Different Suits, Different Cuts - What's the Right Suit for You?

When one goes shopping for a suit these days, you can be presented with a bewildering array of choices.  Color, fabric, cut, fit, etc.  Lately, many cuts  that have previously gone by the wayside (such as Two-button suits and Double-breasted suits) have come back into being popular.  Which one is right for you?  Body styles go a long in determining what suit you would look best in, and many manufacturers have many different cuts, allowing you to choose what looks best on you from your favourite manufacturer!  Furthermore, some of the so-called "classic" suit cuts have special features and cuts that allow you to further customize to your body style.  No wonder people can be confused!  So, if you like to learn, read on.

Classic Suit Cuts - The Basics

The Double-Breasted Suit

Great For: Tall and Thin Gentlemen
The classic suit cut, the double-breasted suit has it's background in English military uniforms.  The double-breasted suit has two distinct rows of buttons down the front, and a button on the inside left meant to keep the front of the suit straight.  It's meant to be worn done up and standing up, and thus can be somewhat uncomfortable in social and work situations.  That being said, the Double-Breasted Suit has it's uses - it is the most classy and formal of the suit cuts.  It can be a great choice for black-tie and formal occaisions, just don't wear it when you should be wearing a tuxedo instead!  As for body sizing, the Double-Breasted suit works best on tall and thing guys for two reasons -

1.  The long lapels tend to minimize the size of one's torso, making someone appear not quite as tall (and not so imposing).

2.  The wider frontage area of the suit tends to widen the chest.

For the same reason, Double-breasted suits are probably the worst option for short or wider guys, they'll make you look very short!

One point to be made is that double-breasted suits will always have what's called a peak lapel - it's considered the most formal.  They are also likely to have dual vents in the back, a holdover from horse-riding days.

Different Styles of Double Breasted Suits

Not well known is that there are actually FOUR different styles of double-breasted suits, and they differ in two ways - how many buttons are on the front and how many buttons can be done up.  They tend to be named first by the number of buttons total on the front, and the number of rows of buttons that are done up.

This is what's called a 4x1 Double breasted style.  This means that there are four buttons on the front, and only the bottom (1) row of buttons are done up.

This is called a 6x1 Double breasted style.  This style was very popular through the 80's and early 90's.

This style is the most popular, called the 6x2 style.  This style is closest to the original military style, and has been the most popular style of double-breasted suit for the last 100 years.  In fact, 90% of new Double-breasted suits that you see will be in this style.  David Letterman LOVES this suit (he is tall and VERY thin).

The last, and rarest style of style of Double-breasted suit is a 2x1 style.  This is an extremely rare style of suit to find, and was made ONLY in the 80's.  Versace was the biggest proponent of this style, and is generally difficult to find.

The British Suit

Best For: Wider gentlemen (but will work comfortable on any body style)

While the Double-breasted suit is a British invention, the classic "British" style suit is a significantly different style.  The classic "British" suit is a single breasted suit, meaning it comes with only a single row of buttons down the front.  It can be made in either a two-button or three-button style.  The classic "British" suit has the following features -

-Lightly or non-padded shoulder

-Highly tapered sides.  This creates a "sillhouette", and helps show off a thinner waist.

-A medium gorge.  The gorge is the point in the suit where the lapels cross when a suit is done up.  A low gorge tends to make one look shorter and bring attention to your tie, a high gorge brings attention up to your face.  A medium gorge is normal on most suits.  For a two button suit, it's about halfway up the front, for a three button suit it's about 2/3 of the way up.

-Dual vents.  Vents are slits in the back of the suit.  The dual vents originally sprang up because it allowed the suit to sit properly when you were on a horse.  These days, it doesn't really do that much, but many people (myself included) think that it helps the suit look better, at least from the waist down. Many suit manufacturers (including Italian) are now starting to incorporate this feature.

-Thin lapels.  The lapel of the suit is the thin piece of fabric that runs down the front and is turned over.

