Official "How Does This Fit?" Thread

[ajk170]

New suit from Black Lapel. My first suit from them is here.

I have a challenging build to fit, with a 10.5" drop. I have some thoughts but I'll reserve them for after others have commented. Ignore the shirt, it's on its way to the tailor as well.

WK- unfortunately, I think I see a shoulder issue with the "divot". That was the first thing that caught my attention on the first pic. The profile shows a great sleeve witha great pitch. I think the taper is too extreme because it hugs the body too much and doesn't drape your backside. The consequence to the hugging of the body is you have a Rey noticeable contour from the back to the butt. The jacket effectively creates a "hump" and plus in all the wrong ways as seen in the profile and in the backside shot (respectively).

I can't really comment on length since the jacket hugs too much. I hope others can chime in to help on what I'm seeing but as it is, I'd send back for some rework.

Hope this helps.

[zmac]

Way too much waist suppression IMO.

[greg_s]

@Whiteknight, what the other guys said. The fit of that suit gives you a feminine silhouette. There is too much room in the shoulders and chest, and way, way too much waist suppression.

[ajk170]

@Whiteknight, what the other guys said. The fit of that suit gives you a feminine silhouette. There is too much room in the shoulders and chest, and way, way too much waist suppression.

@Greg and zmac: Waist suppression- I'll have to add that to my vocabulary...

[shad0w4life]

@WhiteKnight yeah it looks like you measured to the end of your shoulders rather than to the end of the socket and ball of your shoulder, I'd double check that measurement and also your chest measurement.

Also with the waist I've learned now to add 1" to it after my thumb is inside the tape(I'm about 42" chest 32" belly) my casual shirts I order as 33" and jackets I'd probably go 34"


The waist suppression really is up to you, I wouldn't call it feminine, it's definitely more of a fashion forward type fit rather than a strictly business suit, I'd let it out a bit myself. My dragon inside suits are quite fitted and I've had nothing but compliments thrown at me and been asked a few times what type of suit it was.

[ajk170]

@WhiteKnight yeah it looks like you measured to the end of your shoulders rather than to the end of the socket and ball of your shoulder, I'd double check that measurement and also your chest measurement.

Also with the waist I've learned now to add 1" to it after my thumb is inside the tape(I'm about 42" chest 32" belly) my casual shirts I order as 33" and jackets I'd probably go 34"


The waist suppression really is up to you, I wouldn't call it feminine, it's definitely more of a fashion forward type fit rather than a strictly business suit, I'd let it out a bit myself. My dragon inside suits are quite fitted and I've had nothing but compliments thrown at me and been asked a few times what type of suit it was.

If you have any pics you'd be willing to share to serve as an example if the dragon's fit - that would be great- I've been really considering the suit supply or dragon.

[zmac]

The waist suppression really is up to you, I wouldn't call it feminine, it's definitely more of a fashion forward type fit rather than a strictly business suit, I'd let it out a bit myself. My dragon inside suits are quite fitted and I've had nothing but compliments thrown at me and been asked a few times what type of suit it was.

The photo of the back of the suit is the most telling to me. Looks too "hourglass" for my taste. He can keep the modern look without it being so severe. From the front I think it looks ok.

[Art Vandelay]

@art- the pics aren't working very well. They're too small and cropped.

I fixed them.

[ajk170]

@docka-

The Good:
The front view of the the jacket seems to look very good to my untrained eye- maybe somebody will suggest something if I'm missing it...

The Bad:
-The pants look a little long for my taste- the left leg looks like it "puddles" more than the right but the right has some "puddling" as well. Hopefully others can offer other thoughts on this- I prefer only one break in suit pants at the top my by shoes.
-I can't be too sure, but the jacket might be a touch too short. It seems most telling in the length at the body because if you curl your hands when at your side it would appear you won't be able to touch any of the jacket. (Look at Art Vandelay's pics for example of body length) That's a tough one for me to gauge though, I'd really need to see a picture of that test. Joe highlighted this concept a week or so ago on the main site.

The Ugly:
-Sleeve pitch on the Jacket is off. I refer to the linked (and sub-linked articles) on the concept. Take a look at White Knights pictures of his suit - specifically the profile picture to see an example of really good sleeve pitch. From the back and sides that's all I can look at on your's that detracts from the overall fit. Upside is pitch issues can be fixed.
-The shirts's sleeves seem too wide- I know they can be adjusted as well but if the shirt is always under a jacket, some won't bother with the expense.

http://effortlessgent.com/sport-coat-suit-fit-mistakes/

It looks like a really nice suit- where's it from?

Hope this helps

[ajk170]

QUOTE=Art Vandelay;117301]I fixed them.[/QUOTE]

@art- I bet you get a lot of Vandaley Enterprise jokes!

The Good:
I really like the color. The shoulders look good- no rumpling or divots and, IMO, the body length looks very good- Docka should look to your pic as an example of good lenth within the body.

