Men’s Suit Jacket Sizing Guide and Suit Jacket Size Differences

What is my suit jacket size? It's a question the Oliver Wicks team gets asked a lot. Of course, if you're getting your suit made-to-measure, it's not much of an issue. For everything else, it's critical to know what your size is. Most sites provide a suit size chart, but if you don't know your measurements or how to measure your jacket size, suit size charts can only take you so far. That’s why we've created the ultimate suit jacket size guide for you.

How Should My Jacket Fit?

Before we dive into how to measure your jacket size, let's talk about the two different ways a suit "fits."

The Two Meanings of Fit

The first type of fit is easy. It means the suit hangs the way it’s meant to hang, as per current fashion and/or the specific style of suit. If you’re into the lingo, you may come across an Oliver Wicks tailor referring to this as the “drape” - “The blazer fits you nicely in the shoulders, and the fabric drapes well”.

Depending on the suit, the right fit might mean wearing a jacket that fits with ½" of cuff showing, or wearing low-rise suit pants at the hip, or high-rise suit pants at the waist. A slim-fit style will be comfortable but close-fitting, and a classic fit will be roomier but not baggy. For 95% of people we’d suggest a tailored fit, which balances perfectly in the middle of slim and classic cuts. 

The second type of fit refers to how comfortable you are in the suit. You might not like the way a slim-fit suit feels on you—even if it fits how it’s supposed to, you might find it restrictive. Or a classic fit might feel too loose. This aspect of fit is subjective, and there's no real 'right' answer. It's like wearing a navy or grey suit with brown shoes! Do you like it? Then it's good. Think of it as discovering the styles you enjoy wearing from the options within the wider fashion world.

“The Fit That Suits You” is our slogan. With several meanings to both “Fit” and “Suits”, we find it rather clever… if we may say so ourselves!

How Should My Suit Jacket Fit?

Let's talk about the first type of fit. How is a suit jacket meant to fit?

The Basics - Applicable To All Suit Styles

Shoulders - The shoulder seam should sit exactly at the point where the end of your shoulder and upper arm meet. A jacket that’s tight in the shoulders will cause all kinds of issues, including, but not limited to, shoulder divots (sometimes known as “bite”), restriction of movement (including the inability to fully relax your shoulders), and unsightly creasing. Go large in the shoulders and you’ll also suffer a poor fit, with sagging fabric, and silhouette lines that don’t harmonize with your physique.

Alteration possibilities are very limited with shoulders, so don’t rush this one.

The Collar - When it comes to the suit collar, there are two elements to consider - The width, and any gaps or fabric roll at the back of the neck/upper back.

Starting with width, the suit collar should comfortably rest on your shirt collar. Too narrow and it will squeeze on the shirt (distorting the shape), too wide and you’ll have a gap in between the suit and the shirt on either side.

The second element refers to how the suit ‘sits’ on the back of your neck. With a great fit, the collar will rest flat on the contour of your shirt. If you have a gap at this point, meaning you could fit a few fingers between the shirt and suit, then this is what’s known as a ‘collar gap’, or a ‘gaping collar’ - The jacket is either simply too large for you, or this is a secondary issue, most likely being caused by tightness in the upper shoulders, pulling the fabric away from your neck.

The opposite of this is ‘collar roll’ - The suit will rest on your shirt, with no gap, but you will find a series of rolling fabric ripples below your neck. This bunching of fabric will destroy the dapper look of a suit, and collar roll is the nemesis of many proud suit-wearing gentlemen in ready-to-wear suit jackets.

Overall Length - Front on, most suit jackets should end at the second knuckle of your thumb in terms of overall length (when stood with your arms relaxed by your sides). From the back, a jacket should fully cover your rear end, but not fall too far below it, or things can start to look more like an overcoat.

Among high street retailers, you may see shorter jackets - This is somewhat “trendy”, which while some twenty year olds may get away with it at the snooker club, it’s not really in line with professional, or formal attire standards. You probably wouldn’t rock up to a formal office in the latest “trendy” Nike trainers… we’re just saying.

Sleeve Length - With the perfect jacket sleeve length, approximately ¼” to ½” of shirt cuff should be visible… but of course, this is based on the assumption that your shirt sleeve is also ideal (for a shirt, this is finishing at your wrist bone).

Acceptable - In the natural stance again (arms relaxed by your side), you should see part of your shirt cuff.

Not Acceptable (call the Style Police!) - The whole shirt cuff (or more) is visible, or, none of the shirt cuff is visible.

When moving your arms, it’s normal for your jacket to ride up a little and show more cuff - Don’t sweat it.

These are the core elements to get right for any jacket. Next, we’ll look at different cuts - This is essentially based on your preferences about how snug you like clothing to fit.

Tailored Fit

Our recommendation for 95% of readers, and that’s why we’ll mention it first.

A tailored fit is the ideal mid-point in all aspects of style, comfort, and professionalism. It’s also the smartest investment, as it's a timeless classic, meaning that it won’t become unfashionable in 6 months time.

