Suiting up can be tricky, but master tailor Ian Meiers has got you covered. Join GQ as we go in-depth on building you the perfect suit: from your ideal cloth type and origin, to the number of buttons you need on the jacket. Know the deal next time you’re suit shopping with our step-by-step guide to finding a versatile suit for every occasion.
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00:00When making a suit there are literally thousands of different cloths, styles and cuts to choose
00:04from. But if I had to pick one suit, the only suit I could have for the rest of my life,
00:08it would be the one that I'm wearing right now.
00:11My name's Ian Myers, owner of the UK's largest bespoke tailor, and I'm about to break down why.
00:20Let's start by talking about the materials in this suit, starting with cloth type.
00:25The cloth that you choose is going to determine how the suit drapes,
00:29how much shape we can build into it and how well the suit is going to breathe.
00:32This is a linen suit. It comes from the Flax plant and the great thing about it is it's super
00:37lightweight, it's super breathable and perfect for a hot environment. Cotton is another option,
00:41which also comes from a plant. The problem with plant-based fibres is that the underlying fibre
00:46creases and bends easier, which is why you get the wrinkling on the suit.
00:49Luxury cloths like Vicuna, Mohair and Cashmere all come from animals.
00:54When we're looking at super fine hairs, we're talking about the micron diameter of the hair
00:58and the finer the hairs, the more luxurious, the softer the cloth is going to be. So with
01:02Cashmere, you're getting down to some of the finest hairs in the world and with a Vicuna,
01:06you are literally picking up the finest hair on the planet, which gives a soft,
01:10beautiful finish to the garment. However, because the fibres are so thin, they don't
01:14have the rigidity and resilience of a thicker fibre, so they're not going to last as long.
01:18For my suit, I chose Merino wool. Merino wool comes from the Merino sheep,
01:22typically produced in Australia and that breed of sheep is famed for its thick fleece
01:27with very fine hairs. It makes for a suit that wears well, that lasts well, but also extremely
01:32breathable and it's good for most climates. It's going to keep you warmer in the winter
01:36and wick away some of the heat in the summer. It's also incredibly crease resistant. You're
01:40not going to have to worry as much about wrinkles. All in all, Merino wool breathes well,
01:45lasts well and drapes well. Cloth origin.
01:50The country the cloth is made in can have a big impact on the quality, the finish and the style.
01:55Although wool cloth can be made in many countries, the three main producers are China,
01:59Italy and the UK. Although Chinese cloth is exported to many markets around the world,
02:04the primary purpose is to supply the factories that are manufacturing millions of garments a
02:08year. So the main emphasis behind Chinese cloth production is on quantity and price,
02:13not necessarily on quality. The jacket here is made from Italian cloth and like the people of
02:18Italy, it looks fantastic. It has a great luster to it, it has a great drape to it and it has a
02:23beautiful finish. But the downside to Italian cloth is that it tends not to have the same body
02:28that other cloths might have. It looks great, it feels great, but it doesn't have the longevity
02:32and the durability of the cloth that I'm looking for for my suit. The cloth I ended up using for
02:37this suit is British. Most of the cloth in the UK is made in the north of England in a county
02:43called Yorkshire. The cloth tends to have a bit more body, a bit more grit to it. So typically
02:47you'll find some of the yarns will be a two-ply yarn. They'll tend to make it with a little more
02:51weight and they'll make it with less of a luster, something that's got more of a matte finish that's
02:55going to be perfect for something that I want to use for the rest of my life. Super number. The
03:00super number refers to the micron diameter of the hair going into the yarn that makes the cloth.