-Notch or peak lapel.  When you look at a lapel on a suit, there is a cut in them, very close to the top.  A peak lapel has small triangle pointing up, and a notch lapel seems to have a small triangle cut out of it.  While it is often personal choice, a notch lapel is considered more formal.  There is a third type of lapel, called a "Shawl" lapel, which just seems a curved piece of fabric on the fron of the suit.  This is seen exclusively on tuxedos, and is very rare these days.

A British suit may also have working cuff buttons, called a "Doctor's Cuff".  They were originally made so that doctors could roll up the sleeves of their suit without taking off their jackets when they saw patients.  This is now a rare, and somewhat expensive option on a suit.

British suits are excellent for people who are a little bit wider.  The thin lapels, small shoulder, and overall tighter cut of the suit tend to minimize one's width and accentuate one's height, perfect for making one a little taller and thinner.  The strong taper also helps create the illusion of a strong "curve" at the waist, which can be very flattering to the wearer.  It is EXTREMELY important, then to have a British suit well tailored, otherwise you will look VERY bad in one.

A classic two-button style British-cut suit.

A classic three button-style British-cut suit.

Some well known British tailors include Gieves & Hawkes, Dunhill, Burberry, Alexandre and Barbera (Italian, but British-trained).

The Italian Suit

Great For: Thinner Gentlemen

The Italian suit is considered one of the heights of fashion - it can fit many different body styles, and tends to be highly tailored, leading to a clean, well polished suit.  The typical corporate "power" suit is an Italian suit.  Because of the wide shoulder and small waists, it tends to create a well defined "triangle" on the body, which is associated with power.  This type of suit tends to make thinner people look great.  However, it can be difficult for an American (with his somewhat wider shoulders for body size) to comfortably fit an Italian suit.  They are tailored for a European man, who (on average) have thinner shoulders.  The classic Italian suit has the following qualities -

-Highly padded shoulders

-Very highly tapered.  This tends to create a very thin waist in comparison to an American suit.

-Thick lapels

-Mid gorge

-No vent.  Generally, the taper seen in an Italian suit is tailored in, and not created with the use of vents.  This means that it can have a "cleaner" look, but it doesn't move quite as well as a British or American suit.

-Notch lapel

-Came come in two or three button styles

A well fit Italian suit is considered very upscale, very trendy, and more "hip" than a conservative British suit or a somewhat comfortable American type suit.  The "big" name suitmakers are italian, and include Zegna, Armani, Gucci, Valentino, Canali, Brioni, Kiton, etc.

A classic Italian blazer, made by Canali.  Note the larger shoulder padding and narrower waist.

The American (Sack) Suit

Great For:  The American body (larger shoulders) or a wider person

Often called the "Sack" suit, the typical American cut suit is considered a somewhat more casual suit than the conservative British suit or trendy Italian suit.  I think this is a mistake, as a well-tailored American suit can look as great in a boardroom or a nightclub as any suit out there.  The typical American suit is cut wider in the shoulder (to allow for the much more typical American body style), and straighter in the sides.  The American suit also tends to have a shoulder padding level somewhere in between the British suit and Italian suit.  The smaller padding and straighter cut makes this suit great for wider people, as it creates a uniform body line that doesn't show body lines.  The classic American or "Sack" suit has the following qualities -

-Moderate shoulder padding

-Slight taper on the side

-Single vent in the back, on the centre seam

-Wider cut in the seat of the pants and the shoulders (to accomodate a more typical American body).  This is contrast to a typical Italian cut suit, which is cut smaller in the seat and shoulders (to accomodate a more typical European body).

-Notch or peak lapel

-Can come in two or three button styles, but more likely to be found in a three button style

The American suit is considered the classic "college blazer" or corporate boardroom suit.  Cut a little bit wider than an Italian suit, it can be much more comfortable to wear, and is a staple of the American suit industry.  Some well known American makers are Ralph Lauren, Oxxford and Brooks Brothers

A typical American cut suit.  Note the larger sized waist when compared with the Italian cut suit above.