Essentially, this fit is designed to make people think “Wow! That suit really flatters that guy!”. The cut is slimmed down in all of the right areas (think biceps, mid-waist, chest etc), without being too slim. The secret is synchronizing how the suit flows with your physique in a way that compliments your build - Thus, looking the real deal, while retaining comfort and practicality.

If you’ve ever thought “That’s a great suit, it must have been custom made”, then chances are you were seeing a man with a tailored fit. For casual, business casual  professional, formal, ceremonial, funerals and anything in between, this is our firm favorite cut - But you probably guessed that from our tone?

Slim Fit

Overly skinny suits have aged like milk. Probably not what you expected to read, right? It’s true, though - ‘Cool’ in the suit game is loosening up, literally. The ‘punk’ factor of ultra skinny and short suits has had its day, much like how tie dye popularity didn’t really make it to the 21st Century.

Let’s balance things up though - Slim is different to Skinny.

The art of a good slim fit is to cut the suit down in the arms and torso, but without becoming tight or excessively slim. This cut is most popular among younger gentlemen with small to medium builds, but just be aware that it leans more toward casual than professional, and is inherently a little more restrictive and less comfortable. Pair it with a turtleneck and this can score a young gent some serious casual style points.

Classic Fit

Last, but by no means least - The Classic Fit. You probably guessed where this is heading, this is the cut with the most generous amount of ‘ease’.

All aspects of the suit will be cut in a relaxed manner, with very little effort to shape the jacket to the wearer’s torso. Generally this is favored by larger gentlemen, or older gentlemen who perhaps like to retain old-fashioned qualities from before suit styles became a little more trim.

If you’ve ever heard of the American ‘sack cut’, this is very similar - roomy with straight lines. Fit is still important to get right though, there are subtle differences between a classic fit and a straight up bad fit. The lengths should still be within the ballparks mentioned above, and it’s meant to be a relaxed fit, not a “drown yourself in excess fabric” fit.

How does suit type affect fit?

A two-piece suit, three-piece suit, or double-breasted suit all fit differently to the eye. If you were making the suit yourself, you'd need to adjust the garment measurements to create the correct shape, allow for a vest, etc. However, a men’s suit size chart that lets you compare your measurements doesn’t change by style—the difference between styles has already been factored in. Unless you're considering becoming a tailor, don't worry too much about suit type—just choose the kind of suit you like and check the size chart to get the correct fit!

Understanding Suit Jacket Sizes

Now that you know how the correct size should look on your body, you might be wondering how that correlates to what you see on the hanger. 

One Size Fits All—Sort Of

If you're not one for sartorial fashion, the sizing you've been exposed to may well have not gone beyond a choice of Small, Medium, or Large. As systems go, this isn't terrible for casual wear. Historically, men's fashion sizes have fluctuated less than women's. They’ve also been less affected by vanity sizing (a phenomenon that makes a lot of sizing info meaningless), so finding a suitable fit amongst limited categories has remained fairly straightforward. 

However, since fast fashion has become the norm, the variety in what constitutes each category has grown. When you see a manufacturer using broad sizing categories, they’ll often provide a men’s suit size chart. But honestly, even then we'd be wary. Even for the most casual blazer or sports coat, that's far too loose to get a good fit. Instead, look for suit sizes listed in inches. Jacket chest sizing commonly runs between 32-54", but if your chest is broader or narrower, don't worry—there's still a great suit out there for you!

Broadly speaking, anything below 32 would be considered XS, below 36 would be S, below 40 would be M, below 46 would be L, below 50 would be XL, and below 5" would be XXL. Transition zones, where you may be an M or an L, say, occur at 34, 36, 38, 42, 46, and 50. These can be tricky to fit if you don't know the brand you're looking at very well.

The Letters That Matter

Off-the-rack men’s suits and blazers, on the other hand, do have letter sizing that’s worth knowing. These sizes are Short (S), Regular (R), and Long (L). Some brands also have an Extra Short (XS) and an Extra Long (XL). These sizes refer mostly to the sleeve length, but can also have an impact on the jacket length too. This is helpful to know, particularly for gentlemen that have recurring issues with sleeves - For example, are casual sweaters always a bit short in the sleeves? If so, grab a (L)ong size. Make sure you don’t confuse length sizing for regular letter sizing like Small and Large. The length indicator will usually be written as part of the jacket size—for example, 32S or 36R (32 Short / 36 Regular).

Pant Size

We've been discussing men's suit jacket sizing, but let's touch on the trousers. In an off-the-rack suit, pants and jacket each have separate sizing, usually what's called a 6" drop (Size 38 Jacket, Size 32 Pants). It can be awkward if you don't fit that model. If you're used to buying slacks, you're used to two numbers—your waist size and your inseam. These don't appear on most suit sizing, because you're expected to get the pair of pants hemmed and tailored. Some brands today do offer inseam lengths, but don't be surprised if they don't. While having pants length adjusted is an easy job for a tailor (providing there’s enough fabric), you can bypass this step with made-to-measure and get everything perfect out of the box.

