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GQ’s Guide To Buying A Suit

GQ’s Guide To Buying A Suit
2009/07/07 Maya H.

I took some time to review this and, less some of the inane commentary, the article is directionally correct.  Blueprint for Style will be doing a follow-up post on specifics (to be included in the Men's Wardrobe Essentials section along with article) but for now, I want to share a version of Gentleman's Quarterly's insight:

  1. Beware of the sales guy - they'll say anything for a sale so, go with your gut or with your Image Consultant!
  2. Know why you're buying a suit - whatever purpose the suit will serve will help determine the type of suit you need to buy
  3. Start at a department store- they usually ahve a lot of selection instead of specific designers
  4. Know your size - better wording is know your fit because it's the most crucial element of the purchase!
  5. Shoulders - good advice...if you stand sideways against a wall and the shoulder pad touches the wall before your arm, the suit is too big
  6. Chest - be able to easily button it but there shouldn't be a fist size gap between your chest and the button
  7. Length - this is a little bit of preference but, the golden rule is the jacket sleeve should provide 1-inch clearance of the shirt sleeve
  8. Number of buttons- knowing what you want will determine the cut of the suit (3-button is longer, 2-button is more mod and up with current fashion, 1-button is very European and demands a slim build)
  9. Vents on the back - again, this helps determine how the jacket will fit (no vent = no way!; single vent = most popular; double vent = super suave)
  10. Lapels - these are a matter of personal preference (notch is standard, peak is more elegant and conservative)
  11. Pants - they should be comfortable but this is not the time to let anything 'sag'
  12. Dressing room - a 3-way mirror is best, and make sure you're trying your suit on with a dress shirt
  13. Tailor - [pants] they can work the hemline or waist by about 1-inch; [shoulders] if the shoulders aren't working then the suit isn't for you; [jacket] look for jacket to be contoured only, make sure they allow for 1/4 inch of shirt to show and a good tailor can remove the roll in the back of a suit jacket

Well that's it!!  Good shopping.....

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