Waistcoat fit

[longhuntr74]

I found when I first started wearing three piece suits, the vest was adjustable. It seemed no matter what I did, the vest would not fit correctly. My solution was to take them to a tailor. Two hours later, I had a vest that was fitted to me, and the annoying adjusting strap was relegated to the trash. I eventually went to custom suits, eliminating the problem altogether.

Like all the other responses so far, I agree that "off the rack" clothing is cut too large...and most men buy to large a size on top of that. The best advice I've seen recently on buying a jacket...that I have since adopted as my rule...is to find the jacket where the shoulders fit comfortably/roomy...and then buy one size smaller. It results in a jacket that fits my waist and body better, though it might start out a bit snug in the shoulders. It just takes some getting used to a feeling of a tighter fit, as Matt has mentioned about his recent purchase of a made to measure shirt.

Boy, do I know what you're talking about, come to the standard sizes not fitting. I've been thinking recently on having a shirt made for me, just to see what it was like... currently my chest measurement is 13 inches larger than my waist, so you can imagine how much extra shirt fabric I usually have hanging around. Literally.

Ryan...I'm right there with you! Even "Tailored" or "Athletic" fit shirts are too big in the waist. 44" chest and 32" waist doesn't come "off the rack". I just ordered three shirts from Charles Tyrwhitt today in their "Slim" fit option. The chest measurement they quote seems as if it will be about perfect...the waist measurement could be about 2" smaller. If I were to go to their "tailored" fit, the waist would be about perfect...but the the chest also gets 2" smaller...which would be a non-starter...buttons pulling every time you moved. Just this weekend I altered three of my "off the rack" button down shirts by putting darts in the back and taking about 5-6" out of the waist of each, depending on starting measurements.

Oh...and back on the topic...I find that I have to buy a size smaller vest (medium vs. large) when buying them...and even then, they are frequently an inch or two too long. I always feel like they need to be taken in at the shoulders.