Pants Waist

When your suit pants fit perfectly, there’s no need for a belt or suspenders. They’ll stay up on their own, especially when your shirt is tucked in.

If you feel tightness or pain around your waist when you sit down, your pants are too small. If you feel the need to unbutton your pants after every meal, they might be too tight around the waist.

Keep in mind, even thought perfectly fitted pants don’t require a belt to stay up, you can still wear one. Many guys prefer wearing belts with any suit pants that have belt loops.

When going custom, we always recommend opting for side adjusters and/or suspender buttons instead of belt loops, as these create a more streamlined look (perfect for shorter guys).

Pants Seat and Hips

The hip measurement goes around the widest part of your thighs and butt. If your suit pants fit properly in the hips, they shouldn’t feel tight or loose in the seat.

If you never skip leg day and have the buttocks of a mountain climber, consider sizing up, or else you run the risk of a major blowout when you drop your napkin at dinner.

Just avoid too much fabric around the hips, as this will create the dreaded “diaper butt” effect – not a good look on any man, regardless of how much you can squat.

Pants Rise

Getting your pants rise right is one of the keys to a great fitting suit. Get it wrong and you might end up looking shorter than you really are.

Pants rise is the distance from the top of your front waistband down to the crotch, then back up to the top of your back waistband.

If you take a look through Instagram, you’ll see a lot of super-fashionable dudes who wear low rise, tight fitting suits. This is a trendy look that will seem ridiculous in a few years, regardless of how great your six pack is.