If you've ever stood in a fitting room and watched a jacket pull across your chest while the midsection hangs like a curtain, you already know the problem. Off-the-rack suits aren't built for men who spend time in the gym.
It comes down to what the menswear industry calls "drop," the difference between your chest and waist measurements. Most suits assume a modest drop of about six inches, which works fine for an average build.
But if you're regularly training (building your shoulders, chest, and thighs), your drop could be eight, 10, or even 12 inches. Standard sizing doesn't account for that.
So you're stuck. Size up to fit your shoulders, and the waist balloons out. Size down for a cleaner midsection, and the shoulders strain, the chest pulls, and you can barely lift your arms to shake a hand.
The Conventional Fix Costs More Than the Suit
For years, the answer has been the same: go bespoke or made-to-measure. A tailor takes your exact measurements, drafts a pattern, and builds from scratch.
The fit is great. But it starts at $800, often runs past $1,500, and takes multiple appointments over several weeks. That's a lot of time and money for a suit that accommodates the fact that you take care of your body.
Why Most Performance Suits Don't Solve It Either
A handful of brands have tried to bridge the gap between athletic wear and formalwear. The pitch is usually some version of "stretch fabric." Add spandex to a woven suit material, and it'll give a little.
The problem is that "a little" is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Most performance suits use woven fabrics with four-way stretch, which helps side to side and lengthwise. But the suit is still cut for average proportions. The stretch just makes it slightly more forgiving when you sit down or reach for something.
For athletic builds, that's not enough. The issue isn't needing an extra inch of give when you move. It's that the suit's shape doesn't match your body's shape.
The Case for Knitted Construction
xSuit 5.0
Instead of adding stretch to a woven fabric, a few brands have taken a completely different approach: knitted construction.
Think about it like your gym gear. Knitted fabrics loop and interlock in a way that lets them stretch and recover in every direction. Woven fabrics have a fixed grid that limits how much they can flex. Same reason your dress shirt feels restrictive and your compression top doesn't.
xSuit 5.0 applies that principle to a suit. The proprietary TechWool fabric is a wool blend with 8-way stretch that adapts to your frame instead of fighting it.
Broad shoulders fill the jacket naturally. Thighs sit comfortably in the trousers without pulling. And because the fabric recovers its shape, you don't get the stretched-out knees and elbows that happen with lesser materials.
Fit Without the Fitting Room
Because xSuit 5.0's knitted construction adapts to a range of body types, it eliminates the need for traditional tailoring (apart from hemming the pants, if needed). An AI-powered Fit Finder handles sizing, and a 45-day free exchange policy means you can try it risk-free.
With the xSuit 5.0, $499 is the whole story. No tailor visits, no follow-up appointments, no extra costs.
Compare that to a mid-range made-to-measure suit at $800–$1,500 before revisions. Or an off-the-rack suit plus $200+ in alterations. The math sorts itself out fast.
Built to Survive Your Schedule
xSuit 5.0
The same construction that solves the fit problem also eliminates the day-to-day friction of owning a suit.
The xSuit 5.0 is fully machine washable. No dry cleaner, no special bags, no waiting three days to get it back. For guys who wear a suit two or three times a week, that adds up to hundreds of dollars a year in cleaning costs that just disappear.
The fabric is wrinkle-resistant, too. Not in the "hang it up overnight and hope for the best" sense. The TechWool recovers its shape with body heat, so creases from sitting, driving, or flying smooth themselves out within minutes of standing up. You can pull it out of a suitcase and wear it straight to dinner.
Then there's the nano treatment. Liquids bead up on the surface instead of soaking in. Coffee, rain, wine, sauce: they roll off before they become a problem. You stop babying the suit and start actually wearing it.
And for an audience that sweats more than average (which, if you're reading this, you probably do), the xSuit 5.0 is built with odor-resistant properties that keep the suit fresh between washes. No trapped gym-day smell lingering into your evening meetings.
$499, No Tailor Required
xSuit
xSuit 5.0
The athletic fit problem has stuck around because the suit industry never had men who prioritize fitness in mind. The options were always compromise or overspend.
The xSuit 5.0 is a third option: a suit engineered to match the body you've actually earned, at a price that makes the old approach hard to justify. Eight-way stretch that adapts to your shoulders, chest, and thighs. Machine washable, stain-repellent, wrinkle-resistant, and odor-resistant. $499 for the full suit, no alterations needed.
xSuit's AI Fit Finder takes your measurements in minutes, and the 45-day exchange policy means if the size isn't perfect, they'll replace it for free.
Why pay more money for a problem that’s already solved?
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