You probably don’t realise that the majority of the population have different lengths between their left and right arms and/or legs. There are also many different shoulder shapes – sloped, very slighted, or square.

Many people also have their shoulders at different slopes, which could be due to being right or left-handed, having an injury doing repeated exercises, or occurring naturally from birth. Different leg lengths could be due to hip injuries, and different arm lengths due to shoulder injuries.

It is very important to know and recognise if you have different arm or leg lengths, so that the clothes are tailored to look balanced when worn. To wear a suit well, you should know everything about your body. With jackets, it can simply be a matter of shortening one sleeve a little less than the other, so both arms look the same.

Shoulders
Most off-the-rack manufactured suits are cut with slightly sloped shoulders. This is the equivalent of the standard slope of the majority of the population. However, there are also many men that have squarish shoulders, where the slope is not very prominent, or men that have very sloped shoulders where the shoulders drop steeply from the neck to the top of the arm.

The guys with squarish shoulders will often notice a bubble form at the back of the neck, which is very is common.

Men with very sloped shoulders will often find extra fabric gathered under the arms of the jacket. One solution we use is to add extra shoulder padding, which helps to widen their shoulders, and it gives the wearer a very confident and powerful look.

There are many other examples of these eccentricities. At all times, we can make you look balanced and well tailored, as our suits are custom made suit, and a pattern is made based purely on your physique, posture and body shape.

Legs
When it comes to buying trousers, it is also very important to understand your own shape. Are you muscular with a prominent behind and thick legs? Are you slim with a small behind and skinny legs? If you have a more prominent behind and muscular legs, common problems are your trouser pockets are often flared out, or the pants sit a bit low on the waist and your behind can show when you bend down. You may also find that your trousers get worn out more quickly in the seat and thighs.

For guys with a large behind, it is a good idea to buy high-waisted trousers with a long crotch length, also known as the rise, as this will fit you better and reduce the ‘plumber’s crack’ situation when you bend down. If the seat on the trousers is too tight there is very little scope to adjust the fit.

It’s unlikely that you will be able to wear the very tight/slim leg trend if you have muscular calves, as it will make your legs look out of proportion. If you try to taper the legs too much, the fabric will hug on your calves. Not only is this uncomfortable, it is also very difficult to walk in, and the fabric will be riding up to your knees all the time. A high-waisted classic fit, perhaps with a small pleat at the front and cut to the right length is ideal for muscular men.

For men with slim legs, make sure the legs of your trousers are a slim fit, but not too tight. You want to look balanced instead of emphasising your skinny legs.

In conclusion, know that 99% of men do not look like a store mannequin. Wearing clothes bought straight off the rack is not a good option, since odds are it won't fit properly. Make sure you highlight what’s different about your figure, as this also ensures that you don’t end up spending more money on further alterations later down the track. Remember that everyone has ‘quirks’, so you should embrace them.