You don’t have to be in shape to find a suit that fits.

In order to make the body look as attractive as possible garments must fit and be proportioned properly so that the body appears more athletic.

On the average man

The average man is one who is 175 cm to 180 cm (5″8-5″10) tall and is neither overweight, thin nor obviously athletic. To ensure that he appears as attractive as possible he should wear garments that make him appear more athletic i.e. they should appear to broaden his shoulders, enlarge his chest, slim his torso, and help create the illusion of height.

Broadening the Shoulders

In order to broaden the shoulders, the shoulders of a garment must be properly proportioned so as to not be so wide that the head appears too small or so narrow that it appears too large.  The shoulders of the jacket should meet up with one’s natural shoulder line though they can extend 0.5 inches on either side without appearing exaggerated.

 

Enlarging the Chest

The chest can be enlarged by selecting garments which feature horizontal or diagonal vectors in the chest area such as jackets with lapels.

Lapels, due to their visual weight, can make the chest appear larger or smaller depending on their size. Wider lapels have greater visual weight and therefore force the eye to linger on the chest thus enlarging it. Unless one has an extremely narrow chest or one has a personal preference for extremely wide and aggressive lapels, a medium lapel width (about 8cm) is a safe bet.  Undersized lapels (under 7 cm) have the effect of making the chest appear underdeveloped.

Slimming the Torso

The torso can be slimmed by ensuring that the jacket is properly fitted around the waist so as to maintain the correct diagonal vectors. This can be accomplished by checking for tightness around the jacket’s waist area . The jacket is too tight if X-like folds are forming around the waist button hole, and too large if it protrudes by more than 1.5 inches.

Creating the Illusion of height

Jacket length

To create the illusion of height, the jacket’s length should extend below the trouser’s waistband and cover the buttocks. This lengthens the leg line by creating visual continuity and therefore height by ensuring that the horizontal vectors of the trouser waistband are disrupted which would otherwise cut the body in half visually. A basic test for the ideal jacket length for the average man, when the assistance of a tailor or qualified assistant is unavailable, is to relax the arms by your side and extend the thumbs so that they are parallel to the floor; the jacket should fall somewhere between the extended thumbs and the first knuckle of the first finger.

Trousers legs

Trousers should fall perfectly straight from the waist when standing to create the illusion of height. There should be no bunching as this adds visual weight which damages the appearance of verticality.

Lapel Gorge

The lapel gorge describes the V-shaped formation that is created when the the lapels of the jacket meet. Because of their vertical vectors they increase the illusion of height. The average man should have a lapel gorge located no lower than his navel and no higher than an inch above it to optimise the illusion of height.

Lapel Notch

The lapel notch describes the space where the collar of the jacket meets the lapel. Since the higher up the lapel notch is, the longer the vertical vectors of the lapels are, the taller the wearer appears. On the average man the notch should appear within the vicinity of the upper chest to help create the illusion of height.

Vents

Vents create the illusion of height as they draw the gaze upwards. However ventless jackets also create the illusion of height as they do not disrupt the visual continuity of the rear of the jacket. It is therefore up to the reader whether they prefer vented or ventless jackets.

Sleeves

Most men wear their sleeves far too long due to a common misconception that jackets sleeves should fit like shirts. On the average man, sleeves should meet the wrist bone so as to permit some shirt cuff (at least 1/2 an inch but no more than 3/4 of an inch) to protrude in order to prevent the arm from appearing overly short or long.

(photos via. P.Johnson Tailors, The Armoury, Voxsartoria, Jared Acquaro, Rose & Born, The Guardian, Rose Callahan)