The Contemporary Suit

Great For: The short and wide gentlemen
The so-called "contemporary" cut suit is a newer cut suit on the scene, and is a response to the somewhat changing body styles in the west.  Because of the ever-expanding waist lines, a demand has risen for a suit that can minimize the wider torso and add some height to the body.  A typical contemporary suit has a gorge significantly higher than other cut suits, along with a very small lapel.  This tends to bring the attention up to the face, and lengthens and thins the torso.  This suit is extraordinary flattering on someone who is shorter or wider than average, and looks great on someone who is both shorter and wider than average.  The typical contemporary cut suit has the following qualities -

-Moderate shoulder padding

-Well tapered torso

-Dual or no vents (almost never found with a single vent)

-Notch lapel

-Very high gorge (on a three button suit, it may be up to 3/4 up the front of the suit)

-More buttons.  A contemporary suit is the ONLY single breasted suit you will find with more than three buttons.  This tends to make a high gorge and small lapels necessary, but this is not always desirable, as more buttons tend to bring the attention BACK to the torso, thus defeating the purpose.

A contemporary suit can look extremely classy, and often, the way that they are tailored, this can be a VERY comfortable suit to wear.  This is because the armholes are cut higher in the suit, making it more comfortable to more the shoulders and arms.  Some of the more contemporary suit makers include Alexander McQueen, Arnold Brandt and Jack Victor.


A contemporary-cut suit.  Note the very high gorge in comparison with the Italian and American cut suits.

A Note: Two-Button Suits vs. Three Button Suits

The eternal debate, which suit style should you buy?  The majority of suits (in the styles above, disregarding double-breasted) are in the three button style.  This style fits many different body styles, including the very short to the moderately tall.  If in doubt, a three-button suit will do very well for you.

Three Button Suits - Great for most body styles

As for two button suits, they look best on taller (5'10" and taller) gentleman, either wide or thin.  The lower gorge (see description in preceeding text) tends to make the torso look shorter, and it also makes your tie stand out.  This is a suit to wear that very conservative tie with.  This is better for taller people as it can make you look less imposing to shorter people.

Two Button Suits - Great for taller gentlemen

Other Suit Styles

As with many other styles of fashion, suits are always evolving.  Designers are always pushing the bounds, and "re-inventing" old suit styles and making them popular again.  Excellent examples of this that have come out in the past year are from Hedi Slimane (Dior), Jil Sander (Prada), and Hugo Boss.  For example, the classic two-button suit has a gorge that is approximately 1/2 way up the front of the suit.  However, Jil Sander and Hugo Boss have both released suits that have gorges that are close to 2/3 the way up the front, closer to that of a three button suit.  If you want to get one of these suits, try one one.  Since they are similar in cut to a three-button suit, use that as your guide.

An example of a Jil Sander high-gorge two button suit.  Notice that the gorge is closer to where a three-button suit would be on a typical Italian-cut three button suit.

Last (But not least) - A Note on Trousers

As trousers go, you can either get pleated, or no pleated.  Pleats are small folds of fabric on the front of the trouser that help the pants expand when you sit down.  Whether or not you want/need them is totally up to you.  Most people think that flat-front trousers are more stylish, but the fact of the matter is, that when you're wearing a suit, it won't matter.  That part of the trouser will be covered by the bottom of the suit.  As far as pleats go, it is traditional to find them on Double-breasted and American style suits, and you're much less likely to find them on Italian or Contemporary suits.  However, these are not hard or fast rules.  Whether or not you want them is up to you, as they can be tailored out (for a small fee).

Well, that's about it.  That's most (if not everything) you'll need to know about suit cuts, and how they fit to your body.  If you're still in doubt, go to your local suit shop and try some things on, that's the best way to know!  I'll leave you with one more thing - which buttons to do up.  For a three button suit, from top down, it's sometimes, always, never.  For a two-button suit, it's always never.  Any more or less than that?  Well, my advice is to avoid them, but hey, it's up to you!