03:05Now the higher the number, the finer the hair and finer hairs make more luxurious cloths. So one
03:11thing to be mindful of is the misconception that a higher super number means a better suit. This
03:16cloth is a super 200s which means it's 15.5 micron, 15.5 millionths of a meter. It's super
03:23fine, it's super soft, it's super luxury but the problem is it's not going to last so well. That's
03:27why for my suit I've chosen a super 100s. It's got luxurious feel, it's got a great drape to it but
03:33it's also going to have the durability and stability that I want for a clean looking suit
03:37that's going to last a long time. Lining material. A suit lining goes inside of the jacket and it
03:44gives you greater movability so your shirt doesn't catch against the cloth. The three most popular
03:49lining materials are Hermazines, Cupros and Silks. An Hermazine lining is made from fibres that are
03:55extracted from wood pulp. It makes a very strong, very breathable, very lightweight lining but it
04:01lacks the great finish or luster that some of the other materials offer. Silk has a great luster to
04:06it and a great finish. The problem is though it doesn't breathe very well and it's not as durable
04:10as the other options. The lining I went with is a Cupro. Now a Cupro is made from a cotton and
04:15wood pulp and it produces a very luxurious fine finish to it with a great luster but still a good
04:21breathability and although it's not quite as strong as an Hermazine it has a much richer beautiful
04:26finish which is why I wanted it inside of my jacket. Cloth weight. Cloth could be made light,
04:32medium or heavyweight. Lightweight cloth is great because it's light, it's breathable and it's
04:36comfortable in warm environments. The downside to it though is it doesn't drape as well. You don't
04:41get such a clean looking suit and it's not going to last as long. Heavyweight cloth is going to be
04:45the most durable cloth. It's going to last longer, it's going to hold shape better. The downside to
04:50it though is in a warm environment it's not very comfortable to wear. If I'm going to have one suit
04:54for the rest of my life a mid-weight cloth is going to offer me the most versatility throughout
04:58the four seasons of the year. It's going to be breathable to an extent, it's going to have
05:02durability and it's going to drape well. It really is the best of both worlds. Button type.
05:08The buttons are really a key finishing touch to the suit. If you get the choice of button matching
05:13the cloth well the suit's going to look fantastic. If you don't it's really going to take away from
05:17the overall finish of the suit. So this is a button card that I'll typically show to a client
05:21once we pick the cloth and the style options. It shows horn, mother of pearl, leather and metal
05:26buttons. A metal button can give you a really distinct look. For a separate blazer or a jacket
05:32it can be a good option but it's not so popular for most people. You can cover a button in the
05:36cloth so it matches the material that the suit has been made in. We use this typically in formal
05:41wear where you're having a lapel to match the buttons but typically you're going to have a
05:45button that contrasts to the cloth that you're using. A mother of pearl button offers a really
05:49stylized look to a jacket. It has a lot of luster, it has a lot of shine to it and it can offer a
05:54high level of contrast to the material that you're using. So if you want a standout piece sometimes
05:58a mother of pearl button can work well. Another option is to have a button made from Corozo which
06:03is a type of nut. It offers a very matte finish and an alternative distinct from other buttons.
06:08What most luxury suits will be made from is an animal horn. You can make it from a cow horn,
06:13the problem is it's a little brittle so most people would tend to use a buffalo horn. Depending
06:17on what part of the horn it comes from will determine the color of that button. Lighter
06:22colors like the ones here are taken from the tip and the outside of the horn. The darker buttons
06:26are taken from the inside. There's a variation, a gradualization of the colors that go through
06:31which allow us to pick buttons that match perfectly to the client's cloth. My buttons are a
06:36black buffalo horn with a very tiny flick of brown running through it. I picked this because it
06:41matches the cloth perfectly and allows me to wear both brown and black shoes with the suit.
06:46With materials done let's move on to style, starting with color.
06:50The color of the suit will determine its personality, its formality, and its versatility.
06:56To my right we have a gray suit. Now a gray suit is the most formal of all business suits.
07:01It's relatively easy to match ties and shirts with and it's a staple in many people's wardrobes.
07:05But it can be just a little bit boring. Now here we have a black dinner suit or as it's
07:10called in America a tuxedo. Now although you can use a black cloth for a business suit,
07:14it's very formal so we recommend that you keep it for occasions like weddings,
07:18and funerals. To my left we have a brown suit. Now the oranges of a brown suit come in countrywear,
07:23although today we're finding more and more people wearing them for business and also in the city.
