How to Buy a Suit Off the Rack
From fit to fabric, our ultimate guide to buying a suit off the rack will ensure you make the right wardrobe investment.
No man’s closet is complete without a suit — or several. While men’s fashion has generally grown more casual in recent years since the pandemic, the suit remains the garment of choice for professional engagements, special occasions, and, in some instances, everyday life. Yet, despite the suit’s omnipresence across culture, selecting the right suit still requires some expertise, especially when it comes to luxury.
Navigating the realms of off-the-rack versus bespoke suits, selecting the right fabric, and the ever-evolving debate around fit can feel pretty complicated. One wrong move and you’re making a poor investment. But make the right move and you’ve found something that will live in your closet for many seasons to come. Here, we break down everything you’ve ever wanted to know about how to buy a suit off the rack.
In This Article
- The History of Suits
- How Should a Suit Fit?
- What Is the Difference Between Off-the-Rack, Made-to-Measure, and Bespoke Suits?
- Who Makes the Best Off-the-Rack Suits?
- What Material Should Off-the-Rack Suits Be?
- Does an Off-the-Rack Suit Need to Be Tailored?
- How to Care for a Suit
How to Buy a Suit Off the Rack
The History of Suits
The modern suit as we know it started to appear in the late 19th century, but its origins stretch back to the 17th-century court of King Louis XIV of France. Men in the Sun King’s orbit would wear a long coat, a vest or waistcoat, breeches or trousers, and a cravat or necktie. In England, after the Restoration, King Charles II decreed that men of the English court would wear such formal dress as well.
By the 1760s, the modern suit started to emerge. From there, the various eras would add their own spin on the suit. Morning coats with a cutaway front suitable for horseback riding grew popular in the Regency period. Frock coats were prominent in the Victorian period. By the Gilded Age, men of social status wouldn’t be caught dead attending a society dinner in anything less than a tuxedo or dinner jacket. The 1920s brought all sorts of new patterns and proportions to reflect the roaring twenties sensibilities, and by the postwar period, the suit returned to conservative cuts and darker colors to convey professionalism and seriousness — and so on.
Suit trends come and go in response to contemporary tastes (wider pants versus slimmer pants, double-breasted versus single-breasted, and so forth), yet the modern suit has remained more or less unchanged for several decades.
How Should a Suit Fit?
Ask 10 tailors and you’re likely to receive 10 different answers, but today’s prevailing view is that a suit should be slim enough to move with the body yet roomy enough to not restrict it.
The jacket should hug (not hang off) the shoulders. It should not inhibit the movement of the arms. The chest should button easily but not billow like a ship’s sail when unbuttoned.
For the trousers, look for a waist that is snug enough to stay up without a belt but not so tight that the fabric starts to crease or fold over on itself. In the seat, the fabric should hug the rear without stretching over it or restricting movement, and it shouldn’t be so loose that the fabric hangs. The “break” refers to how your trousers graze the top of your shoes: No break is very modern, a full break means the pants are too long, and a slight break is timeless.
Of course, there are variations on all of these standards too. Tom Ford suits tend to be slightly on the longer side so jackets cover the rear, whereas Thom Browne’s signature is a cropped pants leg that shows off the ankle.
What Is the Difference Between Off-the-Rack, Made-to-Measure, and Bespoke Suits?
Whatever type of suit you’re buying and wherever you’re buying it from, all suits fall into one of three main categories. Each has to do with its production.
Off-the-Rack
First is off-the-rack. This refers to something already made and literally hanging on a rack in a store. When you walk into a retailer, this is what you see: precut, pre-stitched suits. The advantage of an off-the-rack suit is expediency; it’s possible to walk into a store and walk out with a new suit, without waiting weeks for fittings or production. These days, endless varieties of off-the-rack suits are available, with a wide array of fabrics and styles to choose from. On the other hand, the disadvantage of an off-the-rack suit is that it has a generic fit, so unless you have the body of a mannequin or fit model, the suit is likely to need alterations. Furthermore, purchasing an off-the-rack suit means there are other versions of your exact suit in the world, which can make even the most expensive designer suits feel less exclusive.
A little advice before you’re ready to take your new suit for a spin. First, always remove the cuff tags from your suit’s sleeves. These tags, usually emblazoned with a brand name, are to help salespeople quickly find suits on the rack, not for you to wear out. Second, don’t forget to snip the white X-shaped threads on your suit jacket’s rear vents. These help the jacket keep its shape and resist wrinkling during the shipping process. That being said, you will also notice that a suit jacket’s pockets come sewn shut. Opening these gives you functional pockets, but leaving them sewn shut can help the jacket maintain a slim fit; the decision to remove those threads is completely a personal preference.
Made-to-Measure
Second is made-to-measure. This means a designer starts with a preexisting base pattern that a tailor modifies to your measurements, with custom touches such as lapel style and buttons.
Many designers offer popular made-to-measure programs, including Ralph Lauren and Tom Ford; while their options are extensive, just know that a made-to-measure suit from a prominent design house means that your selections will showcase the brand’s guidelines; it’s not designed to your taste. For example, Ralph Lauren offers more preppy and classic options, and Tom Ford skews more modern, etc. There has also been a rise of middle-market made-to-measure suit makers in recent years as well, such as Suitsupply, Indochino, and Alton Lane. Many offer similar made-to-measure programs but without the breadth of luxury fabric selection or access to top factories such as Ralph Lauren or Tom Ford. A made-to-measure suit is still machine-made, so it might require a few tweaks to get it just right. If you’re looking for a custom suit experience without the time or investment of buying a bespoke suit, this is probably your best choice.
