(Now that’s a great fit!)
One of the things we discuss inside the Kinowear Bible is the fact that it is nearly impossible to look great if your clothes don’t fit properly.
One of the most effective ways to improve your image is by taking a long and hard look at the way all of your clothing fit you, and never wearing anything that doesn’t fit correctly.
Most guys are walking around in ill-fitting clothing, and I’m writing this article to start an awareness campaign.
Awareness of what?
The “Bad Fit Disease,” or “BFD” for short.
This is a disease that we need to fight before it turns into a full-fledged epidemic.
I’m ruthless about fit when it comes to my clients, because I know how much a difference it makes in a man’s image. A great fit that molds to your body can make inexpensive pieces look like designer pieces, and take you from looking like a slob to the well-groomed man.
Here is a quick look at some bad fit victims followed by pictures of the cured…
Bad fit
Baggy arms, sagging sides, ballooning back – just too much excess fabric.
Most guys wear their shirts like this and think it’s a pretty good fit. Just because a shirt may fit your neck doesn’t mean it fits the rest of your body.
Great Fit
This shirt fits his torso—not just his neck. The shirt should be neither too loose nor too tight. It should be just skimming your body. Less excess fabric means that it stays tucked in better and there isn’t any bunching around your midsection.
Bad Fit
Always make sure you get your REAL size when it comes to your pants. Most guys wear their pants way too big.
Make sure the rise is as close to your crotch without cutting off circulation to you family jewels.
The key is to make sure it almost hugs your ass. For those of you who don’t have much of a butt, having a baggier fit just makes it look even more like you don’t have anything there.
Unless you choose to wear baggier jeans in order to create a deliberate style effect, it’s time to lose them.
Good Fit
Your jeans don’t have to be skin tight, but there shouldn’t be too much extra fabric around your thighs or at your feet. Stick two fingers in between the pants waistline and your hip (perpendicularly) to check if you’re wearing the right size. You shouldn’t be able to fit in more fingers than that.
Bad Fit
A bad blazer or any jacket for that matter is going to feel like it’s a hand me down from your bigger cousin.
Good Fit
A great jacket fit should slightly hug you in the arms, and shoulders without cutting off circulation. As you can see, the difference is stark.
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i love your articles about clothing, they are easy to read, to the point and definitely help my sense of style to the top.
one tip, more pictures 🙂
What about guys who are overweight and carry a slight paunch, should these principles still apply or should they be modified?
what about skinny and fat guys? 😀
Another brilliant article. This will really help when I buy my clothes for this coming winter. Thanks, Jae!
this post really shed light on what a good fit is. thanks!
what about skinny and fat guys?
but what happens if your fat? if the fabric skims your body it will just look nasty! i do agree with the baggy jeans though! but also what happens if you are fat right? and like, you want baggy clothes to “supposedly” make you thinner looking or not show any fat. What do you do then???
I have the same question as several others. (I carry a slight paunch myself).
I have the opposite of some poster’s problem but the question really remains the same: what if you are not a male model?
I am pretty skinny yet not a total stick, but I do not work out and have little muscle definition. I wear slightly too large sizes of clothes to somewhat disguise my lack of definition I suppose. It seems the right approach to me but I’d be interested in what you have to say. What about “normal” body types as opposed to the male model types pictured? Is well fitting still the right move?
i’m really skinny so i guess i’d need an extra small to fit me and my cut body, I do have abs and a chest but my bones are not that big so I am not going to get much bigger to fit into even a small shirt. Also another problem with pants is if you wear them at your hips too much, they will get stretched and no longer fit the way they did when you first tried them on.
I love your articles too .. as Koolraap said : They are easy to read and to th point ..
Thank You
Point taken on clothing fit, but what if you don’t have the best physique like these models do? What if you have a bit of a beer gut, or love handles. How do you ask your tailor to handle it when they take care of your clothing?
Very helpful pictures to get the point across. Thanks!
Any tips on finding blazers and shirts that fits people with broad shoulder and slim waists? Almost everything I try on either look like the second picture with tons of stuff sticking out around the waste.
What if you’re a guy with a bigger butt, what kind of jeans should I wear. I dont want my butt sticking out. So i go with a slight baggier look.
