The Jacket Racket

Agnelli's jackets always fit. Yours usually don't.

You can all breathe now. After a long absence, Fresh Dressed is back, ready to offer unsolicited advice and criticism yet again. Although the resuscitation of Fresh Dressed is cause for rejoice, the inspiration for said resuscitation is actually a very sad state of affairs – the fit of (most) men’s tailored jackets. We’ve had a discussion about the basics of trouser fit, so it’s only natural that jacket fit follow suit. This topic could easily fill an entire book, but I’m going to keep this short and to the point. You see, the basics of proper jacket fit are really very simple and don’t require too much explanation. In fact, by the time you’re done reading this you’ll probably start to think even less of yourself than you already do, given the ease with which you could have been looking crisp and fresh for all these years. But you didn’t. You’ve neglected to spring for $50 worth of basic alterations every time you’ve bought a tailored jacket and you’ve been suffering for it. So that’s where Fresh Dressed’s explanation of the basics comes in to save you. Again.

Shoulders:

The fit of a jacket’s shoulders serves as the foundation for the fit of the rest of the jacket. The shoulder is also the only aspect of a jacket that your tailor can’t easily alter. Don’t f**k it up.

All you really need to know is that your jacket’s shoulders should fit cleanly over your own, real shoulders. The seam where the jacket’s sleeve head meets the jacket’s shoulder should fall right at the end of your own shoulder. It shouldn’t extend any further, and it shouldn’t stop short. Ignorant salesmen will often try to put you in a jacket that’s too big in the shoulders – that is, the jacket’s shoulders are too wide and extend past your own shoulders. Don’t fall for it; demand precision.

Sleeves:

The jacket’s sleeve should stop just above your wrist, at the point where your hand pivots. A proper length sleeve should expose ¼ – ½” of shirt cuff when your arms are hanging at your sides. Pay special attention to this moving forward, because you haven’t in the past. Nearly every slob I see on the street is wearing their sleeves too long, often down to their knuckles. What these clowns are acutely unaware of is that a proper length sleeve is one of the details that make all the difference. Set yourself apart.

Collar:

There are two aspects of collar fit that are important. First and foremost, it is essential to make sure your collar hugs your neck. I’ve pointed it out before, but if your collar doesn’t hug your neck you’ll look like President Obama doing his white-tie train-wreck best. Insist, without exception, that there is absolutely no gap between your collar and your neck and you’ll be ok.

The second thing of which to take note is the collar’s length. It’s very common for a wrinkle to develop at the base of the collar along the back of the neck. This is actually caused by incompatibilities between the cut of jacket’s shoulder and the slope of your own shoulders, but I digress. Just make sure your tailor eliminates the unsightly roll and you’ll be money, just like Frank in his perfectly fitted jacket.

Waist:

If you’re reading Fresh Dressed there’s a high probability that you’re a hard partying, hard boozing playboy with a beer gut. Or maybe you’re just fat. No mind how cool the reason for your spare tire, you should take advantage of the tailored jacket’s magic ability to make you look trim again. Make sure to have the sides of your jacket taken-in (“suppressed”) to create the illusion of a trim waist. You won’t want it to be skin tight like some filthy hipster from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, but as long as you can comfortably fit two fingers between your gut and the buttoned coat, you’re good.

Length:

Make sure your jacket is long enough to cover your ass. If it isn’t, take it back to the little boy’s section and find one that is. You are not Thom Browne.

There you go, basic enlightenment. Get these basic areas of fit squared away and you might actually look like you have manners. See how easy that was? And to think, the tailoring fees are sure to set you back less than you typically spend on a Friday night’s entertainment.