[tallandblonde]

I was an athlete in college, but since I've graduated I've likely put on ~20 pounds of muscle because I've been focusing on strength training.

My shoulders and quads are a lot bigger now, and it's nearly impossible to find a jacket that not only fits my shoulders but also can be brought in at the stomach enough for me by the tailor and still fit properly. The tailor can only remove so much material without the pockets ending up in a weird spot and since my belly is pretty flat a 46L jacket has way more room than I need around the gut area, while this being the smallest size that doesn't restrict my shoulders.

Anyone have similar issues before, or maybe would be able to suggest a particular brand/type of suit that would fit more of a weightlifters body? Unfortunately custom suits are out of my price range at the moment.

[Dalaran1991]

You are no longer in college. Spend extra bucks to get custom suits. Trust me it's worth every penny.

The whole idea of off the rack suit is stupid. You will end up paying a lot of tailoring money anyway.

Indochino makes very good suit for around 400$. Measurements are on point. They also give you up to 75$ credit to get your suit tailored should something doesn't fit, else refund guaranted.

http://www.indochino.com/?cvosrc=ppc.goo...AlDZ8P8HAQ

[Easy_C]

I'll second that. I had the same problem when I tried to buy one off the rack. The salesman flat out told me that I he didn't have anything that would look good on me due to a large chest. Just take your measurements and order a custom fitted one online. Those can be had for as little as $300

Once you have the cash go to local trunk show. If you live in a major metro you can also find local tailors who will do bespoke suits as low as $600.

[Cincinnatus]

(01-26-2015 07:11 PM)Dalaran1991 Wrote:  

You are no longer in college. Spend extra bucks to get custom suits. Trust me it's worth every penny.

The whole idea of off the rack suit is stupid. You will end up paying a lot of tailoring money anyway.

Indochino makes very good suit for around 400$. Measurements are on point. They also give you up to 75$ credit to get your suit tailored should something doesn't fit, else refund guaranted.

http://www.indochino.com/?cvosrc=ppc.goo...AlDZ8P8HAQ

Is Indochino the custom suit company that will do a re-make if you're not satisfied with the first? If that's them - their $400ish suits are absolute shit. In my line of work (tailoring and dry cleaning) I've seen a handful of 'em over the last few years. Low quality tailoring overall, with an even lower quality of fabric.

[ONE A DAY]

Cincinnatus,

What's your suggestion?

[Saweeep]

I feel your pain; I have exactly the same problem.

There really is little you can do other than bite the bullet and spend more on a quality garment, sadly.

Without wishing to sound all big baller trollish, I wouldn't wear a $400 off the peg suit let alone one that cost that much to be tailored. It is guaranteed to be terrible quality. Materials cost what materials cost and it takes a long time (man hours) to produce a suit.

[DumbfromBirth]

Get a custom suit made from asia. While this is something you would want to do in person, its possible to do online and I can recommend the tailor I used (however they don't have website). I bought a tailor made cashmere blended 3 piece suit (Jacket, pants, vest) for approx. $140 USD when I was in Hoi An, Vietnam. It fit perfectly on the first go, maybe I was just lucky? Not sure.

The bigger tailors are a little more expensive and I went for a smaller tailor in the markets which was cheaper. All the tailors use basically the same materials because they trade it. Only differences are prices and the quality of the tailor. Mine turned out really good and if I needed more suits would definitely buy.

If you want a high quality custom suit this is your best option but you will risk it not fitting perfectly as you can't try it on. But once they have your measurements on file you're gold.

I can provide more info of the process of how its made and how to buy if you are interested.

[WestIndianArchie]

Focus on athletic cut suits, and have your tailor bring put darts in the back of the jacket. That's going to run you 300+ usd. It means going to every.place that has suits in your city. It won't be easy.

As for internet "custom" suits, the first problem is getting proper measurement, the second is waiting for the suit to arrive, and finally it's getting the suit adjusted. Typically, it's going to cost you 4-600 for internet custom. it's probably your best option, but also not easy.

If you want to see a lot of indochino suits, go to styleforum.net. There's a huge thread about them.

WIA

[Parlay44]

Any decent suit place will offer a tailoring service. You're not a kid anymore. Stop shopping at Macy's

[Tigre]

(01-26-2015 06:59 PM)tallandblonde Wrote:  

Anyone have similar issues before, or maybe would be able to suggest a particular brand/type of suit that would fit more of a weightlifters body?

Hugo Boss, maybe. Their off the rack suits are often OK for a tall, broad shouldered guy. Although if you are seriously huge, all bets are off.

A lot of women complain that their fashion is designed for the modelesque female body type. Average girls with a bulkier body shape can't wear it.

As a man, you get the opposite effect. Clothes are designed for the average guy. With a tall, built physique, there's less on offer for you. Still a good problem to have, though!

[Cincinnatus]

(01-27-2015 12:28 AM)Runner2k Wrote:  

Cincinnatus,

What's your suggestion?

For off-the-rack, I'm a big fan of Enzo Tovare. I own a few of their suits and sportcoats and wear 'em on a weekly basis.

If you can't find something off-the-rack that you like, visit a local tailor that offers custom suiting. I've been using the same tailor for years, and have made a few custom suits costing about $1,100 each. These are garments with superior stitching, stylish cuts, and fabrics in the $70-$90 per square yard range.

[tallandblonde]

Some great tips here and I'll definitely go the route of custom suit once I have a little bit of money in the bank.

This is a little bit of a chicken coming before the egg problem, where I'm making good money at my new job that I'm starting soon but won't have enough disposable income for a $1k custom suit until I cash a few pay checks.

The good news is that my job is business casual for the most part unless I'm consulting with a client that would require me to dress business formal. I currently have one suit that fits well and another that's tight around the pant area, but I might go see if the tailor can do anything about that.

Two suits is good enough for me at the moment but from the responses in this thread it's clear that I just need to get a custom suit in the future.

(01-27-2015 12:35 PM)Parlay44 Wrote:  

Any decent suit place will offer a tailoring service. You're not a kid anymore. Stop shopping at Macy's

Ha. How did you know?

The one suit I found recently in a color I like was a slim fit from DKNY that the tailor at Macy's took in around the chest area and it fits well. Unfortunately, they didn't have many choices in that brand and type.

[Suits]

I get my suits tailored bespoke for about $110 each in Beijing.

Sure, it's not the same quality that you will get for $1100, but they are comfortable, look great, fit great and have earned me a reputation as a well dressed guy.

Fit is the most important thing, with an attractive looking (but not necessarily expensive) fabric being a close second. If you have those things, you've got it made, regardless of how much or how little you pay.

Now, provided you can get those things packaged with complete all day wearing comfort and quality high enough that the finish product looks the same as when you bought it after 3 or 5 years of heavy use, you shouldn't feel like you need to spend $1000-5000 on a better suit.

To wear suits regularly, you need a rotation of at least four, so even at $1,100 a pop, you'll be shelling out $4,400 just to get started.

Now, if you can afford a nicer suit, there's nothing wrong with spending the extra money. You'll probably be glad you did.

But if you have budgetary constraints, you can end up very satisfied spending a lot less money if you have access to tailored made clothes in less expensive markets like SEA and China.

It's certainly made me very satisfied and no one has ever said that any of my suits look cheap.