Sometimes we notice a suit before identifying its cloth or details. The proportions of its upper and lower halves, their fabric and the way the ensemble is worn seem to share one intention. That coherence does not come from a universal formula. It develops through connected decisions, then finds its test on the wearer, in her movements and in everyday life.

In a trouser suit, the drape of the lower half shapes much of the silhouette. Trousers follow a stride, fold when we sit, meet the shoe and settle again when we stand. Their drape depends on all these situations, as well as their line in a mirror. A fitting brings those observations together, seeking a balance between the suit’s intended design and the comfort the wearer actually feels.