07:27However it tends to be a little more casual and might not fit in so well in more formal environments.
07:32Over here we have a green suit, super popular at the moment, a really fun alternative to some of
07:36the other colors. And we see a lot of weddings and a lot of people looking for a stylized option
07:40going for a green suit. The downside though, that as with the brown, it allows you to match ties
07:46that as with the brown, it lacks some of the formality of the other options.
07:49For my suit I've decided to go with a navy blue. The beauty of a navy suit is it's the most
07:54versatile of all of the colors. You can dress it up, I could wear this as a three-piece blue suit,
07:59or I could wear it as a jacket with a pair of jeans or anywhere in between. It's easy to match
08:03with different skin tones and it also offers a level of formality without moving into black.
08:08It has some interest to it whereas a grey doesn't. It holds formality whereas a green and brown
08:13doesn't. So if one suit for the rest of my life, it's always going to be in a navy blue.
08:18Lining style. When picking a lining, your first decision is do I go with a pattern or do I go
08:23with a plain? A pattern lining gives you a chance to really personalize your suit. You can have some
08:28fun inside, you can put some character inside the suit rather than the outside. You could have a
08:32paisley, you could have a polka dot, you could have a stripe, you could even take a photograph
08:36and print it on a lining and put it inside your jacket. But putting a pattern lining inside your
08:40suit is a very distinct option. What I like today, I might not like in a few years time.
08:45So for that reason, I suggest sticking with a more simple option. When it comes to plain linings,
08:50you have a ton of options. You could go with something bright, something bold, something
08:53super interesting, or you can go with something more conservative that either matches or just has
08:58a gentle contrast to the cloth you're choosing. These often aren't such a statement as a pattern
09:02one and will stand the test of time better. For my suit, I've gone with a plain blue lining
09:06that contrasts to the cloth, so it adds some character to it. It's actually a shot, which means
09:11it's made up of two different color yarns. It has a blue and a silver running through it that adds
09:15some interesting character to the lining without being overpowering. It also has a nice iridescence
09:20that adds some personality to the lining. I chose to go with a lining that had some contrast. If I
09:25just matched the navy blue of the cloth, then it would look a little dull, a little boring. If I
09:29go too bright and too far out, it can look a little obnoxious. So I like to have something
09:33considered that's different, that's interesting, but not over the top. Number of buttons. When it
09:39comes to buttons, you need to decide, first of all, if you're going to go with a single-breasted
09:43suit or a double-breasted suit. There are a number of things to think about when considering this.
09:48A double-breasted suit can look great. It's a stylized piece. Although very traditional,
09:52now when it's cut well and it's well fitted, it can look actually modern and a great kind of
09:56stylized piece for a client to wear. Double-breasted means there's a wrap at the front
10:01of the jacket. Now, what do I mean by wrap? On a single-breasted, there's only a very small wrap.
10:05So the front of the left panel goes over the right panel just a small amount. On the double-breasted,
10:10we're cutting much more cloth over the front. So you'll see the front extend here and on the inside,
10:15and that gives you the look of the double-breasted suit. The downside to a double-breasted suit,
10:19though, is that you really need to wear it done up for it to hang properly. So that limits the
10:23versatility of the jacket. Single-breasted is going to be the go-to styling for most clients.
10:29It's easy to wear, it looks good, it's comfortable to wear, and you can wear it both buttoned up
10:33or unbuttoned. With a single-breasted jacket, you're typically going to choose between a three,
10:38a two, or a one-button jacket. A two-button jacket is really a staple. You're going to see a lot of
10:43people in the street wearing this. It's easy to wear, it looks good, and one thing to note is the
10:47second button should never be done up. As you can see with both buttons done up here, it creates a
10:52straightness to the jacket and a boxiness to the jacket that as a tailor I don't want. I undo this
10:57now. You can see the fronts have been naturally cut to taper away a little bit and that creates
11:01more shape and a more elegant finish to the jacket. So you should never have both buttons done up.
