Are you confused about buying a suit? You're not alone.

There are so many decisions involved – and screwing up just ONE can cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Don't worry. There's a 10-step process you can follow to buy the perfect men's suit.

Ready to get started? Let's suit up!

This article is brought to you by Anson Belt & Buckle – a father and son run family business and makers of micro-adjustable men's belts. Anson's revolutionary holeless belt design offers over 30+ options spaced one-quarter of an inch apart. That way you can enjoy a perfect fit, every time.

The Anson Belt's buckles and straps are detachable so you have the power to assemble any belt you can imagine. The Gift Box Option gives you 3 buckles and 2 straps or 3 straps and 2 buckles for $99.95. That's 6 different possible complete belt combinations. Click here to discover Anson Belt & Buckle and take advantage of their free U.S. shipping and a lifetime guarantee.

Click Here To Watch The Video – Suit Up! The 10 GOLDEN Rules To Buying A Suit (With Style)

We'll assume you're starting at Ground Zero. Maybe this is your first suit – or it's been a decade since you bought a suit but you need one in two weeks for a wedding.

So let's start things off by defining what a suit is.

What Is A Suit?

A suit is a jacket and a pair of trousers made of the same material.

Notice it says ‘the same' – not just similar. A lot of guys make the mistake of trying to palm off a pair of trousers and a similar jacket as a suit.

Don't do it.

Those in the know will notice.

Suit Buying Rule 1. Choose: Buy A Suit Online Or Offline?

Your first step is to make a decision: will you buy your suit online or offline? Which is better? That depends on what YOU value.

Buying A Suit Online

If you want options, the best selection is always going to be online.

For convenience, nothing beats buying online. You can buy a custom suit at 2 AM in your underwear while drinking a beer.

Buying A Suit Offline

If you need a suit quickly – you're going to need to walk into a store.

If you want customer service, go to a higher-end menswear store – you can spend 30 minutes with an expert who can identify your body type and which styles and colors will look best on you.

Suit Buying Rule 2. Set Your Budget

For your first suit – or your first suit in a while – you want to spend between $200 and $2000.

The real price range of suits is much wider. You can spend $10 in a thrift store or $5000 in Savile Row. But $200-2000 is the happy medium area where most guys can find a great-looking suit.

Want a more specific number? Budget half your monthly salary – not just for the suit but for everything that goes with it. That includes the shoes, the shirt and the belt, which we'll talk about later.

You're going to hear the words ‘off the rack', ‘custom', and ‘bespoke'.

‘Off the rack' means ready-made. That suit's just hanging on a rack waiting for you to buy it. For most people this will work fine – and you'll find the best deals here.

‘Custom' or ‘made to measure' means it's made to fit your measurements out of different pre-cut pieces. This is a great option if you're hard to fit.

‘Bespoke' means it's made from scratch to your exact specifications – you speak and your tailor listens. For your first suit – ignore bespoke. Bespoke suits are a work of art, but they're much higher in price.

Suit Buying Rule 3. Choose Your Fabric

If you've got the money, look for a suit in 100% wool – it's a great indicator of quality.

Because wool is an expensive material, you'll also see blends – 70%, 50% 0r 30% wool.

Blends aren't necessarily bad – they'll save you a lot of money. But they are a sign of a lower-end suit – a manufacturer who uses blends is probably cutting corners elsewhere too.

If you're spending over $500-$1000, you're going to be getting 100% wool, and you're also going to start seeing ‘super' wools – Super 80, Super 100, Super 120, and so on.

There's not a uniform system to these numbers. Every company's ‘supers' are different. In general, a higher number means a tighter yarn and therefore a more luxurious drape.

Any material with ‘super' in it will be great quality – so don't pay extra to get a Super 220 instead of a Super 100.

Now, what about color? Pick one of three – navy, charcoal, or gray. No light gray, and no blue – those are too casual. And no black – that's for black tie.

A small pattern that's not noticeable is perfectly fine, but avoid noticeable patterns until you're on your third, fourth, or fifth suit.

