Biggest Rules when Wearing A Suit

The rules of wearing suits are generally universal, but big and tall men need to take a bit more into consideration than men of other body types. Style is usually a personal preference, yes, but those decisions can only come into play when a few bedrock rules are followed. 
 
The whole idea behind suits is to look good, and following these routes will ensure big and tall men not only look great but feel great when they wear them.

Fit matters

Nothing is more important when choosing clothing than how comfortable you feel wearing it. That’s especially true of suits, and even more true for big and tall men. Suit occasions aren’t usually short events. You might be stuck in that thing for hours at a time, and you need to ensure that your body type aligns perfectly with the suit you’ve chosen.
 
For tall men on the more lanky side, look for suits that fall under the category of skinny fit. Because of their narrow profile at the sleeves and pant legs, skinny fits are the best suit option for tall, slender men. Taller and bigger men, however, may not feel as comfortable. If you’re one of those body types, it might be worth starting at skinny fit while shopping and then work your way through less narrow options from there until you find a comfy size.
 
And one of those broader options is the slim fit. Contrary to its name, the slim fit is actually one of the more widespread styles for many male body types. Bigger men may feel comfortable with the slim fit’s wider hip and hem without feeling too tight at the waist and shoulder.

Know your measurements

The suit place you go to will definitely have a friendly employee on hand to help guide you through the process, but knowing your measurements beforehand will make your shopping life so much simpler.

Understand correct cuff lengths

Even if your torso feels comfy in a suit, you might be befuddled by whether your shirt cuffs are too long or if your arm length isn’t the right one for the suit. A good rule to follow is that a well-fitting shirt cuff will be longer than the suit jacket by half an inch to an inch.
 
So if you’re trying on a suit jacket without a dress shirt, you can tell if your arm length isn’t matching well if there’s more or less than a half-inch to an inch of skin showing between your wrist and the jacket cuff. This rule is particularly important for big and tall men. Guys like us tend to have shorter or longer than usual arm lengths depending on the body type, which means this should be a rule to follow for sure.

Along those same lines, watch for the right trouser length

Tall guys know the feeling of trying on pants that fit well only to look down and see half of your ankle exposed by a short pant length. Know that suit pants need to seem like they hover over your shoe, so too much of your sock isn’t showing when you sit down and they ride up.

Aim dark with colors, but not exclusively

Big and tall men know intuitively that black colors are your friend in general. Black can really slim down your profile, so you’ll want to own at least a pair of black suits. But navy blue suits accomplish the same goal and have more variation in hues than black obviously does. Don’t be afraid to liven up your suit color game with different colors. Just make sure you don’t trend too light with whatever hue you settle on.

Belts and shoes are part of the same package

Your belt color must match the shoe color. No exceptions, fellas! So keep that in mind if you decide to branch out from regular brown or black shoes into the more adventurous grey areas. You’ll need a grey belt, then. And your suit belt should skew slimmer than your regular belts, since the loops on suit pants are less forgiving than those in jeans.
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