11:05So a good question is why do we have two buttons if we don't do the second button up? The answer
11:10is it's there for aesthetic and you don't have to have it there. You don't need it there,
11:14which is why on my jacket I've gone with a one-button. Now the things I like about a one-button
11:19is it creates a long open run, a very clean look to the jacket. I also cut this button perhaps a
11:24fraction lower than I do with the two buttons on the top button and it creates a longer V,
11:28which gives a longer run and again we're creating shape, we're creating a nice run through a jacket
11:32and I think one button, if you're going to have one suit for the rest of your life, is the way to go.
11:37Lapel shape. On a single-breasted jacket, one of the biggest style options you're going to make
11:42is whether you have a notch lapel, peak lapel, or shawl lapel. Here on my right we have a beautiful
11:48cashmere black watch tartan jacket with a very stylized wide shawl lapel. It adds a lot of
11:54interest to the jacket but it tends to be reserved really for formal wear. You're going to see this
11:58on tuxedos and smoking jackets. You're not going to see this with someone walking into the office
12:03or down the street on a regular work day. On my left we have a peak lapel jacket. A peak lapel
12:08here refers to the points that are coming up. It adds a certain flamboyance to the jacket,
12:12a little bit of interest to it, and it should be one of the jackets you have in a rotation.
12:17If you're going to have one suit for the rest of your life, peak lapel just stands out a little
12:20bit too much and that's why I'm going to go with a notch lapel on my jacket. A notch lapel is
12:25really the classic on any single-breasted jacket. It's the regular one that you'll see most of the
12:29time. It's easy to wear. It doesn't look too flamboyant. It doesn't look too informal either.
12:34It's always going to look good. It's always going to fit in and you can't go wrong with it.
12:39Pocket style. When you're looking at jacket pockets, you've got three main options to
12:44consider. The first is a patch pocket. Now you tend to see this on more casual, more stylized
12:49pieces. So a jacket perhaps with a softer shoulder, less structure to it, works well with a
12:53patch pocket. It's interesting and if you want to pair that with more casual trousers or a pair of
12:58jeans, then it's a great option. But if we're going to have one suit for the rest of our life,
13:02we need to go something a little more formal. The other option is a straight pocket. Now this
13:06is your bog standard pocket that you're going to see on most jackets. It's totally fine. It's
13:10totally acceptable. There's nothing wrong with it, but there's nothing exciting about it either.
13:14So for me, I recommend a slant pocket. And a slanted pocket, one, is what you see on higher
13:20end suits. It offers a more stylized, interesting piece. And the other thing is it accentuates the
13:25line. So as a tailor, we're creating shape in a jacket. We're creating a chest and a waisting and
13:30then we skirt out towards the seat. And those slant pockets will follow that line and it
13:34accentuates the look of the tailored suit on the jacket. One button slant pocket creates a very
13:39sleek and elegant line to a suit. There is also something called a ticket pocket. In the mid-1800s,
13:44people started catching the train to work and they needed a place to put their ticket. So the ticket
13:48pocket was invented. It's an extra third small pocket that sits above the right-hand pocket,
13:53typically on the right-hand side, and it offers a place to put a ticket. Or now, as no one uses a
13:57ticket, it's just a stylized piece that adds a little extra detail to it. It's fun to have. Some
14:02clients like it on there, a little bit of extra interest. For me, I prefer the cleanliness of not
14:06having the extra pocket there. Flower buttonhole. On the lapel of a jacket, you'll typically see a
14:13buttonhole. And this is what we call a flower buttonhole or boutonniere. Its origins come from
14:18the military, where a soldier will keep himself protected from the elements. They literally put
14:22the lapels up. There will be a button on the underside of this lapel and it would allow them
14:26to do it up. We aren't wearing these in the military anymore these days, so it's become more
14:30of an aesthetic and more of a piece of interest on the suit. And it has some practical function.