Suit Jacket Size Differences

Why can't you just measure for a suit once and buy that size everywhere? Because some things do affect what size the label on your jacket will say. 

Casual vs. Formal

If you're used to casual clothing, just know that your size in t-shirts might not be the right size when it comes to men’s suits. It's highly unusual for modern casual clothing to be made without any stretch at all. Even cotton garments, for example pleated pants, have a little wiggle room built in.

A properly tailored, suit won't have this as much. In fact, many high-quality suits and all tuxedos are meant to stay up without a belt! (At most, you would wear suspenders.) Because of this, don't expect the dress pants matched to your jacket to be the same size as your jeans. Of course, the human waistline does still fluctuate, and this is why belt loops or side tabs are still the go-to on many formal pants.

The same goes for length. Since suit fabric doesn't stretch quite as much as most casual clothing, you'll often find the inseam is longer than you're used to. This is why knowing how to measure for a suit is invaluable.

Brand Differences

Another hurdle you might encounter is related to vanity sizing. At one time, all sizing was purely based on inches, and everything was tailored more-or-less the same way, so your size in one brand would be guaranteed to fit in another. These days, however, that's not always the case. You might find you need to go up (or down) in size or length when you change brands, so bear that in mind when shopping online!

With no universal standards for sizing, ready-to-wear suiting can involve a fair amount of trial and error. If you need a suit by the weekend then you’ll have to go off-the-rack, but for this reason it’s always easier to try on in store rather than ordering online. This also gives you a few more days to have any necessary alterations made by your local tailor. Remember though that getting a perfect fit off-the-rack is not a common occurrence for many men, and if you have the time, it’s worth putting a little extra effort into the made-to-measure route.

The Shape of You

Bodies are not all the same, nor are they always symmetrical (in fact, perfect symmetry is very, very rare!). A man buying a new suit may have very broad shoulders, long legs, wide calves, or thighs, a barrel chest, paunch, muscular arms, and so on. If any of these features are something you struggle with when buying clothes, certain brands or styles might not be for you. But don't let that get you down! Simply try a different manufacturer, or let made-to-measure work its magic. Every man can look great in a suit, no matter where he falls on a specific suit size chart!

How to Measure my Suit Jacket Size

How do you find out your suit jacket size? You can get a more in-depth look at this here, but we'll give you the basics. While you should always take an off-the-rack suit to a tailor for the final fit tweaks, it's important to start with as good a fit as possible. Tailoring can only do so much. If the size is completely off, the shoulders, chest, and length of a jacket are nearly impossible to fix. Sleeve/pant leg length, waist, and pant taper, on the other hand, are more realistic. Always remember: a tailor can only work with what they’ve got, and fabric can only stretch so far!

Of course, you can take our recommendations and try on suits in different brands until you find the best match. It's time-consuming, but it does work. However, you might want to have some idea of your suit size first, which means it’s time to bring out the tape measure!

Tape Measure

Here are the basics of how to correctly measure each body part to find the right size for you:

• Neck Size: A snug (not tight) measure around the fullest part of your neck.
• Shoulder Width: Wearing a well-fitting shirt, measure "from seam to seam" across your back, with the "seam" placed where the arm begins to slope, not on the arm or shoulder.
• Sleeve Length: Relax your arms naturally at your sides. Measure from where the arm slopes (the "seam") down the length of the arm to the wrist. 
• Chest Size (underarm): Don't hold your breath, puff, or flex. Loosely measure around the widest part of the chest, under the arms.
• Chest Size (overarm): Do the same, but wrap the measuring tape over the arms and measure around the chest that way.
• Waist Measurement: Wrap the tape around where a pair of pants sits. This is not at your natural waist but just above the hips, three fingers below the belly button.

Please note the raw measurements here are not guaranteed to be the same as your ideal suit size. For example, a 33" waist doesn't mean you wear a size 33 suit. However, a suit jacket size chart will help you match up your raw measurements with a corresponding size.

If you’re after a practical guide, with instructional videos, we’d suggest creating an account on our site (free of charge, with no purchase obligations). Here you’ll be able to access our measurement videos, which walk you through every step of measuring in an easy-to-follow process that can have you measured from head to toe in 15-minutes or less.

Oliver Wicks Suit Size Chart

At Oliver Wicks, we aim to provide clear, easy-to-read sizing information to help you make the right choice for your suit. You can find the full Oliver Wicks suit size chart here, along with some fit comparisons to other brands you may know. If you're not sure how to read any of the measurements, press the corresponding play button to see a video of where we get those numbers. 

Congratulations—you've been equipped with the ability to recognize a great fit (or a bad fit!) when you see one! Next time you’re watching the news, start to make your own little observations - Are his sleeves too long? Is his collar gaping? Are the shoulders a good match for his frame? We promise, you’ll start to notice little things, and your life will never be the same again!