a suit you will wear at a formal event of course. We also don’t like to look too much into trends but advise our customers to go with timeless looks that can survive the decade and not the season. Of course we also try to guide our customers by showing them all the details that cannot be seen, which make the beauty and durability of a piece. Here are the most common mistakes we see when tailoring a suit:
The jacket is too big or too small.
The space between the jacket and the chest should be the equivalent of a closed fist. Many men think that if they are a bit bigger around the waist they should get a bigger jacket to hide it, but the opposite is true, a fitted jacket can slim the waist.
The lower button of the jacket is closed.
This is not really flattering for the silhouette. A rule of thumb is to always have the lower button open. Every well-groomed man should learn this from an early age.
A bad adjustment between the height for the belt and the length of the jacket.
The shirt should never appear and the jacket should always go past the belt.
Trouser sleeves are too wide.
Wide trouser sleeves make the feet look short and do not flatter the shoe. It also doesn’t flatter the figure and can make you look boxy. The sleeve should be fitted to the leg and follow the shape and form of the leg to accentuate the silhouette and show the shoe in the best light.
A bad tie length.
Only the tip of the tie should cover the belt buckle. It should not spill over onto the trousers. It should also not be too short. A rule of thumb is that the tie length should fall just below the belly button.
Shirt sleeves which are too long or too short.
One or two centimetre of your shirt sleeve should come out of the jacket. If it comes out more than that, it is too long or your jacket is too short.
Short sport socks
Short socks should not be worn with a suit as they show the skin of the calf once seated. If you are going for a more casual look, this might work, but it would be better to not wear socks at all if you want to show a little of the leg for a casual look than to have a short sock showing, which looks a little childish.
Clothes which are not well taken care of.
You should aim to press your clothes once a week. Suits should be dry cleaned along with dress shirts that require dry cleaning. Always follow the instructions given on the label or prescribed by your tailor as there are many different materials used for different suits and each should be treated a certain way.
The suit jacket used instead of a blazer.
The blazer is more casual and has more sportswear features: contrasted buttons or a more supple shoulder line. The suit jacket is for formal occasions and gives a broader shoulder to the wearer. When going casual, ditch the suit jacket in favour of the blazer for a more relaxed yet still well-tailored look.
— Karim Rehabi is the Bespoke Clothing Tailor at French label Berluti. Call 04-3996443.
