What to Look for in a Quality Suit

The Case for Knowing What You Are Buying

The price of a suit tells you very little about its quality. A suit costing HK$30,000 from a reputable bespoke house may be better made than one costing HK$80,000 from a luxury brand. A suit costing HK$8,000 from a skilled MTM tailor may outperform one costing HK$25,000 from a department store. Price is a proxy for quality only when you are buying from a house whose standards you already know.

The alternative to trusting price is knowing what to look for. The following details are the ones that matter — the indicators of quality that separate a well-made suit from a mediocre one, regardless of the label.

Cloth

Quality begins with the cloth. A well-made suit in mediocre cloth will always be a mediocre suit. The cloth determines how the garment drapes, how it breathes, how it wears, and how it ages.

The key indicators of cloth quality are handle and drape. Pick up the cloth and hold it in your hand: quality cloth has a certain weight and substance without being stiff. It falls naturally when released. It recovers its shape after being crushed. Cheap cloth feels thin and papery, or stiff and synthetic.

For worsted suiting, look for cloth from the established English and Italian mills: Dormeuil, Holland & Sherry, Loro Piana, Caccioppoli, Vitale Barberis Canonico. These mills have maintained consistent standards for generations. The Super number is a guide to fineness but not to quality: a Super 120s cloth from a reputable mill will outperform a Super 180s cloth from an unknown source.

Construction

After cloth, construction is the most important determinant of quality. The key question is whether the chest is canvassed or fused. A canvassed chest — whether full canvas or half canvas — produces a garment that drapes better, breathes better, and lasts longer than a fused chest. The test is described in the Hallmarks guide: pinch the lapel and feel for three independent layers.

Beyond the chest, look at the seam allowances. In a well-made suit, the seam allowances are generous — at least 2.5 cm — allowing for future alterations. In a cheap suit, the seam allowances are minimal, making alteration difficult or impossible.

Look at the lining. In a quality suit, the lining is attached by hand along the front edge and the hem, with a small amount of ease to allow the lining to move independently of the outer cloth. A lining that is machine-stitched flat to the outer cloth will pull and distort over time.

Finishing Details

The finishing details are where quality is most visible to the eye, even if their structural importance is secondary.

Buttonholes: As noted in the Hallmarks guide, hand-sewn buttonholes are the mark of quality. They should be firm, evenly worked, and finished with a clean bar tack. The working surgeon's cuffs — buttonholes that actually unbutton — are a traditional mark of bespoke work, though they are now available on some MTM garments.

Buttons: Quality suits use horn buttons — made from buffalo horn, corozo nut, or mother of pearl — rather than plastic. Horn buttons have a natural variation in colour and texture; plastic buttons are uniform and slightly shiny.

Pick-stitching: A row of visible hand stitching along the edge of the lapel and pocket flaps indicates hand-finishing. It should be slightly irregular — a sign that it was done by hand.

Pattern matching: In a quality suit made from a patterned cloth, the pattern should match at the side seams, the sleeve head, and the pocket flaps. Mismatched patterns are a sign of careless cutting.

Lining: The lining should be of good quality — a silk or high-quality bemberg — and should be attached with enough ease to prevent pulling. The inside of the jacket should be as carefully finished as the outside.

Fit

All of the above is secondary to fit. A well-made suit in mediocre cloth that fits perfectly will look better than a poorly fitting suit in the finest cloth. Fit is the primary determinant of how a suit looks on the body.

The key fit points are: the shoulder (the seam should sit at the edge of the shoulder, not hanging over it or pulling inward), the chest (flat with no pulling across the button), the collar (lying flat against the neck with no gap), the sleeve length (showing approximately 1.5 cm of shirt cuff), and the trouser seat (smooth with no pulling or excess fabric).

These fit points can be achieved in bespoke, in good MTM, and occasionally in well-chosen RTW. The advantage of bespoke is that the cutter addresses all of them simultaneously, accounting for the specific proportions and posture of the individual client.