What color suit looks good on me?

Not knowing what looks good on you is common, and it is not a problem. You know what you like, you know what you have worn, and you know when something does not fit. That is enough to start.

Sam's job is to turn that into cloth, color and cut. If you know a lot about suits, he goes as deep as you want: how fine the wool is, its weight, the lining. If you just want it to feel good and look right, that is a complete answer too.

If black, navy and gray are what you already wear, there is nothing wrong with them. Your first custom suit can recreate a look you already like, cut to your measurements and made comfortable, and the next one can go a step further. Keeping it simple is a good result, not a compromise.

When two shades both work, the choice comes down to context: why you need the suit now, where you will wear it, how you want to come across, and what is already in your closet. A very dark navy can sit close to black, so if you already own a black suit, a slightly lighter navy adds something new. If you prefer to stay conservative, the deeper navy is the better pick.

With navy, gray and black, you may already know what you like. The harder calls are a color you have not worn before, or how light a gray to go. A lighter shade can feel more relaxed and approachable, depending on the setting, and still read as knowledgeable and authoritative.

Practical worries count too. If you like a light gray but worry it will show perspiration, Sam talks through what helps, such as the cut of the armhole and sweat pads in the jacket.

Once the choices are narrowed to colors that work on you, there is rarely a wrong answer. The question Sam asks is which one you would put on and walk out in without wondering whether you should have worn the other.

You do not have to picture the finished suit from a small swatch. Sam has you drape the cloth over your wrist to get a better sense of its color, texture and drape, and he has tools that help you picture the result when you want more than the cloth in your hand. Ask about them at your consultation. Whether you decide by seeing or by handling, he works both ways.

Black can be the right call.

In a corporate office, a black business suit can read as funeral wear or as overdressed, so for that setting Sam usually steers toward navy or gray. Black tie is a different question: it calls for a tuxedo, not a black business suit.

When you want something more without leaving familiar colors, a patterned navy is the step: a glen check or a windowpane woven tone on tone, so the pattern shows up close and stays quiet across a room.

You do not need three suits to start. One well chosen suit is a complete answer. If you want to build, a patterned navy, a plain light gray and a plain dark gray cover a lot of ground when they are planned together. If you want his guidance, Sam chooses the cloths so the jackets and trousers sit well side by side. Then the navy jacket can work as a sport coat over either gray trouser, and a gray jacket over the navy trousers. Color alone does not make a pairing work; the texture and finish of each cloth matter too.

The easy starting rule is pattern on top and plain on the bottom, or the other way around. Two patterns can share an outfit, but that comes later.

White and light blue shirts are the safest place to start, and they go with every suit above.

Once the base is right, small choices make a suit yours without making it loud: the last buttonhole on the sleeve in a contrast color, with white a common choice; a contrast buttonhole on the lapel; or a lining in a color or print you enjoy under a plain outside. Contrast buttonhole thread and contrast linings are available on made to measure suits from $999.

Color comes after a few practical questions, because the answers shape the cloth:

• When and where you will wear it
• How often you will wear it, and how long you want it to last
• Whether you will mostly stand or sit in it
• Whether the jacket usually stays on or comes off
• How you have it cleaned

How often you wear a suit helps guide the cloth, along with its weave, weight and finish, and how you care for it shapes how the jacket is built. Then the cloth comes out, in your hands, at your home or office.