Mix and Match Suits

When you buy a suit most manufacturers make them with what is called a 6 inch drop. This means that the trouser size is about 6 inches smaller than the jacket size. So for example if you were to buy a suit with a 40" chest you would get a 34" waist, a 46" chest would come with a 40" waist and so on.

If these are your sizes, great, nice and simple, unfortunately in the real world it isn’t that straight forward. Apart from the fact you may not be that size, different manufacturers have different fits so you could be ok in one make but not another.

This is where mix and match comes in. With a mix and match suit you can buy any jacket size with any trouser size. So although a 40" jacket could have been made with a 34" waist man in mind, if you wanted a 36" or 32" this would not be a problem, giving you more flexibility of fit. It may not be made to measure but it is certainly giving you a wider range of choices.

There is also another big advantage to mix and match, by having the ability to buy the trousers separately you can sometimes increase the life of the suit, therefore making it cheaper in the long term. One way you can do this is by purchasing 2 pairs of trousers when you buy the suit and alternating the wear and dry cleaning of them. Initially this may sound expensive but can quite often work out cheaper in the long run.

This is because the trousers wear out far quicker than the jackets. In this day and age more and more people take their jackets off at work or leisure but you can’t do that with your trousers!! With a second pair of trousers this therefore stretches out the life of your jacket because you don’t have to abandon your favourite suit just because the trousers have seen better days.

Of course if this seems to be an expensive way to do it you could just wait until the trousers are worn and then buy another pair but be careful, a new pair of trousers with an older jacket will look a bit different because of wear and cleaning. Plus manufacturers don’t keep them in stock forever so by the time you need some new trousers the fabric could be discontinued!!!