How to Buy a Suit Online Without Regretting It

First things first, what is your suit for? Is it for a wedding (yours or someone else’s)? An interview? A general feeling of ‘I’m turning 30 and need a real suit’? Defining the end use can help you work out what kind of suit makes sense and how formal it should be, what color works, and how much mileage you’ll be able to reasonably get out of it.

If it’s your only suit, it’s best to err on the side of classic. Charcoal or navy (black for the moodier among us), two-button, notch lapel — the kind of suit that looks good in a church or on a date. If it’s a second or third suit, then you’ve got a bit of room to play with pattern, texture, or cut.

This is where a lot of online suit shopping goes sideways. You need your measurements — actual numbers, not a vague understanding of the size you think you are — which include shoulders, chest, waist, sleeve length, inseam, and neck. Ideally, we recommend getting these from a tailor as they’ll know exactly the criteria to size up, but a friend with a tape measure and steady hands will get you closer than nothing.

Don’t rely on guessing or what size you wear in jeans. Suits are built differently, and an inch can make the difference between looking sharp and looking swallowed up. Most good suit retailers online will give you a size guide; be sure to follow it. Don't forget you’re buying something sculptural and specific — it'll take a bit more care than a hoodie.

Online or not, a suit’s quality lives in its construction. The words to look for: half canvas or full canvas. These refer to the layer between the outer fabric and the lining — it’s what gives a suit structure, drape, and longevity. Fused suits (where the lining is glued, not sewn) are often less expensive but less breathable, less durable, and tend to bubble over time.

Also worth checking is the fabric composition. Wool is the old reliable; it’s versatile, breathable, and looks good year-round. You can find decent blends, like a wool with a touch of stretch or silk, but try to avoid anything with a high percentage of synthetic fibers unless it’s intentional, like a techy suit that won’t crease when traveling.

You can tailor something to be better, but you can’t fix bad proportions.

Focus on how the suit fits in the shoulders first, as that’s the hardest (and most expensive) thing to alter. You want the seam to sit right at the edge of your shoulder, not past it, and not higher so you can barely move your arms. From there, check the jacket length, the sleeve length, and the trouser rise. All of those can be tweaked, but don’t go too tight, it’s fairly straightforward to remove excess fabric, but adding more is a completely different ball game.

Two things that are worth remembering: slim fit doesn’t mean tight, and classic doesn’t mean boxy. The end goal is clean lines that complement your body, not restriction. The times where this rule of thumb doesn’t apply is when you want to intentionally go for a more distinct silhouette, but even then it’s not a case of buying a suit three sizes too big to get that oversized look — you’ll want to get an option that is cut to be more relaxed on your body, intentionally.

If you’re hesitant to go all in on a full suit, consider buying separates from the same brand and collection. This lets you dial in the fit of your top and bottom independently, which is especially useful if you’re not a sample size (and most of us aren’t).

It’s also a great way to get more use out of each piece. A navy blazer can moonlight as a spring jacket when worn with a pair of jeans. The trousers can do a dinner with a fine knit polo. This will help in the mission of building a functional wardrobe, not just checking a box.

Even if the suit fits well out of the box, odds are it’ll still need a little fine-tuning. Hemming of the pants is a good place to start — lots of suits will come unfinished intentionally to allow the perfect length to be achieved by the new owner, so don't panic if yours arrives with a seemingly elongated trouser.

Bringing in the waist can be a great way to do away with belts as a necessity and keep a uniform and elegant look overall. Lastly, and least likely, but always an option, is to clean up the sleeve length to better sit right above the large bone of your wrist, letting just enough of your shirt cuff poking out. A good tailor will take it from 85% to 100%. That last 15% is where things start to look really good.

Building the cost of tailoring into your budget from the start is a really smart move. If the suit costs around the $600 mark, assume you’re spending another $75–$150 on tailoring. We promise it’s worth it and that you’ll feel the difference every time you wear it. It’s the closest you can get to a bespoke/made to measure suit without the price tag, and if in the end you hit the jackpot and your suit doesn't need alterations, you've basically saved yourself $100 (that's how that works right?).

This is the part nobody wants to think about until it’s too late.

Before you proceed to checkout, check the return policy on what you’re buying. Can you exchange if the size is off? Is tailoring excluded from the overall policy? Do they offer in-store adjustments if they have a brick-and-mortar location?

Buying a suit online should come with a little margin for error. The brands that get that are the ones worth buying from.