Cool, its helpful for me. the pictures can be my inspiration
thx
i like your way of guidance about BFD because many are not knowing about this kind of sense so it will be useful to anybody.
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I’m doing P90X so I can apply these fashion tips. Day 25 and it’s really working. I cannot wait. We gotta get in shape if we want to look good. Common sense
this is so self-explanatory,insightful and informative.
Superb article and its really informative ..
great article learnt a lot, is their any article telling about colour combination,
Eye opener brilliant, awesome,
As a female, I whole-heartedly agree with this – to one exception: the jeans. It’s not the description I have a problem with, it’s the picture. The jeans in the photo are just a tad too tight looking – I’d rather not intimately know what his thighs look like before I get him naked. For me, the perfect fit for a pair of pants still has some creasing/wrinkled fabric in it when you twist about, which ensures the jeans will never really “hug” the the legs tightsly but instead skim down them. I also find that tight jeans tend to make guys look like they have fat thighs rather than muscular ones, since little muscular definition actually shows through the jean material.
Just my opinion, but I think many other ladies agree with me: leave the skinny jeans for the girls unless a girl tells you you look good in them.
Hi ManUp,
Thanks for your comment. Some details indeed could be upgraded but in a ready to wear chain store you can only pick right size and I think we’ve got a fit that is satisfactory.
IMO the colar is fine, the tie width is ok but the knot could be bigger to fill better the collar. For the rest, I have to disagree, I really like the way this shirt fits on this guy. Chest, armholes, sleeves length and sleeves fit, it really looks fine to me. I’ve heard this rule about sleeve length before. I know it’s about having the edge of your shirt showing under a jacket, but it’s a bit pointless to me. Why would you want more fabric than necessary. The more fabric hanging around the body, the more creases you’ll get everywhere, as you can see on the shirt just above.
Hi Duncan, no modifications at all to these principles! Of course you don’t want to be molded in your shirt or jacket but you won’t look good by hiding your body in too big and ill-fitted clothes.
Hi ManUp,
You’re perfectly right by always trying your shirts before buying. I understand your point about high armholes and sweat too.
Thanks for the example you provided, you’re right the result is incredibly neat on this guy. No creases at all.
That’s right, it look better than the shirt we’ve featured as an example. However I still believe this examples are striking enough. Even tough they are not perfect.
Thanks a lot for taking the time to comment.
Have a good day, Nicolas
What you didn’t touch on at all, is how to learn the art of getting a proper fit. Everyone’s body is different, and especially these days I find it almost impossible to find affordable clothes my size.
Hi Justin,
What do you mean by affordable, surely if you’re very thin, very fit or very large it’s not easy because your body isn’t the one of the average guy… and that means you can’t just shop at the average guy low-end ready to wear shop.
However, be sure to always check the different cuts they propose, slim fit, regular fit etc. Sometimes it works, the key is to try on a lot.
I hope that helps. Have a good day.
Hello, I was wondering about guys who are skinny and tall? This is my problem and I have a hard time finding clothes that actually fit. Please help!!
Hi Austin,
Thanks for your comment, this is indeed a tough issue and I’m myself tall and thin. Of course it depends on how skinny and tall you are but be aware that you’re way more likely to find clothes that will fit among high-end brands. As usual you’ll have to try on a lot since the fit depend not only on brands but also season etc.
Are you looking for something more specific ?
Thanks, Nicolas.
Basically the more thin you can get, the better clothes will fit. Every pound helps. Beyond that, yes a good tailor should be able to “sculpt” your clothes to give you the best looking fit for your specific body type.
Those are very far from being tight. They’re not even slim, let alone skinny. Skinny makes you look juvenile (not necessarily a bad thing) but you can’t go wrong with good slim jeans.
Haha! Touche! 🙂
Thanks for the article. I think Kinowear Bible is definitely worth it. Clothing is a relatively minor tweak that can lead to disproportionate results. Learning how to dress better is a ‘Quick Win’ and thus needs to be prioritized. I’m reading the sneak peak now and definitely plan to get it!
But what for the skinny guys…its difficult to find clothes with good fitting
Find a good tailor. Don’t skimp on it. I’ve ruined clothes by doing that. I usually allocate around $50 (Australia) per article of clothing for tailoring.
Marc Anthony, Bape, Stussy