Menswear, although quite repetitive and basic (t-shirts, shirts, pants, and suits), is always tangled up in an endless debate. After all, with such limited pieces of clothing, it leaves men looking average if not styled properly.
It's easy to distinguish your persona based on how you choose to represent yourself, especially when it comes to suits. You might want to cut some corners with a cheap suit instead of wanting to invest in a quality suit, but hold on while we explain the matter to you.
Why Choose an Expensive suit Over Cheap Suits?
This is something we'll never get tired of explaining. Even though cheaper suits with synthetic fabrics will fit your budget, spotting one isn't that hard to do. It's always fine to opt for a low-quality one, but remember: a good suit goes a long way, while the other really doesn't.
So, what characteristics make expensive suits worthwhile despite the fact that a cheap one will suffice for the day?
Fits Your Body Shape
The most vital difference between cheap and expensive suits is their fit. While a custom suit will cost you several hundred or even thousands of dollars, it will undoubtedly fit like a glove.
A cheaper suit, on the other hand, will be loose in all places: the chest, sleeves, and even the collar area will be loose, giving the shoulder line a creased appearance. Besides, the suit length will never hit the right spot (that is supposed to cover up 4/5 of your bottom and crotch), and make your body look disproportional.
Made from Natural Fabrics or Synthetic Materials?
Another stark difference between quality suits and very low-quality ones is the outer fabric. Although they might look the same to most, men with a fine taste in suits can spot the distinction right away.
All cheap suits are made with cheap fabric; we can all guess that by now. The raw materials used are typically rayon, polyester, cotton blends, recycled wool, and synthetic blends, which cause the slight shimmer in the suit—an indication that it, in fact, is cheap.
Contrarily, a bespoke suit never compromises on the fabric and sticks to the highest quality only: tweed, cashmere, wool, cotton, and linen. Furthermore, expensive suits are made to measure with lambswool or vicuna to ensure UV protection and are both water-resistant and breathable for a luxurious feel.
Canvassed Suits
A suit's inner lining is just as crucial as its outer components; it gives the suit its structure and prevents it from merely swinging off the body. And therein lies the distinction between a cheap and an expensive suit: the difference in canvas interlining.
Full Canvas
This is the best quality suit jacket, ensuring an even tension throughout the stress points in the suit (the chest, shoulders, and elbows), and making it drape naturally to your body shape. Horsehair canvas is known to be the perfect material to use, so look out for this when you're purchasing a pricey custom suit!
Half Canvas
Even though they are not entirely interlined with canvas, half-canvas suits are still quite costly, given that the chest area and lapel are lined to give them an even structure. Meanwhile, the bottom part remains fused or glued, which allows it to fall under the "best of both worlds" category.
fused lining
Such fused suits are literally the cheapest kind, with no canvas interlining whatsoever. It is reasonably priced, but to be honest, they feel tacky and wear out after a few uses and dry cleaning. As these are mass produced, the use of canvas is avoided, instead, heat is applied to glue the outer fabric to the inner lining.
However, in case you do end up purchasing one, make sure to not make this your everyday wear, or you'll end up with a bubbled up suit jacket in a matter of days. What a bummer, right?
Hand-Stitched or Machine Sewed?
One more little yet major detail to look out for in a well-made suit is the sewing details.
In the case of a very high-quality suit, the suit's detailing is always hand-stitched. Hand-sewn buttonholes, sleeves, and armholes are where your trained eye should hover to make sure your suit is a good value for money.
By contrast, an off-the-rack suit will be devoid of any hand-stitching, as they're made to be affordable in the mass market instead of focusing on the quality hallmarks.
Other Dainty Details
Along with the significant factors that clearly demonstrate where a cheap suit cut corners, here are a few more warning signs:
Cheap lining or not?
All suits made for the average person will be made with polyester linings. Sounds pretty alright, right? Wait till you wear it and end up feeling like you're wrapped up in a paper bag.
Buttons and Button Anchors
A second detail to check out is this. If you're aiming for a great suit jacket, be sure that it doesn't come with plastic buttons and anchors. Assuming it does, you're being robbed without a doubt!
Inlays
Fused jackets don't come with any seam allowances that makes the finishing of the entire suit look awful. Ones with brand names, on the other hand, are constructed with a flattering cut as well as leave out extra fabric along the seamline.
Bubbles in Fused suits
You are certainly allowed to choose multiple cheap suits to style up in a cost-effective manner, but be warned. After a few wears and washes, the result is always the same: the glue will begin to weaken and form bubbles along the lapel or collar.
So, to save yourself the embarrassment, we'd advise you to invest a little more in a good-quality suit instead. Always remember: quality over quantity!
In conclusion, we'd like to suggest that you fixate on the quality of the fabric, linings, hems, and other miscellaneous items when buying a new suit. After all, spending money on a good suit is preferable to settling for a bad one that won't even serve the purpose and will be a waste of money.
Hence, style wisely and stay confident!