Suit Buying Rule 4. Nail The Fit

Fit is king. A $50 suit that fits you will look better than a $2000 suit that doesn't. Do not buy a suit that doesn't fit you, unless you know it can be adjusted.

If you have to pay more to get something that fits – go ahead. If you're unusually tall, short, thin, stout, or muscular, you may have to go custom.

For the rest of you – here are the specific areas to focus on to get a well-fitted suit off the rack.

Suit Jacket Shoulders

Don't buy it if the shoulders don't fit. Adjusting jacket shoulders is like heart surgery – it's very complicated and very expensive!

Suit Chest Size

If you can fit two fists in the front of the jacket, it's way too big. A tailor can bring it in a bit – but more than two inches will change the proportions and the position of the pockets and the jacket will look bad.

What if it's too tight in the chest? Higher-end suits should have some extra fabric in the seams so a tailor can let it out by about an inch.

Suit Jacket Length

Put your arms by your sides. The jacket should reach down to your knuckles, give or take an inch.

At the back – your jacket should cover your buttocks. It shouldn't be much longer or shorter than that.

Suit Jacket Sleeves

Put your arms by your sides again – the sleeve should go to about your wrist-bone and show a quarter to a half inch of your shirt cuff.

If the sleeves are way off, don't worry. They're one of the easiest things to adjust – up to an inch and a half, or even two inches on bigger suits.

Suit Trousers

Make sure the waist fits you well. If it's slightly too big – or even slightly too tight – a tailor can fix that.

Also, pay attention to the hip area. Your tailor may complain about adjusting this – but if it's way too loose, get it brought in.

Suit Trouser Break

When your trousers are longer than your legs, the extra fabric creates a ‘break' or fold just above your shoes.

You can choose trousers with no break, a quarter break, a half break, or a full break.

Again – fit is king. When you're buying a suit off the rack, the store should have a tailor who'll adjust it for you.

If they charge for this, it's not a bad thing – you'll often find you get better service because you're paying for it. ‘Free' tailor service is probably built into the price of the suit.

Click here to read our quick guide to how a man's suit should fit.

Suit Buying Rule 5. Choose Function Over Fashion

You want to create a timeless suit that will serve you six months from now and six years from now – not a fashion trend that'll be out of style in a year.

Suit Buttons

When buying a suit you'll notice there are one, two, three, four, and even five-button suits. Stay away from the ones, fours, and fives.

For 95% of you, the two-button suit will be the best choice. It's a great classic look. If you're taller and want to look a little more formal you can go with three.

Or pick something between the two – yes, you can actually get a ‘two and a half button' suit. This is a three-button suit where the top button is designed to be left undone.

Suit Lapels

Your options are notch, peak, and shawl lapels.

Don't touch the shawl lapel – that's for formal wear.

Peak lapels are more formal than notch lapels. They're fine if you really like the look – but be aware that they'll grab attention.

Your best bet is the notch lapel. It's not going to win any awards for creativity – but it's timeless and will still be in style in a decade.

Jacket Pockets

Do you want your pockets sewn into your jacket, or on top of your jacket?

The ones sewn on top are known as patch pockets. They're very casual.

For a versatile suit, you should go for pockets that are sewn in and have a flap.

Jacket Vents

Vents are the slits in the back of your jacket that give you more room to move. You can choose a single vent, double vent, or no vent.

No vent is rare – mostly found in custom and Italian suits. It looks fine if you don't put your hands in your pockets and if you want to create a slimmer profile.

The single vent is the most common and WORST looking of all the vents. Try putting your hand in your pocket with this one – everyone can see your backside.

The double vent is the best. When you're walking it creates a more streamlined look – and it's designed not to show your backside even if you're riding a horse.

Suit Buying Rule 6. Choose Your Dress Shirt

Yes – a suit is a jacket and trousers made from the same material. But it's also everything that goes with it to make you a sharp-dressed man. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link – so getting details like your shirt wrong can weaken the entire look.

Light blue, pink, and lavender are all acceptable colors for dress shirts – but classic white is best. It's the most formal, creates the highest contrast, and matches almost anything.