14:35If you want to wear a flower, then you could put a flower through it. So we always want a working
14:38buttonhole here. And underneath the lapel, we do a handmade little loop in our suits, which would
14:43allow you to rest the stem of the flower through there. I nearly always recommend a buttonhole on
14:47there. I think it would look a little strange without it. Trousers. When it comes to trousers,
14:52my personal preference is for a clean, simple styling. One of the key options you'll have to
14:57make on a pair of trousers is if we have it with pleats or without pleats. Now, pleats are designed
15:02to put extra cloth into the front of the trousers. They can look quite traditional. They can look
15:06quite fun. But fundamentally, you're adding more cloth in there. So for most clients, I'm going to
15:10recommend having it without pleats and get a cleaner, more simple look. When it comes to a
15:14well-fitted suit, you typically wouldn't have a belt on it. If you're wearing a belt, it shows
15:18your tail is no good. The trousers should fit you. The belt will cut your body in half and break up
15:23the line running through the body. It also detracts from the attention of the suit and puts it onto
15:27the belt. So typically, a suit would have a side adjuster on it. And this gives a very clean,
15:33open run through the front. And it gives you the ability just to take in a little bit
15:36should you lose a little bit of weight or want to pull it up through the day. Turn-ups, or cuffs as
15:40they're called in America, are additional cloth at the bottom of trousers that are rolled up.
15:45They're stylized, but a bit more casual. So I prefer to go without them. And finally, you need
15:49to think about the back pockets in your trousers. You have choices of both back pockets on the left
15:53and right side, one back pocket on either side, or no back pockets. If you're going to use your
15:58back pockets to keep your wallet or phone, then obviously you need one. But for me, you should
16:02keep those. Any phones or wallets in your breast pockets of your jacket. There's space in here,
16:07built in there, so you can put it in. For me, a clean, very well-fitted pair of trousers is the
16:13best option. For that reason, I recommend having no back pockets. That's it for style. Let's move
16:18on to fit. The most important thing of any suit is the fit of the suit. Beyond the materials,
16:24beyond the styling of it, if you see someone walking down the road that looks super sharp,
16:28it's because their suit is really well-fitted. The suits you see here are ready-to-wear, which
16:33means they're made to a set size. So you can go into a store, pick them off the rack, and walk
16:37away with them that day. The two main benefits of a ready-to-wear suit are one, that it tends to be
16:41a little cheaper than a tailored suit, and two, that you can get it quicker. But the fundamental
16:46issue is that suit hasn't been made to your body shape. So it's never going to be the perfect fit,
16:50and you're never going to look your best in it. For that, I recommend going bespoke.
16:55Bespoke tailoring. This is my colleague Michael, who's wearing a bespoke suit. Bespoke tailoring
17:01is a process where you create a unique suit, individual for that client. We're looking at
17:06shoulder shape, we're looking at body posture, we're looking at chest position, we're looking
17:10at the client's stomach, we're looking at the client's seat. We're looking at things like
17:13sleeve pitch. So if a client's arms are forwards or backwards, we have to rotate the sleeve to fit
17:18that client. So there's a multitude of little things that go into creating a perfect suit. The
17:23key benefit of a bespoke suit is that you're going to have a ton of shape, you're going to have a
17:27really elegant aesthetic, while still being comfortable. Another thing to think about with a
17:31handmade suit is longevity. If you're making by hand, it's designed to last for a long time. If
17:36you're making by machine, it's often machined and glued together. The glue can come apart, and we
17:40would never put that inside one of our suits. What we have is a full canvas inside, so everything
17:45floats, it moves, it breathes, and it's sewn in, so there's nothing can come apart. It's true that
17:49bespoke suits cost more than custom, made to measure, or ready to wear. But if you're going
17:53to have one suit for the rest of your life, I really recommend going bespoke. So that's it,
17:57every decision I made to have the one suit that I need for the rest of my life. While a lot of
18:01tailoring comes down to personal taste, there are definitely choices you can make to ensure that
18:05you'll be wearing this suit for many years to come.