Styleforum › Forums › Men's Style › Men's Clothing › Tailor & Hemming
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Tailor & Hemming

post #1 of 23
9/10/11 at 3:14pm
Thread Starter 
Is it customary to request that the tailor, when hemming unhemmed trousers, leave a certain amount of fabric unhemmed on the trouser? Or should they, as I expected and have previously experienced, leave at a minimum 1.5" or thereabouts, or at least some material?

I've just received back four Incotex trousers that have been hemmed but unbelievably they haven't left any material unhemmed to be released: I asked for 31.5" inseam but it turns out I've miscalculated by 1/2" and yet they can't be remedied because the damn tailor hasn't left any material. Should this be requested before alterations or is it a point of basic rational that they leave a certain amount for shrinkage / human error or even further saleability?
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 23
9/10/11 at 3:21pm
I don't know that there is a heard rule on this, but I can never think of a time when my tailor didn't leave at least 1-1/2" of fabric upturned on the inside of the leg after hemming dress pants. A hem as you are describing sounds like a typical hem for jeans but not for dress pants.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 23
9/10/11 at 3:36pm
Your fault.
1. Don't REQUEST a length. TRY ON the pants(each pair)with shoes and get measured properly.
2. If you want material left...ASK.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 23
9/10/11 at 4:02pm
Probably your fault but in future instruct whoever is doing the alteration no to cut the length off. If you demand a specific length the person might reasonably deliver that without expecting further change.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 23
9/10/11 at 4:12pm
Thread Starter 
Point taken. Looks like I'll have to view it as a very annoying (and expensive) lesson; does seems like a commonsensical point to me though that they leave some material left, it's all well and good them measuring but what about shrinkage or even future saleability? Oh well - if anyone wants some size 32 x 31.5 trousers let me know!
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 23
9/10/11 at 6:56pm
You need to supply more information. How do you know 31 1/2" inseam works with the length of the rise of these trousers? Are the trousers all the same model? Are they cuffed or plain bottom? If cuffs were made, how wide are they? What type of material are the trousers? There has be some amount of cloth at the hem to turn under. How much is there?
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 23
9/11/11 at 3:40am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Despos View Post

You need to supply more information. How do you know 31 1/2" inseam works with the length of the rise of these trousers? Are the trousers all the same model? Are they cuffed or plain bottom? If cuffs were made, how wide are they? What type of material are the trousers? There has be some amount of cloth at the hem to turn under. How much is there?

None at all - that's the point: they literally left nothing upturned, they hemmed them as if they were jeans. The trousers weren't cuffed so I can't even go down that route.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 23
9/11/11 at 5:13am
Never just drop off pants and say......31"!
EVER.
Take the extra 10 min and try them on and get fitted properly!
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 23
9/11/11 at 5:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ShaneB View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by Despos View Post

You need to supply more information. How do you know 31 1/2" inseam works with the length of the rise of these trousers? Are the trousers all the same model? Are they cuffed or plain bottom? If cuffs were made, how wide are they? What type of material are the trousers? There has be some amount of cloth at the hem to turn under. How much is there?

None at all - that's the point: they literally left nothing upturned, they hemmed them as if they were jeans. The trousers weren't cuffed so I can't even go down that route.

puzzled.gif

They must have turned up some fabric to hem them.
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 23
9/11/11 at 5:48am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ter1413 View Post

Never just drop off pants and say......31"!
EVER.
Take the extra 10 min and try them on and get fitted properly!

Yeah I will do that from now on, though poignantly I dropped off seven pairs and didn't really have the time to try each individual pair on: the annoying thing is that they've arbitrarily not kept any material in the inside leg: three of the seven have 1.5" of material that can be released on the leg, so they're salvageable, whereas the rest haven't any material at all, so it seems as though they've cut all the material off at a whim. Very frustrating.

Though having said that, there are no tailors as such near where I live, the place I go to is like an over the counter job, quite innovative really, they have a load of Polish girls behind the counter that do alterations, there is a changing room for a more detailed appraisal of what needs to be altered so I should probably do that in future.

I do still think however that they should leave at least 1.5" as a point of commonsense: even if they were just the right length if they shrink I'd have been screwed. It's a chain of shops and I've met the guy who owned it before: given that they seem to have arbitrarily cut off all the material on some and left a bit on others, I think I'll still make a complaint.
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 23
9/11/11 at 6:25am
How do you know they cut the cloth off on four of the seven pairs?
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 23
9/11/11 at 7:05am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Despos View Post

How do you know they cut the cloth off on four of the seven pairs?

What do you mean? The trousers were unhemmed so they had a 37" inseam which was reduced to 31.5, but with no material upturned - that's the bizarre point of it all.
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 23
9/11/11 at 7:40am
How about returning to the alteration shop and explain the trousers were shortened to 31.5 and 3 of the 7 have 1.5" outlet and the others have none and ask for an explanation. Then let us know the answer. If it is their mistake you may have some recourse or there may be a logical explanation. From the information you have posted it doesn't make much sense but you haven't given much relevant information.
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 23
9/11/11 at 7:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Despos View Post

How about returning to the alteration shop and explain the trousers were shortened to 31.5 and 3 of the 7 have 1.5" outlet and the others have none and ask for an explanation. Then let us know the answer. If it is their mistake you may have some recourse or there may be a logical explanation. From the information you have posted it doesn't make much sense but you haven't given much relevant information.

if their mistake, recourse such as what? the pants were shortened to 31.5" as the OP requested...
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 23
9/11/11 at 8:03am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Despos View Post

How about returning to the alteration shop and explain the trousers were shortened to 31.5 and 3 of the 7 have 1.5" outlet and the others have none and ask for an explanation. Then let us know the answer. If it is their mistake you may have some recourse or there may be a logical explanation. From the information you have posted it doesn't make much sense but you haven't given much relevant information.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ter1413 View Post


if their mistake, recourse such as what? the pants were shortened to 31.5" as the OP requested...

I'm going to do just that. They've arbitrarily left upturn on some and not others - that isn't on, really; I didn't think I'd need to specify that they leave some material on the upturn - I think it was a commonsensical point and certainly I've never had this problem before.

And ter1413, the only thing I can do is ask for my money back and/or credit at the store: I spent £80 on those trousers (work done on the waist & hem) and now they're unusable so I'll have to sell them.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Men's Clothing
Styleforum › Forums › Men's Style › Men's Clothing › Tailor & Hemming