The Bad:
-Sleeve pitch (see linked article)
-Collar gap (see linked article), which is odd since the shoulders look good (from the front)
-Not much of a tapper at the sides- it just sorta runs straight down like a sack

The Ugly:
-I have no idea what's going on with the backside but something isn't right - it looks like a mess (not trying to be harsh). Maybe it's my untrained eye and I really hope somebody with more experiance than I can help on this one. Although it appears to be an unlined jacket and won't have the same level of structure to hang smooth and clean, it shouldn't look like you just rolled out of bed, or look like an unmade bed. The sleeves probably look as bad as the do as a result of the pitch being off but the rest of it... IMO, this is an example of trying on others from the same line to see if they fit better.

Additionally, I hadn't noticed beffore, but the waist patch-pockets look huge. Not sure if it's the angle of the picture or not- something to consider.

Uniqlo has a similiar style jacket, unlined with the patch pockets for $60. Though I hear they run short in the body- seems to be thier style.

Hope this helps.

http://effortlessgent.com/sport-coat-suit-fit-mistakes/

[Art Vandelay]

Thanks for the input, ajk170! I didn't notice the sleeve pitch or collar gap when I tried it on. I guess I got excited and overlooked it when I saw that the body and sleeve length was decent. 36S's are hard to find. I think I may just keep it as a casual blazer that I'd wear to the bar. It was only $35 so I won't be too upset if I get beer spilled on it.

[shad0w4life]

Thompson 42L
the curve on the left shoulder, side of sleeve is my shoulder so it's not too big as far as I can tell.

Think tailor can make this thing not look like a sack suit? The description on JCF is a big ol' lie! Wearing my n&f jeans which are very tight right now so those are my legs without any room for reference to the jacket.... And I don't have little legs.

[JThomp]

http://imgur.com/a/C8n77

I'm pretty sure the jacket is not fitting correctly. Wondering if there's any hope for it to fit properly, or if I should just try and catch a matching jacket in the separates.

[ajk170]

JT- Trying not to be hypercritical like Joe points out on the main forum but I want to be constructive yet critical since you ask for the opinions of the forum. I'm certainly no, expert and hopefully others will chime in if I'm way off base, but I submit the jacket listed is too short as seen in the sleeves and body, even if you consider you like a little more sleeve to show (looks like a full inch and with that or more showing tells people the sleeves are too short) and potentially too small as seen with the apparent "X" through the mid-section. From the profile there is too much waist suppression and prevents the jacket to drape down your backside. Instead, it clings thus confounds the front. Additionally the pitch in the left sleeve is off (I assume the right is the same) although that can be fixed. I discovered the "divots" that you see occurring are not due to the shoulders fitting improperly but rather how the sleeves attach to the jacket and partly your posture (Check Style Forum on this concept, they do an extensive "deep-dive" on this aspect) For cost sake, I would try another jacket and if that didn't help, size up, or switch to a different line entirely. Hope this helps

[ajk170]

Thompson 42L
the curve on the left shoulder, side of sleeve is my shoulder so it's not too big as far as I can tell.

Think tailor can make this thing not look like a sack suit? The description on JCF is a big ol' lie! Wearing my n&f jeans which are very tight right now so those are my legs without any room for reference to the jacket.... And I don't have little legs.

Shadow- I think it looks OK but it must be right out of the box due to the all the wrinkles. I saw several (10-20 really) posts over at SF's tailored thread on fit that talked about pressing the suits before posting to critique fit. Apparently there is a night-and-day difference in how it wears and looks thus affecting the critique. Nonetheless, the sleeves might be a touch too long- since no shirt sleeve is showing. I can't be for sure but I would guess by the wrinkles and bunching in the right sleeve that the pitch is off on the sleeves. I would expect this with a lot of your jackets since you seem like a rather athletic guy. Again referring back to the numerous post at the SF and its ask the tailor to evaluate fit- sleeve pitch sounds like it's a very common issue among the very athletic or military. They do a very elaborate and extensive break-down of the issue and how to recognize it. The good part is it can be fixed.

The taper at the sides looks good- not too tight. You would have to do the fist-inside-the-jacket-to-the-chest test to see if there is too much fabric there. It should pull a little snug for a good fit (I assume you did). The lapels look like the pull away from the chest when buttoned yet there is no collar gap so it could be an affect of not being pressed that's throwing off the appearance. If it's not the wrinkles, then I think the fist-to-the-chest-inside-the-jacket might fail.

So, if the chest has too much fabric yet the waist looks OK when buttoned, it suggests you have too much waist suppression as well (a profile or back shot would help). If there is too much then the jacket is clinging to your backside and not draping.

One thing I've noticed over the last six months is that men really want that slim and tappered look from the front yet miss the effects from the profile or back. I like slim, but want the jacket to drape over my backside and not look like I'm wearing a form-fitting suit.

But unfortunately, the wrinkles really throw the appearance for me and I want to say it looks pretty good despite the long sleeves. But a profile shot (at minimum) would help a lot and if possible a pressed shot of the jacket, that way we can give a better assessment.

Consider posting the same pics over at SF as well for some feedback there- they critique everything from Alfani Red and Stafford to things I never heard of. Most of it is critical yet constructive and they really harp on the pictures so that people can critique properly. Not to say people here don't know anything, it's just to get more feedback. In the end, that's what we want so that we can get the best fit possible without going through "discovery-learning" with the tailor.

http://www.styleforum.net/t/278468/t...ical-tutorials