A reader asks - how can I find a jacket that fits me?

Dear Grey Fox,

If you would be so kind, I could do with some help on jacket and blazer sizing. I am trying to find a tweed jacket (Harris if possible and UK/Irish made) and finding it difficult to find something off-the-peg that looks and fits right. 

Jacket length - too short, long, just right?

I am 5'11", 33" waist, 39" chest and 11st 9lbs. What I am finding in the shops looks very long on me, especially compared with the more modern styles modelled on websites where the models seem to go to the other extreme of wearing undersized jackets. Salesmen in gents outfitters tell me that the jacket should cover the seat (their word!) and the jacket bottom falling next to the thumb knuckles.

Your jacket shown on the blog looks good and seems to conform to this advice, but it doesn't look quite right on me. Possibly my tall skinny build might be something to do with the aesthetics. Additionally because my chest is 39", I have tended to go up to 40" rather than down to 38" even though the actual sizes are 4.5 to 5" larger, thus giving room for a sweater without feeling "bunched up". Is this a mistake by your reckoning?

Image The Sartorialist

Possibly I am asking too much of a sports jacket, when I should just get the Barbour or pea-coat out in colder weather. If you can give any advice on the above, even if it's that I need to go bespoke, I will be very grateful. Possibly I need to mentally re-adjust from wearing technical and casual clothing for too long.

I have now got used to wearing the trilby and today bought a flat cap as you advised before (click here). Finally, well done on joining Esquire's top 20 well dressed men on Instagram (see link below). 

Grey Fox replies -

Many thanks for your question and comments. I'd hate you to give up the search for a tweed jacket, so I've asked my tailor, Susannah Hall, for advice. I agree there's a taste for jackets worn short in the body - often, in my view, extremely so - so this may be distorting your expectations. Fit, proportion and comfort are all important when it comes to choosing clothes, so how can you find a jacket that feels right for you?

Susannah suggests that (like me) you are tall and slim, giving problems finding jackets sized to the proportions you need. She says, 

If one is on the taller side, a short jacket will make you look taller; if too long, it will elongate the body, making you look thinner - you can't win! Your proportions mean that you will find it hard to find an off-the-peg jacket, making bespoke the best solution.

Image The Sartorialist

A jacket should cover your 'seat', not everybody likes a 'bumfreezer'. When I judge the length of a jacket I ask the client to cup his fingers so that the jacket edge sits in his hand. This method is less reliable if a client has arms that are proportionately long or short, so I make a judgement based on experience and the balance of the look. I suspect that this judgement needs to be made in your case.

If you buy a jacket a size too large you will find that the shoulders are too large (and possibly too long in the body) and sculpting the waist may still leave the jacket too roomy.

The best option for you would be to buy bespoke and it can be cut to your preference if you like to wear a sweater or waistcoat. I suspect you are a similar build to Grey Fox; he also finds that the ideal fit cannot be found off-the-peg.

Click here to visit the website of Susannah Hall tailors.

Esquire's The 20 Most Stylish Men on Instagram.