When it comes to clothing, it is of the utmost importance to know your sizes with precision. That’s the base rule to start clothing oneself adequately as, before event talking about beautiful materials or costly garnements, dressing well starts with choosing clothes adapted to one’s size and morphology. It is thusly logical for me to start addressing the subject of male fashion with such a topic.

Let’s be honest, this is not a innate quality for men. It requires to spend some time trying various clothes in stores, and that’s something that is not natural – it’s a question of education and culture, and that’s a pretty huge debate, as you’ll no doubt agree. From this results from many men a habit to care as little as possible for what they wear, and just buy few clothes they think is their size, when it is necessary. Too frequently, it’s a fantasized one, and they find themselves with clothes that are to big, long, wide, loose for them. To make things even worse, too many brands do not size right.

That being said, despite the fact that I recommend to always try a piece of clothing on before buying it, knowing your size will lessen chances for dissatisfaction when buying without fitting, as it is the case when buying on internet, for instance. In order to address this, I prepared 3 articles that will follow this one, and that will shed some light on the various essential garnements and accessories of the male wardrobe, as well as the fundamental points to keep in mind when buying clothes that fit you.

Before talking to specifically though, I wanted to spend some time giving you some best practices, and talk avec a few vital tips that you may not know about yet.

In Store
Lets say it’s love at first sight between you and a specific piece of clothing. You know your size, so you look for it in the corresponding size, but cannot get your hand on it. I would not advise against trying it one size above yours, as depending on the brand or the cut, it could fit you (that’s mostly the case for pieces of clothing that are complex, such as jackets, coats or shoes, where the shape can greatly influence its wearing). On the other hand, be honest: if it does not fit you, don’t buy it and put it back where it came from. Forget all about it right now, or wait a bit and look for another shop or a website that sales this exact piece of clothing in your size. If you can’t find it – in case of end-of-series, or during sales -, then keep your money for another article that will fit you, you’ll use it more often and get greater satisfaction from it.

Generally, except for a child who constantly grow up, do not think about how you will be in x month when buying clothes. You’re planning to be on a diet and loose weight, and you thusly want to buy clothes one size or more bellow your current size to get some motivation going? It might not work and even result in culpability if it does not all go as planned. On the other hand, if you wait until you get your first visible results, you can use the promise of buying those new clothes as a reward and a milestone, which will motivate you even more !

Online
Shopping on the web is really simple, but making a mistake on a size is juste as easy. Going in a physical store to try a piece of clothing spotted online on is always better that blindly buying. However, it so happens that sometimes, for whatever reason, you do not have the time to go try it on. In that case, the first step is to check wether the website has free returns. In the case it does not offer it, do not buy on that website, that is very bad practice and a bad sign. Finally, if you are not really sure, but you do not want to miss the opportunity to get that specific item and have enough money, order it in two different sizes and return the one that does not fit you. In addition to sparing you the wait for the same item in a different size if you guessed wrong your size, you will maybe reach the minimum to get free shipping, and save that much money… how delightful !

Various Advices
Do not hesitate to keep your sizes on your mobile devices so that you keep it within reach at all time, if in doubt. That being said, do not ever consider sizes as an exact science, especially in such a mercantile and internationalized sector as the clothing industry. You should always refer to correspondances issued by every manufacturer, which clothing will size bigger or smaller depending on their manufacturing methods, their cuts, their geographical origin, the materials they use…

That last point is really crucial, and too often ignored. Clothes using natural materials live and evolve as you wear them. We can list, as an example, materials of animal origin like wools, leathers or silk, and materials of vegetable origin such as coton, linen or hemp. A pair of derby or brogue shoes should be, when bought, very close to the feet. To check that it is your size, press hard on the middle of the top of one shoe and try to pull the leather toward the side: it should be stretched by your feet, and therefore not move much. After wearing it a few times (waiting at least 2 to 3 days in-between, as it should always be the case for shows), the shoe will fit your foot perfectly. A pair of jeans, which we’ll favor raw and selvedge (expect me to speak about the topic I am passionate about in a later article), must be chosen really tight on the waist; when you try it the first time, you should barely be able to put a finger between your belly and the denims. After wearing it a couple of times, the jeans will break in, and be perfectly fitted to your body. The mater with not thinking about these kind of things is that, if you buy clothes made of natural materials one size up, you’ll soon find it to be two sizes too big, if not more !

Conversely, synthetical materials have a tendency to wear out without widening or shrinking too much over time, unless the fiber used is of bad quality. Among the main synthetical materials, let’s name faux leather, nylon, viscose (formerly made using wood fibers but nowadays mainly synthetic), cellulose acetate, polyester (Tergal, Dacron and many fibers used to make sportswear), acrylic (used for its crease-resistant and quick-drying properties), or elastane (known for its elasticity and also used for sportswear, undergarments, socks, sweaters, …). Often, these materials and their byproducts are used together to add new features to a piece of clothing (elasticity, waterproofness, crease resistance, lightness, thermal insulation, …). Even if we can admit that it is sometimes essential to use some synthetical fibers (for sportswear, sock, or some elastic clothing), needless to say that, for a classic item of clothing, the less synthetical fibers you have the better it is for its quality and its longevity – among other other considerations that are way out the scope of this article.

To sum up, simply think about checking if you’re comfy from the get-go if you buy clothes mainly composed of synthetical materials, and do not fear being a bit tight initially if it uses more natural materials.

This post is also available in: French