Over on the Instagram story, we posed the question 'Would you like to understand why this suit is not bespoke'? And 88% of you voted yes.

So, because no-one was ever taken seriously who ever broke a promise, here's the story.

What are your immediate thoughts on glancing at it? Is it 'he's dressed smart'? 

The truth is that very few people even know what a badly fitting suit looks like anymore.  And even a badly fitting suit will pass muster at first glance to people who have some idea, because that first glance is likely to be when walking down a street, or in a meeting, or a bar, when social conventions require an eye contact and a handshake, not an inch-perfect assessment of jacket length and button stance.

Do you think 'that jacket's too short'?

It's the most glaring thing about what he's wearing, so we'll call that issue #1. 

The rule of thumb here is that when you stand with your hands down at your sides, the bottom of the hem should just sit inside your curled fingers or to the start of the crease between your thumb and palm. 

This jacket is so short it makes his torso look short. The designer probably did this to supposedly create the illusion of longer legs, but it's equally likely it was a manufacturer's cheap way to use less cloth. 

#2 is the button stance, the very parameter we chose to take our name from.

The 'button stance' is the position of the top button. It is supposed to create a visual balance of proportions between his top and lower body halves. Ideally it should be close to the narrowest part of the body. Here, it's too high.

And what's going on with that lower button?  The quarters of the jacket, the parts that drop from below the buttons towards the bottom hem, they curve away from each other so fast it looks like he can't actually button the 2nd one.  Not that he should - the general rule is 'Sometimes, Always, Never'. From top-to-bottom on a 3-button suit, you sometimes button closed the top button, always the middle one, but never the bottom button.  So we'll give him a break, he's not supposed to button that lower one closed - but still, it looks weird.

Sleeve crown comes in 3rd place

This is a more specialised point which is not easy to spot with an untrained eye. For a tailor, it would be an obvious eyesore.

How to identify it? Look at the drag lines on this photo, running from middle of the upper arm towards his triceps. They should be smooth, as if the sleeve crown encloses the shoulder in an elegant curve and the sleeve falls down the arm with no breaks. It's an art. Art of manipulating the cloth. A good tailor knows what I'm talking about. A point of pride to produce one. Almost like an omelette to a chef.

Issue #4 is the sleeve fall

'Sleeve fall' is the shape of a sleeve, which should conform to the natural curve of an arm. Notice how the fabric buckles in the area inside the elbow instead of falling along the arm without any creases. The jacket is still wearable but a trained eye will see this deficiency which is a sign that the sleeve not made for arm curvature.

These two issues (#3 above) are connected and a tailor would work them both in tandem when making a bespoke suit. It is mostly an aesthetic point and doesn't cause discomfort.

#5 is the sleeve length.

Classic example when sleeves are so short, the look suggests a boy has grown out of his school uniform. These sleeves are way too short. Did he put this suit into the wash at the wrong temperature? - We're joking, never machine wash your suit.

Equally bad looking are the sleeves that are too long. Shop assistants are supposed to point it out to you, but they either don't know, or want to make the sale, and so you go into the world no wiser.

A man's sleeve should finish just below the wrist bone so that you can see 1/2" of a shirt underneath it.

The 6th thing found

(and while not the last, but the article is only to be so long)

is the pocket flap.

One of my favourite subjects yet again.

Badly executed pockets can ruin proportions or overall look of a suit.

Usually a rule for placing a pocket on a patterned suit is not to break too many lines in order to preserve fluency of the fabric.

Look what happened in this picture.

Firstly, pocket is inclined downwards - there is no way it can be comfortable to use. It doesn't compliment the wearer's figure. And look how many lines are intersected - a side panel seam going down from the armpit meets an upper jet of the pocket; at the same time check pattern lines above the pocket flap do not match and go at all angles. What a mess.

This curious case of a ready-to-wear suit was illustrative because it shows how to spot the signs of a badly fitted suit.  The reason we had a chance to observe all those deficiencies above is simply because the suit wasn't bespoke.  When a suit is made for an individual, a tailor would rectify all the above to a level of perfection.

All six issues I described above would be just at all the right points and in congruence with a client's physique. This is what you get when you pay for bespoke.  It's the very definition of precision and personalisation whereas ready-to-wear is made for a standard man, but nobody is standard.

Different rules apply to women's jackets. May be it's a subject for another post.

If you want to learn more, however, about the fit, drop us a line at tailor@buttonstance.com.

Until next time,

The Tailor.