A good fit in the neck area is key because you're going to button it up and wear it with a necktie.

Also, make sure it's got a turn-down collar in a medium spread or a point. Point is the classic collar that works with most necktie knots. If you prefer a wider knot you can go for a medium spread.

Don't go for a wide spread – that's a more casual style. And definitely avoid button-down collars – they're way too casual for a suit.

The shirt cuff should be a single button. You can also go for a two-button if you get something custom made. Cufflinks are not recommended for your first suit – they're more formal and take a bit of attitude to pull off.

And while this may seem obvious – your dress shirt must always be tucked in.

Suit Buying Rule 7. Match Your Shoes With Your Suit

The classic shoe to get when you're buying a suit is a black Balmoral Oxford.

Oxfords are the most formal shoe style thanks to the sleek simplicity of their closed lacing system. Closed lacing means the front part of the shoe (the vamp) covers the back part (the quarters) – producing a clean smooth look.

If you want to change it up, a dark brown Oxford is fine – just a little less formal.

A brown Derby is more casual still because it has an open lacing system (with the quarters on top of the vamp) but you can still pull it off with a suit.

Sneakers with a suit are best reserved for guys with some serious rock star attitude.

Loafers are really too informal for all but the most casual suits. But you can get away with them, especially in the United States at a casual event.

Suit Buying Rule 8. Choose Your Neckwear

Classically a suit is worn with neckwear. You could say it ties the outfit together.

Red is always a safe color (unless it's a bright neon red). You can also go with dark blue or dark green – or purple, the color of kings.

Stick with plain colors, small repeating patterns such as pin, dot, or regimental stripes. These diagonal stripes were created by the British to represent different clubs and military regiments, and despite being a bold pattern they're formal enough to wear with a suit.

In general bold patterns, bright colors, and knit fabrics make a tie too casual to look right with a suit.

Bow ties are technically just as formal as a long necktie. A bow tie in a solid color won't break the suit rules – but it will set you apart. It might be fine at a wedding but a little attention-grabbing for a funeral.

Suit Buying Rule 9. Accessorize

Whatever accessories you wear with a suit – watches, rings, necklaces, nose piercings, earrings – keep them restrained unless you're an over-the-top rockstar.

The best watch to wear with a suit is a simple dress watch that just tells you the time, maybe the date, and nothing else. You don't want a lot of complications.

Classic dress watches have a black or dark brown leather strap, but a simple metal band is also fine.

Avoid dive watches that are clearly made to be worn as sport watches – nothing oversized or gaudy and no rubber straps.

Now, what about belts – should you or should you not wear a belt with a suit? It depends on your trousers. Do your trousers have belt loops? Then wear a belt.

Try to match the leather of your belt to your shoes and the metal to your other metals.

Suit Buying Rule 10. Level Up Your Grooming

Remember a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. So clean and trim your nails. Take care of your skin. Make sure that you shave, or groom your facial hair.

If you don't shower and your nails are dirty – you might as well not bother buying a suit. Nobody will think you look good.

Make sure your hair is well cut and groomed too. Because you're dressing sharp, you can use a hair product with a bit of shine. That's a good look with a suit. But go with whatever works for you – as long as you take care of that grooming.

Summary: 10 Steps To Buying A Suit With Style

Now you understand the whole process from start to finish. Follow these ten steps and you'll master the timeless elegance of the suit. Enjoy it… you're going to feel great.

This article is brought to you by Anson Belt & Buckle – a father and son run family business and makers of micro-adjustable men's belts. Anson's revolutionary holeless belt design offers over 30+ options spaced one-quarter of an inch apart. That way you can enjoy a perfect fit, every time.

The Anson Belt's buckles and straps are detachable so you have the power to assemble any belt you can imagine. The Gift Box Option gives you 3 buckles and 2 straps or 3 straps and 2 buckles for $99.95. That's 6 different possible complete belt combinations. Click here to discover Anson Belt & Buckle and take advantage of their free U.S. shipping and a lifetime guarantee.