Fashion Hobo

How to wear a blazer is one of the more drastic dilemmas of the male fashionista (yes, I know – ladies, you have it so much harder, right?). However, with a comparatively limited wardrobe and so too a limited palette of patterns and colours, the degree of style associated with a man’s suit is, its cut. How it fits you around the torso, arms, shoulders, and where it falls to on your legs will say a lot about who you are, who you aren’t, and is much more important than how much you paid for it. **Granted, if you get a suit custom-made for you, odds are it will fit you amazingly well. I am lucky to have a friend who is an amazing fashion designer, whose suits are the stuff of legend.

So, how to wear a suit… First off, the shoulders. The shoulders of the blazer should not be falling off your own shoulders, but neither should they be so tight as to inhibit your motion. This can be problematic when buying ready-to-wear … if your shoulders are in between (like mine!) and you take a 41 when you haven’t been to the gym for a month, then either bulk up, or suck it up and look funny (or, suck it up and get the suit custom made).

Arms are next. You want the sleeves of your blazer to show off just a bit of your shirt beneath. When your arms are by your sides, the blazer’s sleeves can hang up to an inch past your wrists. This way you have some leeway when you’re reaching for something.

For the torso, you want to make sure it fits you well. Make sure that there is more room in the chest than there is in the lower part of the body – this will give you the ‘V’ shape that you aspire to gain by wearing a blazer in the first place. If you’re skinny you gain a bigger appearance. If you’re pudgy, it’ll hide your belly. It can take awhile to find a cut of blazer that does this for you, so shop around and don’t stop until you’re satisfied. Or, if you’re in a hurry, get your tailor to fix it. Don’t have a tailor? Get one… If you have to wear a suit to work, you need to invest in some tailoring.

When choosing the length of your suit, it must fall below the widest part of your hips. If it doesn’t, it will look like a girl’s blazer on you. If you have a longer torso (as I do), you must find a blazer which falls right. You don’t want it to be too long, but too long is better than too short in this case. Granted, you can play with all of the proportions I’ve mentioned thus far, as they pertain to your body type, and your personal style.

Now, for different ways of wearing a blazer or a suit combo. I prefer 2-button blazers. 3-button is classic, but 2-button gives you a bigger V, and more of your shirt shows. When it is buttoned, you won’t feel as confined. As well, 2-button seems to have more room in the chest (if you have shoulders, as I do) so you can move around more easily, and not look like a robot. Most North American men wear their suits a size too big – pants, jacket, everything. The same is true of blazers: if you’re stuck between sizes, suck it up and go smaller. You will look more professional and much more well-groomed. If you are particularly fashion-forward, try getting sleeves that fall just to the wrist, with a very narrow torso and slightly shorter cut in overall length. Especially if you’re in with the skinny-jean crowd, this will look good (and in this case, 3-button works well, too).