Top Tailoring Tips for Grooms

Ok, so you think you know how to dress! Let’s test that theory then shall we? By menswear specialist Steve Bishop from Hugh Harris.

Jacket Fitting

Ideally the jacket will look fairly fitted without feeling tight. I have designed our clothing to be slightly wider on the shoulder, and have trimmed the waist on most styles to assist this look and give our formal wear a more up to date feel and fit.

Trouser Fit

Most men wear their trousers incorrectly i.e. TOO SMALL. It is not simply the waist that needs to be considered, comfort round the seat (bum), room for “ball” room dancing and leg length also needs to be considered. Trouser waistbands are often worn too tight to resemble a belt pushing the trouser onto the hips. This is ok for jeans but is not good for formal wear, especially if you are wearing a waistcoat. Waistcoat can appear to be too short if trousers are worn too low and in addition your leg length can appear too long, we all hate that. My solution is simple and this is to wear adjustable braces.

Sleeve Lengths For Jackets

At least ½ an inch of shirt should show when your arms are by your side. Ignoring that for a minute, the jacket sleeve should fit approximately one inch above the bend of the wrist. This may expose a shirt that is too long.

Shirt Sleeves

Ideally you should be wearing a double cuff shirt that allows the cuff link to pull the cuff tighter, in turn resting your shirt actually on the bend of the wrist. Again this should be tested when you are standing straight, with your arms by your side and with your jacket on. If the sleeves of your shirt are too long your jacket sleeves will also look wrong. The answer is normally to wear armbands for the shirt and no, I don’t mean bright orange inflatable ones.

Shirt Collar

Once you have your shirt on and done up, you must be able to fit two fingers between your neck and the shirt collar. If not, even if you feel comfortable to start with, you won’t for long.

Waistcoat

Simple – you wear this on the tighter side without being corset-like. Watch out for jacket length but see trouser fit for more pertinent info.

You’ll find lots of inspiration on our Groom pages!