They say that in life, you have to play the hand you’re dealt, which is true. However, you can also stack the deck in your favour with some tactical tailoring.

A good suit enhances (read: hides) Mother Nature’s gifts: it’s like wearing an Instagram filter, or walking around with flattering lighting constantly overhead. Slip it on, and suddenly you’re a new, better-looking man, as if God Himself has retouched you.

Although, not all suits are good for everybody, or indeed every body. Whether you’re short, tall, skinny, large or stacked, a bespoke solution is required – even if you’re only buying off the peg.

Finding the right suit needn’t be a gamble. This is the FashionBeans guide to the type of suit that, well, suits your type.

Short Men

So what if you drew the vertically challenged genetic straw, it needn’t suck all that much, or even appear to be the case once you learn a few tricks of the trade.

“Think linear,” says Tim Ardron, head of private tailoring at Savile Row’s Gieves & Hawkes, which has over 200 years’ experience dressing everyone from Michael Jackson to the Duke of Cambridge. In other words, the aim is to create the appearance of one long line from head to toe.

“A neat, tapered trouser worn slightly higher on the hip adds inches to the legs,” continues Ardron. By contrast, a big break (the amount of trouser that falls onto the shoe) or drop crotch will shorten them, and you. “Balance this with a more contemporary length on the jacket.” Many brands and retailers offer ‘short’ cut versions of their suits; this elongates your pins, while the deep V-shape created by a two-button jacket ensures your torso isn’t too diminutive.

Avoid belts and wearing a suit as separates, which will see you in half like a bad magician and stop the eyes flow from top to bottom. Pinstripes, on the other hand, do the opposite by directing the eye up and down, as long as they’re not too thick or widely spaced. Similarly, micro-checks are better than large windowpanes.