The Gentleman’s Guide to the Perfect Suit/Tuxedo

Evening gents! Now, you might have a big event coming up where you’ll need to dress up a bit. It could be a wedding, a job interview, a school dance, or anything similar. With so many of such events happening in a gentleman’s life, it’s always a good idea for a gentleman to have a decent suit or tuxedo in his closet. So today, I’m going to give you a guide about how to talk to a tailor and get your tux or suit ordered (or rented), but first things first!

Suit vs. Tuxedo

One thing that most men wonder is this: what is the difference between a suit and a tux? I didn’t even know for a while. I only found out when I started doing research for this post, and the difference is simple. The main physical difference is the presence of satin. Tuxedos have satin lining in the lapel, pocket trim, buttons, and a satin stripe on the pants. Suits are devoid of satin and the buttons are often made of either plastic or the same material that the jacket is made of. Tuxedos are traditionally worn with a bowtie and either a cummerbund or a vest, whereas a suit is traditionally worn with just a long tie. Now, there are some who like to wear a long tie with a tuxedo (like in the photo shown above) or a bowtie with a suit, and that’s perfectly fine. Just keep in mind that the other way around is more common and traditional. Be sure you know what kind of outfit you want when you talk to a tailor.

Know your measurements

Now that you know what the difference between a suit and a tux, it’s time to get it ordered. Now in today’s day and age, you can find multiple websites where you can order a suit or tux online and have it delivered. Such sites will likely ask for your measurements. Now, there are four (4) main measurements you should be concerned about when dealing with this: neck, arm, waist, and leg. Your neck measurement will determine the cut of your shirt’s collar and tie (which will most likely be a clip-on), and your arm measurements will also determine the cut of your shirt’s sleeves as well as your jacket. Your waist and leg measurements will determine the cut of your pants. If you don’t know your measurements, they’re rather easy to figure out. Your natural body proportions will determine most of the cuts of your tux. Start with your pants. Since I’m hoping most of you reading this have bought pants before and have learned your measurements for your legs and waist, you should have this part down. My pants size is 34 waist 32 legs. As such, my body proportions determine that my shirt size is 16 – 34/35 and my jacket size is 40 short.  If you’re confused about all this, use this link. https://www.besttuxedo.com/index.php?action=help2

That link will help determine the size of the elements of your tux; pants, jacket, and all. My height, 5’10” matches up with most of the measurements found on the website, so check it out for yourself! But if you’re going to buy or rent your tux from an actual tailor, you can just ask the tailor to take your actual measurements, and they’ll cut your suit or tux accordingly.

Know what color/material you want

For those getting ready for prom or senior ball, this is a big one. Now, if you’re renting your tux or suit for something like what I do with with orchestra performances, a traditional black tux is generally the best option. However, if you need your tux or suit needs to fit a certain theme or match your date’s outfit for prom or senior ball, as is tradition, then simply let the tailor know so. In the case of my sister’s wedding (a picture of which is shown above), there was a prevalent lavender theme, so the bridesmaids all wore lavender dresses, and the groomsmen all rented grey tuxes with lavender ties and pocket squares. If you’re renting a tux for prom or senior ball, it’s smart to show the tailor a picture of your date’s dress so they can get an idea of what material to use for the accents (which generally consist of the tie, vest, and pocket square).

There we go! Follow these steps and you’ll have a fine looking suit or tuxedo for any of life’s big events! Be sure to follow me on all social medias found in the Social Media tab of the blog’s homepage and send me pics of your tuxes. Make sure to read any of the blog’s recent posts as well, which you can find links to in the sidebar.  Until next time, gents, this is Max from Men in the Making, and I’ll see you next time!