Suit-ed

Rutendo Chidawanyika

A GOOD suit enhances Mother Nature’s gifts: it’s like wearing an Instagram filter, or walking around with flattering lighting constantly overhead. Slip it on, and suddenly you’re a new, better-looking man, as if God Himself has retouched you.

Although not all suits are good for everybody, you need to find a suit that suits your body type.

Finding the right suit needn’t be a hustle. This article will guide you to the type of suit that, well, suits your type.

Short Men
The aim is to create the appearance of one long line from head to toe. A neat, tapered trouser worn slightly higher on the hip adds inches to the legs. By contrast, a big break (the amount of trouser that falls onto the shoe) or drop crotch will shorten them, and you. Balance this with a more contemporary length on the jacket. Many brands and retailers offer “short” cut versions of their suits; this elongates your pins, while the deep V-shape created by a two-button jacket ensures your torso isn’t extremely small.

Avoid belts and wearing a suit as separates, which will see you in half like a bad magician and stop the eyes flowing from top to bottom.

Pinstripes, on the other hand, do the opposite by directing the eye up and down, as long as they’re not too thick or widely spaced. Similarly, micro-checks are better than large windowpanes.

Extra shirt cuff peeking out from under the arm of the jacket can also help your suit look proportionally smaller and not like an adult size being worn by a child, as will slimmer lapels.

At the same time, you want enough structure in the shoulders to balance out your head, which can appear disproportionately large. A diagonal peak lapel simultaneously provides a vertical line and a bit of horizontal heft.

Tall Men
Those in this category have the opposite problem to short men and therefore — its obvious then — the opposite solution. More specifically, the aim is to break up the vast space between your head and toes all the way down there in the distance, beneath the clouds.

Your trousers should break (cleanly, though) on your shoes: any hint of your ankles will make it look like your suit has shrunk, as will overly short sleeves. Yes, your arms and legs are long, so try not to show this off too much.

Your jacket should also be on the longer side to cut your leg line.

Don’t fall into the trap of showing a load of trouser fly and, worse still, shirt sticking out below the jacket button. Speaking of jacket buttons, there are conflicting opinions over whether a third one breaks up on the torso or highlights it.

The simple answer is that it depends on the placement: a high three-button is creating a long line in one direction; a low two-button is doing the same but in the other direction. Neither is particularly helpful.

Wearing separates is one of your greatest weapons when it comes to looking less lofty. Mixing and matching trousers and blazers not only gets you more wear out of your sartorial wardrobe, it also breaks up a tall frame. You can even further this by adding a belt (your shorter friends should have a few going spare if they have read the above).

Skinny Men
Skinny men share some of the same problems as the short and tall guy, but predominantly the latter. Gentlemen with a skinnier build should follow the same advice as a taller man. There’s no need to go overly tapered or skinny fit. The purpose of tailoring is to flatter and disguise any twists or figurations, not to accentuate them.

Your goal is to add some weight to your physique. Busy patterns, pleated trousers with cuffs and even heavier fabrics like tweed and wool will all pile it on from an onlooker’s perspective. Checks and textured weaves can add presence.

A double-breasted jacket, with its overlapping material at the front and buttons that encourage lateral thinking, will give you visual gains.

While you might want standard rather than slim lapels to counteract your slim frame, and maybe a bit of extra shoulder padding like the short guy, always keep everything broadly in proportion to your body and head. Too wide will make you look funny.

Larger Men
The style world has got increasingly better at catering for guys with larger builds, and therefore you shouldn’t be deterred from tailoring, especially as this is your opportunity to contour.

You’ve got more things in common with the vertically challenged guy, in that you want to create a long — and, crucially, lean — line.

I would advise a similar formula to the short body type, stay well away from large checks as they will shorten your silhouette. A narrow pinstripe on a slimming darker base gives a longer look.

As with the Napoleonic chap, a two-button jacket and high-waisted trousers are your friends in the right places, elongating and narrowing accordingly. Again, a peak lapel can contribute to your verticality, while its width is more proportional to yours.

Meanwhile, the reverse of the skinny guy applies to you: lighter fabrics like hopsack or cotton can take a few optical pounds off. And don’t make the common mistake of going baggy to try to hide your girth, as you’ll only exaggerate it: the jacket should skim your shoulders.

You can nip it in to give the illusion of a narrow waist (slanted hip pockets can also perform the same trick), provided it’s not bursting at the seams.

Athletic Men
Have you been working out? Congratulations: chances are you’ve got the ideal build for a suit. Just don’t mess it up.

It’s a question of proportion: striking the right balance between a tapered waist and the correct fit across broad shoulders. I see too many younger chaps walking around with their jackets hacked in to the point where the waist button is about to pop off.

Tailoring is designed to emphasise your form in the same way that the gym does. So if you’ve already put the hard work in at your local iron paradise, you don’t need your suit to do any heavy lifting: Cuts with soft, natural shoulders tend to work best. In a similar vein, aggressively tapered trousers — a very modern affliction — will make you look like Johnny Bravo: balance is always more elegant.

If anything, you want to add bulk to your bottom half with details such as pleats, which will also make room for your squatter’s glutes, quads and hams.

A slightly longer jacket will give your chicken legs some stuffing to even out your heaving pecs.

The only real problem men of this body type have is their ability to buy off the peg. Ready-to-wear is always difficult as the industry tends to expect a big chest to come with a big gut to match.

When it comes to pattern and colour, you can pretty much do what you like. –Additional information from online sources.
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