James, if ever you get to make a suit you will notice that you are taking flat 2 dimensional fabric and creating a 3 dimensional object from it, that is defined by the male body. That is the excitement of the process.
The hardest part of making a suit is sewing in the waist and leg hole elastic so it is of equal tension all the way round. Get that wrong and the suit is ruined.
Your observation that the front of a suit is smaller than the back is correct. A suits back panel covers not only the back but also the sides and creeps around to the front to meet the front panel. I once accidentally sewed 2 back panels together, the resulting suit meeting at the sides and flopping at the front. Having a smaller front panel keeps the stretch fabric nice and taunt.
Adding rear stitching to a suit stops it sagging, the stitching thread cannot stretch while the fabric can, paper lycra suits tended to have rear stitching.
A seam up the front of a suit allows the 2 front panels to be cut on a convex curve creating a pouch. A subtle pouch effect adds more space for the well endowed in a brief suit.
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