Fit & Sizing Guides
40R, 34x32, 16.5 34/35 — decoded. What the jacket number and letter mean, how the drop pairs your trousers, how shirt neck-and-sleeve notation works, plus a full chart of common jacket sizes from 38S to 54L.
Suit size charts read like code until someone hands you the key. 40R. 34x32. 16.5 34/35. Three notations, three garments, one logic — and after 43 years of translating it across a fitting table, we can decode the whole thing in a few minutes. One honest note up front: a chart tells you what sizes mean. It still can't tell you which one is yours. We'll get to that too.
Jacket Sizes: One Number, One Letter
A jacket size like 40R is two separate facts. The number is the chest the jacket is built to fit, in inches — a 40 fits a chest around 40". The letter is your height: Short (under ~5'8"), Regular (5'8"–6'1"), Long (over 6'1"). So 40R means: built for a roughly 40-inch chest on a man of average height.
The letter changes more than length. A 40S and a 40L fit the same chest, but they're different garments — body length, sleeve length, and button placement all shift so the jacket keeps its proportions on your frame. Get the letter wrong and even a perfect chest number looks borrowed. (What "looks right" means in practice — shoulder seam, cuff, button stance — is covered in our suit style guide.)
The Drop
How Trousers Pair to Jackets
Suit trousers don't get their own size on most charts — they're paired to the jacket by the drop: the difference between jacket size and trouser waist, usually 6 inches. A 40 jacket ships with a 34 waist, a 42 with a 36, and so on.
The drop is where standard sizing quietly fails certain builds. Broad chest with a trim waist? A 6-inch drop leaves your trousers swimming. That's exactly why suit separates — and a sizing method that looks at your actual build, not just a chart column — exist.
Trousers: 34x32
Waist by Length, Always in That Order
Trouser notation is waist x inseam, both in inches. 34x32 means a 34-inch waist and a 32-inch inseam — the seam from crotch to hem. Waist always comes first; no brand reverses it.
One thing charts rarely mention: quality suit trousers often arrive unhemmed or generously long on purpose, so the length can be finished to you. The waist number is the one that has to be right out of the box.
Shirts: 16.5 34/35
Neck Plus Sleeve
Dress shirt sizing is neck then sleeve. 16.5 is the neck circumference in inches — the collar should close with room for one finger. 34/35 is the sleeve, measured from the center of the back of the neck, over the shoulder, down to the wrist.
Why the slash? Makers build one sleeve to cover a two-inch range and let the cuff placement absorb the difference. If you're a true 34 or a true 35, a 34/35 fits either way — that's the notation working as designed, not a compromise.
The Chart Itself: Common Jacket Sizes
| Size | Fits Chest | S — under 5'8" | R — 5'8"–6'1" | L — over 6'1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | 37–39" | 38S | 38R | 38L |
| 40 | 39–41" | 40S | 40R | 40L |
| 42 | 41–43" | 42S | 42R | 42L |
| 44 | 43–45" | 44S | 44R | 44L |
| 46 | 45–47" | 46S | 46R | 46L |
| 48 | 47–49" | 48S | 48R | 48L |
| 50 | 49–51" | 50S | 50R | 50L |
| 52 | 51–53" | 52S | 52R | 52L |
| 54 | 53–55" | 54S | 54R | 54L |
With a standard 6-inch drop, each size pairs its trouser automatically: 38 → 32 waist, 40 → 34, 42 → 36, up the line.
What a Chart Can't Do
Now the honest part. Two men with a 42" chest often wear different sizes — broad shoulders, an athletic taper, or a fuller middle change how a jacket has to hang. A chart maps measurements to labels; it can't weigh your build or how you like clothes to fit. That judgment call is what our Size Finder makes: height, weight, build, fit preference in — complete outfit sizing out, in about a minute, no tape required. (The full method is in our 60-second sizing guide.)
The KCT Standard
Since 1983 we've believed a size chart should end confusion, not cause it. Every suit we ship comes with the same promise: free nationwide shipping, easy exchanges if the chart and your mirror disagree, and a Size Finder that does the decoding for you.
Quick Answers
What does the R in 40R mean?
Regular length — built for men roughly 5'8" to 6'1". The 40 is the chest in inches. Under 5'8", look at 40S; over 6'1", 40L. Same chest, different jacket length and sleeve.
In 34x32, which number is the waist?
The first one, always. 34x32 is a 34" waist with a 32" inseam. If you only trust one number when ordering, make it the waist — length is a simple hem.
My measurements land between chart sizes — now what?
For jackets, size to your shoulders and chest, then let tailoring slim the body — taking fabric in is easy, adding it is impossible. Better yet, skip the guess: the Size Finder factors build and fit preference into exactly this call.
Charts Explain. The Size Finder Decides.
Run the Size Finder for your exact jacket, trouser, and shirt sizes, then put them to work in the outfit builder — complete suit, shirt, and tie packages from $229 (2-piece) or $249 (3-piece), shipped free nationwide. Matching a wedding palette? The color matcher handles that part.
In Southwest Michigan? Visit us in downtown Kalamazoo or at Crossroads Mall in Portage.
- KCT Style Team