Primark X Soccer Aid Suits: The Tailoring Touches

We’re giving you an access all areas look at the Primark X Soccer Aid 2021 pre-match suit fittings. The suits were selected by our brand ambassador Kem Cetinay with a little help from our Head Of Buying for Menswear Matt Roberts, who is here to give you the lowdown on smart tailoring do’s and don’t’s.

If you don’t have a tailor on hand to alter and fit your suits to you like the celebrities did, here’s Matt’s advice on what to look out for when trying to find the perfect suit: ‘Ideally the suit jacket should fit well on the shoulder without the pad breaking. I also believe that sleeve length is really important. Ideally it should show about 1/4 inch of the shirt sleeve, if it’s too long it makes the jacket look big.

You should ideally be able to do the button up without too much excess fabric.’

All of our Soccer Aid stars wore the same suit trousers, as selected by Kem and Matt, but had them specially tailored to them:

‘Traditionally trouser length is guided by where the leather meets the sole on the shoe, but nowadays the width is much slimmer so each trouser is different depending on the type of shoe. An easy rule is a single break in the front and straight at the back.’

When it comes to suits it seems unimaginable that mistakes can be made, when they make everyone, especially our Soccer Aid stars, look so good. However, Matt has seen his fair share of mishaps and is here to save you from making the same mistakes…

‘The most common one is people wanting a slim fit jacket and going for a smaller size. Although the waist now fits, the rest of the jacket is compromised.’

‘Secondly, the belt MUST match the shoes. If you’re wearing a black or grey suit, go for black shoes. A brown suit needs brown shoes and if you’ve opted for a blue suit then either black or brown shoes will work.’

Kem added a bomber jacket option to each of the team’s suit selections to give the players a more casual option to pair with their suit trousers and white t-shirt or blouse option, as they arrived at the Etihad Stadium. When we caught up with Kem he told us that the jacket option was a real winner as he sat in on the suit fittings.

So with this in mind, we asked Matt what his top five wardobe staples are to dress down smart tailoring and make it work for those casual occasions too:

‘Okay so I’d go for a knitted tie , a t-shirt like we did for Soccer Aid, plain white leather trainers, a loud pocket square if you’re not wearing a tie and finally some chino’s, just switch those out for the suit trousers and style with the suit jacket.’

Now we know, shoes and suits can be a bit of a minefield, so we asked Matt what the rules are if you’re going for casual shoes like our Soccer Aid stars or perhaps a smarter shoe for those special occasions: ‘If you’re going for a loafer or a trainer, have the trousers shorter and cropped and no socks! More traditionally with an oxford shoe or a brogue, have a single break in the trouser.’

If you want to look as sauve as our Soccer Aid stars, head in-store now where the World XI and England Soccer Aid team suits are available to buy!