Bespoke
Finally is bespoke, the no-compromises approach. A true bespoke suit is made by hand, completely to the client’s specifications and measurements. This typically requires multiple fittings to ensure a perfect fit, and the tailor handcrafts every detail to a T. The bespoke experience can take months, and, for that reason, it’s significantly more expensive than made-to-measure. It’s the best option for those seeking perfection and who aren’t afraid to invest the time and funds into a true luxury experience. To learn more, read our complete guide to creating a bespoke suit.
Who Makes the Best Off-the-Rack Suits?
Not all off-the-rack suits are created equally. There are certainly more obvious signs of quality to look for, such as functional buttonholes, pick-stitched seams, and reinforced trouser linings to prevent premature wear, as well as — while subjective — the general, overall look and feel of the fabric. The single most indicative marker of a high-quality off-the-rack suit, however, is something invisible from the outside: the canvas lining stitched into the jacket. Although hidden, this layer provides invaluable structure to the shape and durability of a jacket — and naturally molds to the wearer over time, contributing to an elegant fit.
Some brands create excellent off-the-rack suits, offering a luxury experience without you needing to graduate, per se, to made-to-measure or bespoke options. While London has a reputation for some of the finest bespoke tailors in the world, Italy generally has a reputation for producing the best off-the-rack options.
The Best Off-the-Rack Suit Brands
Zegna is always a safe place to start. The largest menswear brand in the world by revenue, it operates boutiques from Milan to New York City, as well as in numerous airports worldwide, meaning an excellent suit is never far from hand. Zegna mills all its fabrics in-house for a vertically integrated approach that is rare in other brands.
Although perhaps known more for its cashmere products, Brunello Cucinelli is another Italian go-to. This is the Italian leader of quiet luxury — the aesthetic tends to be soft, unstructured, and expensive-looking. Other standout Italian brands include Boglioli (best for relaxed, unstructured suits like what one might wear to a summer wedding) and Loro Piana (also known for excellent fabrics), as well as Brioni, Canali, and Isaia.
Many brands produce excellent off-the-rack suits in Italy that they design elsewhere, such as Tom Ford and the British menswear brand Drake’s. The all-American classics that have clothed U.S. presidents and prep icons over the decades include Ralph Lauren and Brooks Brothers.
What Material Should Off-the-Rack Suits Be?
Even when purchasing a suit off the rack, there are plenty of fabrics to choose from. Each offers a different look and performance, so it’s important to assess your needs before making the right decision for you.
Wool Suits
Wool is the alpha and omega of suit materials. It breathes, it holds its shape with minimal creases, and it’s exceedingly versatile. Wool can be spun thick to create warm suits worthy of your next work trip to Stockholm in winter, or it can be spun more delicately to promote breathability if you’re heading to Singapore in summer.
When shopping for an off-the-rack wool suit, it’s important to understand the “super number,” which describes a suit’s wool fabric. The super number indicates the quality of a particular woolen thread; it refers to the maximum number of yarn skeins that wool producers can spin from a particular batch. The higher the super number, the finer the quality of wool — and, in most cases, the lower its durability. Super 100s to Super 130s are generally ideal for something you might wear every day, such as to the office. As for Super 150s, they have a more elegant, formal look and are usually best for things like tuxedos and dinner jackets. Super 200s feel silklike, but because of their more delicate nature, they are best reserved for formal wear.
Cotton, Linen, and Silk Suits
Other natural fibers that make excellent suits include cotton, linen, and silk. It’s worth noting, however, that each of these materials, no matter the quality, is inherently more delicate than wool and more prone to wrinkles and wearing out over time. If you’re venturing into this territory — and you should, as cotton and linen especially make for great casual, warm-weather suiting options — you’ll want to make sure you’re getting a blend. This means that the yarns are blended with some sort of synthetic fiber, whether nylon or polyester, that adds structure and durability to these delicate fibers. The nightmarishly chintzy leisure suits of the 1970s these are not; these days, blended fabrics are widely accepted by all luxury suit makers for their performance.
Does an Off-the-Rack Suit Need to Be Tailored?
You might think that if you have the fit-model physique of a Ken doll, then no — but even then, the answer is absolutely, unequivocally “yes.” At a minimum, you should tailor every off-the-rack suit to fit your trouser inseam and your sleeve length.
Several retailers offer complimentary alterations. Suits purchased through Nordstrom, for instance, include free basic alterations for members of their Nordy Club loyalty program. Ralph Lauren, Brooks Brothers, and J.Crew also offer free basic alterations.
How to Care for a Suit
A suit — even an off-the-rack one — is an investment. As such, you’ll want to nurture that investment to ensure it stands the test of time. The first rule of suit ownership is to give your suits a break, especially if they’re made from natural fibers such as wool or linen. Natural fibers need time to rest and recover to fully dry from residual perspiration — even if it is imperceptible to the human eye or nose.
In terms of dry cleaning, less is more. Dry cleaning involves a harsh chemical process that, over time, can break down natural fibers and turn even the finest Italian fabrics dull. Unless you’ve spilled something on your suit and need professional support in removing a stain, you should limit dry cleaning your suit to when there is perceptible dirt or odor. To extend the life of your suits between trips to the dry cleaner, consider investing in a clothing brush (Abbeyhorn makes a great one). You use this tool to flick away dust and keep your suits looking fresh between wears.
For storage, consider investing in proper hangers: Broad, contoured wooden hangers will maintain the natural drape of your suit and prevent gravity from causing unsightly creases or collapsed shoulders. Cedar is the best type of wood for hangers, as its naturally occurring essential oils have antimicrobial and anti-moth properties, so you can store your suits with confidence. Treat your suits well — as well as you would your bespoke pieces — and even your off-the-rack suits will have a long, full life.
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