Thread by @dieworkwear

As a general matter, my advice isn't really "go to this store" or "buy this brand." Rather, I encourage people to think about clothes in a certain way.

Let me show you how to shop for a good suit. 🧵

My advice isn't really about brands or stores because everyone has unique fit challenges they have to solve. Perhaps you have forward pitched shoulders or a barrel chest. Or maybe you have big thighs and a prominent seat. No single suit will work for everyone.

When shopping for a suit, it helps to know how they're made. Suit jackets and sport coats are unique in that they're made from layers of haircloth, canvas, and padding, which are shaped through darts, pad stitching, and ironwork. This is how you get the 3D shape.

There are three ways to make a jacket. A fully canvassed jacket has canvas going from the shoulder to hem. This hangs the best, but it requires more time and skilled labor. To save costs, cheaper brands substitute the canvas for fusing, which is a thin material with glue.

There are also half canvassed jackets, where canvas has been placed at the chest, where it matters most, while everything below the buttoning point is fused.

Fusing doesn't hang well and in extreme situations, the material can delaminate and bubble (such as with steaming).

You can tell a jacket is fully canvassed by pinching the material below the buttoning point. If you can feel a floating layer in between, that's the canvas. Unfortunately, this method won't tell you if a jacket is half canvassed or fully fused, so you'll have to ask the staff.

A fully canvassed jacket is a sign of quality. If a brand went with this type of construction, they likely took their time in making the jacket. But quality alone does not determine whether the garment looks good on you.

For that, we turn to fit.

For this, you will want to check five things. First and most importantly, the jacket should always hug your neck, even when you move around. Granted, when buying ready-to-wear, there's a good chance the jacket will lift if you swing your arms wildly. Have reasonable expectations

Second, the sleeve should fall cleanly. If you see divots at the sleevehead, the upper back is probably too tight. If it clings to your arm, the sleeve is too small. If there are wrinkles appearing at the back, it may not be correctly pitched for your posture.

Third, the jacket should roughly bisect you halfway from the back of your jacket's collar to the floor when you're wearing dress shoes. When the jacket is too short, you raise the buttoning point and emphasize the hips, which can result in an egg-shaped figure.

With the jacket fastened, check for balance. The hem should run evenly from front to back when viewed from the side. The front can be a little lower than the back, but should never be higher. You can also see if the jacket runs evenly from left to right, but this is rare in RTW.

Finally, you will want to check the trousers. Good trousers should hang cleanly without any puckering, pulling, or rippling, but also still have a discernible shape. Ideally, the rise should also be high enough to cover the shirt fabric beneath the jacket's buttoning point.

Beware of trousers that are too low rise and slim, as they catch on your legs. Many trousers will also rippled behind your leg and collapse under your seat. That's typically because the back rise is too long. A tailor can remedy this if the crotch seam has enough inlay.

As a general matter, when shopping for a suit or sport coat, try to buy a jacket that fits well through the shoulders and chest right from the start. These are made with complicated construction techniques, so they're difficult and expensive to alter. Other stuff can be changed.

This thread does not get into the different styles and silhouettes possible through tailoring. Do you like a hard shoulder or soft shoulder? Straight of bellied lapels? Clean or draped chest? Closed or open quarters? Such discussions go beyond what I'm able to do in this thread.

But if you know those basics — how to spot quality and how to determine fit — you can get very far. On the left, we have a $20,000 bespoke suit; on the right, we have a $300 Jos A Bank suit. Since the man on the right knew some basic things, he achieved more with less.

I don't use affiliate links here, which means I have no financial interest in selling you anything. IMO, it's never about brands or stores, but knowledge and taste. The bigger your budget, the more options are available to you, which increases your chances of success.

For me, the question isn't "Does Nordstrom sell goods suits?" Rather, "Does Nordstrom sell suits that look good on you?" This answer will depend on your particular fit challenges, which will be different for everyone.