If you are looking to buy tailored suits within your budget, your best option is to buy it off the rack. Just make sure that it fits you well. If there are any adjustments, they can be easily carried out by your tailor.

However, before you go to the tailor for those adjustments, you must know a few things regarding how to make your suit fit perfectly.

First of all, you need to know what a fitted suit should look like. Tailors can be very tricky. They all have their perception of a perfect suit that may vary with your preferences. So it is up to you to tell them exactly what you want. 

The Perfectly Fitting Suit

Of course, a perfectly stitched suit should look great on your body, but it should also fit your natural stance.

This would mean a person standing in a relaxed position, and their arms hanging by the sides. 

If the suit does not look good in this posture, then there is little doubt that it would look good when you are moving.

Stand in the most natural pose for some time. Get relaxed. And then try on the suit that you are planning to purchase. 

Mentioned below are five ways of making sure that your suit fits you:

1. Look for the shoulder

The shoulder of a perfectly fitted suit will be lying flat. The length of the bone and the seam should be identical. Another point is that the seam should connect with the sleeve at the exact point where the arm meets the shoulder.

If the connecting seam between the sleeve and the jacket is ill fit or dangling, the suit will never stay in its proper place. 

The effect of this mismeasurement results in wrinkles over the top of the jacket. These wrinkles may also appear on the sleeves.

The most important, and also the most visible part of the suit, is the shoulder. This would mean refraining from purchasing a suit that does not have properly fitted shoulders. There is a high probability that your tailor will never be able to adjust this problem even with alterations.

2. The Seat of the Suit

The trousers must be draping easily and smoothly over your rear. A perfectly fitted seat will be lying loose, and wouldn’t become tight over the butt. It must also not dangle down the thighs.

If you see wrinkles crisscrossing beneath your butt, you know for sure that there is a problem with fitting. These wrinkles appear if the fit is very tight or too loose.

A good tailor can adjust the seat problem skillfully. However, if the problem is a big one, then even the best tailor may not be able to adjust it. Even if after trying, they will have to take out the pockets.

Some tailors leave a good amount of spare cloth on the inside of the pants. This surely helps your tailor while they are trying to make adjustments. You should take this factor into account while buying the suit.

3. The Break of the Trouser

The break is defined as a very tiny wrinkle that appears at the point where your trouser meets your shoes. The shoes effectively stop the trousers from reaching its full length.

This is a very subtle point in a suit and, thus, usually overlooked. A simple crease is favorable, which shows the cuff resting on the shoe. The contact between the trouser and the shoe is essential, but it needs to be very fine.

The trouser cuff should never touch the heel of the shoe. Otherwise, it will ruin the entire look of the suit.

Fortunately, making this adjustment is not difficult for a seasoned tailor. If you are able to purchase an unhemmed trouser, it is much better since it will be very helpful for your tailor when they are making the final adjustments.

4. The Closure of the Jacket

The jacket should be properly buttoned when you are standing up in your suit. This makes it essential for you to know how your suit will look when the jacket is snuggly closed over your torso.

In order to test this, you can close just one button on the jacket. There is no need to close all three buttons. You only need to see if the two sides of the jacket can meet over your body without being too loose or too tight.

The button should close easily, and there should be no wrinkles around the point of closure. If you can see just a tiny bit of opening towards the bottom of the jacket, it is fine, but a large triangle showing your shirt is not acceptable.

5. The Length of the Sleeve

The relationship between the jacket and the shirt worn underneath it is very important. The rule is that only a little bit of the shirt – half an inch to be exact – should remain visible under the cuff. 

This is a general rule and can be amended a little. However, it would be best if you made sure that the shirt doesn’t disappear entirely beneath the suit. A part of it must be visible at all times. 

Fortunately, adjusting the length of the sleeve is a piece of cake for any tailor. The length of each person’s arm is different, and getting exactly the right sleeve length at the store may not be possible. You may ask your tailor to make that adjustment to make your suit a perfect fit.

The Final Word

It is easy to spot an ill-fitted suit. Most of the time, it is the result of a fundamental problem with the suit. This would mean that your body is not built for such a suit. There is no need to get frustrated if you are not able to get a well-fitted suit from your favorite brand.

Try to look for the points mentioned above, and analyze if some adjustments can make the suit fit well. If you are not sure, don’t buy that suit in haste. Instead, find another brand that has a better-fitted suit for you.