First off, even if you know your size, it is probably best to check. Social Suicide jackets and trousers are made to make you look good, not to keep you comfy in front of the telly. They're tight across the shoulder, arm-hole, chest, waist and thigh. However, unless you are an extreme shape, you will probably fit. Just check.
So, grab a tape measure and get your dimensions as per the diagram. Compare them with the charts and if you find you are within plus or minus an inch (2.5cm) of variation in any one (you can allow a bit more on the jacket waist) then you're in... as it were.
Size Man
 |
|
| Shoulder | |
| Chest | |
| Jacket waist | |
| Hip | |
| Sleeve length | |
| Thigh | |
Shoulder - just over the crest of your shoulder and over the top of your back, measure between the outside tips of your shoulder blades. Any doubts, have a look at the John Holmes suit
Chest - Measure around your chest, just under your arm-pit, a couple of inches above your nipples. Don't puff your chest out, we've already allowed for that
Jacket waist - as opposed to your trouser waist. It's measured around the bottom of your rib-cage, a couple of inches above your belly button, on top of your love handles. Suck your tum in just a little bit, like you would if you felt you were being watched across a bar.
Hip - just that, around the top of your hips, about three inches above the stem of your old fellow.
Sleeve length - from the soft knuckle of your wrist (on the opposite side to where you take your pulse) up the outside of your arm to the place on the shoulder you took the shoulder measurement
Thigh - around your thigh half-way between your groin and you knee.
| Imperial Sizes | |||||
| Jacket | |||||
| Size / Chest | 36 |
38 |
40 |
42 |
54 |
| Waist | 17 3/4 |
18 1/2 |
19 1/4 |
20 1/2 |
21 1/2 |
| Shoulder | 16 |
16 3/4 |
17 1/2 |
18 1/4 |
19 |
| Sleeve length | 25 |
25 1/2 |
26 |
26 1/2 |
26 3/4 |
| Waistcoat | |||||
| Size / Chest | 36 |
38 |
40 |
42 |
44 |
| Waist | 17 3/4 |
18 1/2 |
19 1/4 |
20 1/2 |
27 1/4 |
| Trousers | |||||
| Size / Waist | 30 |
32 |
34 |
36 |
38 |
| Outside leg | 43 |
44 |
45 |
46 |
47 |
| Hip | 32 |
34 |
36 |
38 |
40 |
| Thigh | 12 |
12 1/2 |
13 |
13 1/2 |
14 1/2 |
| Metric Sizes | |||||
| Jacket | |||||
| Size - UK/Euro | 36/46 |
38/48 |
40/50 |
42/52 |
44/54 |
| Chest | 91.5 | 96.5 | 101.5 | 107.0 | 112.0 |
| Waist | 45.0 | 47.0 | 49.0 | 52.0 | 54.5 |
| Shoulder | 40.5 | 42.5 | 44.5 | 46.5 | 48.5 |
| Sleeve length | 63.5 | 65.0 | 66.0 | 67.5 | 68.0 |
| Waistcoat | |||||
| Size - UK/Euro | 36/46 |
38/48 |
40/50 |
42/52 |
44/54 |
| Chest | 91.5 | 96.5 | 101.5 | 107.0 | 112.0 |
| Waist | 45.0 | 47.0 | 49.0 | 52.0 | 69.0 |
| Trousers | |||||
| Size - UK/Euro | 30/76 |
32/81 |
34/86 |
36/91 |
38/96 |
| Waist size | 76.0 | 81.0 | 86.0 | 91.0 | 96.0 |
| Outside leg | 109.0 | 112.0 | 114.5 | 117.0 | 119.5 |
| Hip | 81.5 | 86.5 | 91.5 | 96.5 | 101.5 |
| Thigh | 30.5 | 32.0 | 33.0 | 34.5 | 37.0 |
Finally, suits are not like T-shirts, you really do need to check - please do. Whilst we will do everything we can to keep our customers happy we will have to draw the line at some point.
Wash care
Suits
All or our suits are made from pure wool. You can only dry-clean wool; or you can 'sponge clean' it; you cannot wash it. You know those those close-ups of bad hair that you get in conditioner adverts - all rough, with conical barbs running along them? Well, it's all so much rubbish as an illustration of hair, but it's perfect for wool. When wool gets wet, the fibres absorb the water, expand, and become like these "oh my god my hair's in such bad condition" computer animations. In the course of washing the wet, expanded fibres are agitated over each other and the barbs interlock. Thus the wool shrinks. How sheep are able to maintain their size in poor weather I do not know. You'd expect them all to get trussed up like interned lunatics... or perhaps sheep should be the size of cows.
Sponge cleaning should be done on a mannequin, or at worst on a hanger. It involves gently wiping the jacket with a damp, but not wet, sponge whilst keeping it and leaving it away from heat and very still until it dries.
If you have to press a jacket yourself, set the temperature to the wool setting which is around 100°C / 210°F with plenty of steam, try and do it on a mannequin and be prepared for disappointment - best to take it to a dry cleaners.
Shirts
Our shirts should be washed at 50°C / 120°F, especially the darker colours. In fact, on first wash, they ought to be washed separately. Press them at 150°C / 300°F.