You’ve found the perfect person to spend your life with. You proposed and she said “yes.” Now, you two are ready to plan your wedding together and you need to find the perfect suit. Here is a guide to help you find your perfect fitting groom’s suit.
Deciding on a Suit or a Tuxedo
The first question you need to answer, is if you are looking for a suit or a tuxedo. You might be wondering, what’s the difference between a tuxedo and a suit?
Well, the biggest difference is the satin. Suits do not have any satin on them. Tuxedos, however, have satin on the buttons, lapels, and the pocket lining of the jacket. The pants have a strip of satin that run down each leg. Suits, on the other hand, have cloth-covered or plastic buttons. Additionally, tuxedos often have accompanying vests or cummerbunds and suits may come with suspenders or vests, though less often than tuxedos.
Now that you know the differences, it’s time to choose. There are quite a few factors that you need to consider when making this decision. You may want to consider the time of the day that your wedding takes place. Suits are more common during the day and tuxedos in the evening. Also, consider how formal your venue is, as well as the decorations, and how formal the bride’s dress will be. There is no need for the groom to dress as fancy as the bride. It all depends on if you want to match how formal your bride-to-be will be dressed, or if you want to dress-down compared to her, to let her stand out more. Additionally, think about how much you want to stand out from your groomsmen. If you want to make sure that stand out clearly, then you might want to choose a tuxedo for yourself and suits for your groomsmen.
The final consideration you might want to think about, is the price. You can buy a suit for much less than a tuxedo. However, with the cost of having a suit tailored, renting a tuxedo may be cheaper. If you choose to rent a tuxedo, keep in mind that you’ll need to take good care of it during the wedding, in order to avoid any additional fees.
How a Suit Should Fit
Just because you choose a suit, does not mean that the fit should be anything less than perfect. You’ll probably need to take your suit to the tailor to have a proper fit. Before you go, make sure you know which areas of your suit need to be altered and how they should look. To get the proper look, try on your suit when you are standing up straight, while wearing your dress shoes, and with your arms relaxed at your sides. Here is what to look for in a good-fitting suit.
The Shoulder – This is one of the hardest parts of a suit to properly fit, keep that in mind when buying the suit. The shoulder should lie flat with no ripple effect. The top seam needs to be the same length as the shoulder bone under it and needs to connect to the sleeve of the suit right at the point where your arm connects to your shoulder.
The Seat – Avoid pants that sag or cause wrinkles. The seat should drape smoothly over your bottom, without pulling too tight.
The Trouser Break – The small wrinkle that occurs when the top of your shoe stops your trouser from falling to its full length is called the “break”. This subtle feature should consist of one horizontal crease or dimple. The trouser legs must touch the shoe in the front, but stay above the heel in the back.
Jacket Closure – Close one button to check the fit. It should easily close with no wrinkles. The ends of the jacket should meet neatly and it should not pull apart to show your shirt.
Jacket Sleeve Length – A general easy to follow rule is that approximately 1/2″ of your shirt should show underneath your jacket sleeve.
Jacket Length – The jacket hem should meet the part of your hand just past where your fingers connect to the palm. It should fall below your waist, around the widest part of your rear end.
Jacket Collar – The jacket collar needs to rest against the collar of your shirt, which should rest against your neck. There should be no gap, wrinkles, or folds.
How a Tuxedo Should Fit
Like suits, you want to make sure your tuxedo fits properly. Many tuxedos have some adjustable parts to make this easier.
Shirt collar – This should fit snug around your neck, with about 1″ of space.
Bow Tie – Not pulling the collar too tightly, this should fit comfortably around your neck.
The Waist – The front of the pants should hang straight. If they have an adjustable waist, equal sized adjustments should be made to the sides of the waist. The waistline should be at the point of your belly button, making the front pleats hang right above the shoe.
Pants Length – The back of the pants should come to between the heel and bottom of the shoe. Little to no sock should be visible while walking.
The Vest – The vest should be adjusted to be tight enough to have a gentle drape with straight lines in the front. All buttons need to be buttoned.
Tuxedo Jacket – The jacket collar should tightly surround the shirt collar. The front of the jacket should drape nicely. With one button buttoned, there should be 1-2″ of space in the mid-section. Make sure the jacket isn’t too tight and causing buckles on the sides. The coat back should just cover your rear end. The sleeves should reach the wrist bone, showing 1/2″-1″ of your shirt sleeve cuff.
Follow these guidelines and you are sure to look great at your wedding. Your bride, in particular, will be pleased.
Photos courtesy of Reego and http://www.dhgate.com.
