Ten Rules for a Suit Worth Keeping
Ten things to check before buying a suit, from the canvas to the length of the jacket. None of them needs a tailor’s eye, and all of them are visible in two minutes at a mirror.
There are suits that look good on the first day and worse on every subsequent one. And there are suits that take six months to settle and then spend the next fifteen years improving. The difference between them is not price. It is the ten decisions listed below.
Rule 1: Canvas, Not Glue
The interlining that gives a jacket its structure is either fused (glued) or floating (hand-stitched horsehair canvas). Fused interlinings are faster and cheaper to produce. They are also temporary — after regular wear and dry cleaning, the glue breaks down, the interlining separates from the fabric, and the jacket develops a bubbled, stiff front that cannot be repaired.
Floating canvas molds to the wearer's body over time. It breathes. It moves. A jacket built with floating canvas after five years of wear is a better garment than it was new. This is the foundation of every other rule.
Rule 2: Fabric Weight Matches Climate
A 350g/m² wool is a London suit. It will be too heavy nine months of the year in Lisbon. The right weight for a year-round Lisbon suit is 260–300g/m². For summer only: 220–240g/m². For winter: 310–330g/m². Wearing the wrong weight is uncomfortable and shortens the garment's life through excessive perspiration and strain on the cloth.
Rule 3: The Shoulder Fits Without Alteration
A suit jacket can be altered at the waist, the chest, the sleeves. It cannot be meaningfully altered at the shoulder. If the shoulder does not fit in the shop — or at the first fitting — no tailor can fully rescue it. The shoulder seam should sit precisely at the end of the shoulder bone. No overhang. No divot. This is the one dimension that must be right from the start.
Rule 4: Button Stance at Your Natural Waist
The button stance — the height of the top button — determines where the eye is drawn on the body. Too high and the jacket reads as short; too low and it reads as shapeless. The top button of a two-button suit should sit at or slightly above the natural waist. This is where the body's narrowest point is, and where the jacket's waist suppression should be centred.
Rule 5: Chest Roll, Not Flat Front
A jacket with floating canvas has a subtle roll through the lapel where the chest meets the collar — called the chest roll or lapel roll. This is a sign of quality construction. A flat, stiff front with no roll is a sign of fused interlining. The chest roll cannot be faked and it cannot be produced without canvas.
Rule 6: Trousers With Adequate Seat Allowance
Ready-to-wear trousers are almost universally cut with insufficient seat allowance. They look acceptable standing but pull and strain when seated. A well-made trouser has enough fabric through the seat and thigh to allow full movement without the fabric going taut. When seated, there should be no pulling across the hips and no bunching in front.
Rule 7: Jacket Length Covers the Seat
The jacket should be long enough to cover the seat entirely. A jacket that rides up and exposes the trouser seat is too short. The standard test: cup your hands under the jacket hem. If the fabric rests comfortably in your palms, the length is correct.
Rule 8: Lapel Width Matches Tie Width
The lapel and the tie should be approximately the same width at their widest points. A narrow tie on a wide lapel looks mismatched; a wide tie on a narrow lapel is worse. This is not a strict rule but a proportional guideline that applies across all jacket configurations.
Rule 9: Sleeves Show Cuff
The jacket sleeve should show approximately 1.5cm of shirt cuff at rest. This is not vanity — it is proportion. A jacket sleeve that covers the shirt cuff entirely makes the arm look too long; one that shows too much looks like the jacket is too small. When commissioning a suit, specify this measurement alongside the sleeve length.
Rule 10: One Fitting Is Not Enough for a First Commission
A first made to measure suit requires at least one fitting after construction and before final delivery. Some adjustments — particularly through the chest and at the back — can only be assessed when the garment is on the body. A service that delivers without fitting assumes the measurements were perfect. They rarely are, on a first commission, for a new client.
Questions before ordering
Can a cheap suit be altered to fit well?
Some alterations are possible — waist suppression, sleeve shortening, trouser hemming. But if the suit was built with fused interlining and the shoulder doesn't fit, no alteration will make it a good suit. The foundation cannot be changed.
How often should a suit be dry cleaned?
As infrequently as possible. Dry cleaning uses solvents that degrade wool fibres over time. For most suits worn regularly, once or twice a year is sufficient. Between cleanings, brush the suit, air it after wearing, and press it with steam rather than sending it to the dry cleaner.
What is the best fabric for a first made to measure suit?
A mid-weight plain-weave wool in navy or charcoal. Super 120s from Vitale Barberis Canonico or Loro Piana at 270–290g/m² is versatile across seasons and occasions, photographs well, and wears at least ten years with proper care.
Finished suits in the catalogue: Dark Navy Suit · Gray Suit · Black Suit
Book a visit to ATELIER 23
We show the cloths in the length, take measurements and give you a date. Finished garments are in the catalogue and the process is described on made to measure. The visit takes about an hour and commits you to nothing.