# Suit size -- what does it really mean?



## Bookkeeper (Jul 7, 2010)

Yesterday I measured my chest to place an order at www.moderntailor.com (a brilliant site, though this will be my first order), and I came in at 36 inches. Which got me thinking, what does suit size mean, really?

Last summer at the rental tux place, they tried to give me a 42 (I'm tall and they don't know what they're doing) and I laughed and asked for a 38, which is what I think of as my size...But what is 38? Until I measured myself yesterday, I was assuming a 38 suit means (approximately) made for a man with a 38 inch chest. Would properly long 36 suits fit better?


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## Jake Genezen (May 27, 2010)

Yes, it means nothing. One 38 may fit me, another may not. A 32 trouser may fit in the waist (though I'm a 34), and another may not. Likewise with a 34 trouser.

Regarding if a 36 long will fit you better, I don't know. I presume modern tailor will make the garment to _your _measurments, not what is 'deemed' a 38 or whatever.


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## Leighton (Nov 16, 2009)

It means its made for a man with a XX" circumference chest, when you've got at least a moderate amount of air in your lungs.

Then, it goes haywire. Some suits are cut to be extremely thin, so the maker only gives you 1"-2" of breathing room. Others are made for portly men and give you 3-4" of breathing room. Short means the sleeves and bottom of the jacket are cut shorter, long means longer. But there is no universal starting point. Again, some makers want the jacket to be shorter than "normal" other want it to be longer due to fashion.

As for pants... Ugh, pants...


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## Andy (Aug 25, 2002)

Under *Tutorials* linked from the Home Page are educational articles. If you don't yet have a copy of the PDF version of *The Encyclopedia of Men's Clothes* (see below) just go to this Tutorial:

AndrewHarrisEBayMeasurement


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## Bookkeeper (Jul 7, 2010)

Thank you for the replies, gentlemen. You've answered my question exactly.


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## paul winston (Jun 3, 2006)

When I was learning the biz - 1960- there was a consistency to the fit in the menswear industry. Women knew that they were size "x" in one maker, size "y" in another maker and size"z" in yet another maker. If a man was a size 38Reg when he went into Brooks, he was also a 38Reg when he shopped at Chipp, Press, Stuart, Tripler, etc........ Those days are gone. It is now necessary to not only verify your size from shop to shop but from model to model within the same shop. In one of the few errors of "clothing" judgment I ever saw my father make, he said that the "designers" would never make it in menswear. He thought men were too smart to allow themselves to have clothing made obsolete over short periods by style change. He was wrong! The designers have became and are a force in the menswear indusrty. Much of the inconsistancy must be laid at their feet.


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