The online revolution has transformed the way we shop, delivering the world’s finest designers to our doors and bestowing upon us the surreal ability to buy pretty much whatever we want, from groceries to luxury cars and watches, without ever having to leave the house. As convenient a service as this is, though, there remain a few lingering issues.

Clothes, for instance, can be tricky things to buy online. You can’t try them on first, which means that you have to imagine how they’ll look on you, and while online stores generally try to mitigate this by offering generous policies on returns and exchanges, there are still occasions when a customer might feel justified in opting for the inconvenience of visiting a physical store over the apparent uncertainty of shopping online.

This 21st-century buyer’s anxiety is especially acute when the garment in question is a suit. They are not only big-ticket items, but they’re complicated ones, too, with a wide variety of measurements, fabrics and styles to consider before taking the plunge. Don’t let this put you off, though. Shopping for a suit online might not be quite as simple as buying a new pair of Nikes, but as long as you do your research and order judiciously, there’s really nothing to fear – and it comes with the added incentive of never having to set foot in the tailoring section of a department store again.

With that in mind, and in the hope that we can make things a little bit clearer, we’ve put together this very comprehensive online buyer’s guide to suits.