A Primer on the Importance of Fit
Posted on July 20, 2009 in Basic Fit Lessons, Body Type, Fit Lesson, Houston, How to Wear a Sport Coat with Jeans., Popular, Style, Tailoring, Tips.
The way that your clothes fit on your body is probably the single most important, yet easiest aspect of your wardrobe to change. You can have the most expensive clothing in the world, and still look like a scrub if the clothes don’t fit your body properly.
Most guys wear clothing that are too big, though there are some (non-hipsters even) that wear their clothes too tight (a perplexingly disproportionate number of which workout at my gym, and always right next to me). The problem stems from the baggy clothes trend that began in the 80’s and thankfully, is gradually being beaten back in recent years. It is a horrible look that needs to stop immediately. Please help do your part.
Luckily, more mainstream clothiers are getting behind the “slim is good” mantra and are offering more tailored variety of clothing. Let me be clear: I am NOT advocating skinny jeans. Leave that to the women and hipsters. All I am saying is to make sure your clothes fit properly so that there is not a ton of excess fabric flopping around. Think clean, precise lines (that is our overall goal after all).
As an example of why we go for precise lines, think of all the bigger guys you’ve seen who tend to wear their clothing a little bit looser and baggier. This intuitively makes a bit of sense. However, this has the opposite effect of accentuating their size as it exaggerates their build (think of the super long suit coats worn by NBA stars). Larger guys actually look more put together and less sloppy in clothes that are trimmer. Point being – always find clothes that fit your frame, no matter what your body type. PG will be focusing more on specific lessons on fit for different body types in latter posts.
Here’s a tip: when in doubt, take it to your tailor. I’ll say this over and over and over again. A good, knowledgeable tailor can work magic on your wardrobe. Get to know yours. Especially considering the wide differences in body types. For some, unless you go custom, it will be virtually impossible for you to find a shirt that fits perfectly off the rack (I have wider shoulders, yet a 12 year old girl waist, so I have to get a ton of fabric cut out of the torso region). The good thing about this is that you don’t have to start completely over with your closet. Take some shirts you love, that don’t fit perfectly, and take them to the tailor. You’ll come out with a great shirt and save some $$.
Note to Houstonians: I have a man-crush on Jon. He’s got an innocuous looking shop in a strip center (Buffalo Speedway and 59, same shopping center as the Kroger’s) that just has “Alterations” on the sign. Great attention to detail and quality, at very honest prices.
So, remember that the general theme is for your clothing to fit precisely, no matter your body type. The forthcoming lessons will expound on this general theme.
[…] for men, which reminded me that the big guys need some style love as well. As I’ve mentioned before, just because you’re a larger guy doesn’t mean that you can just throw on some baggy […]