Quick and cheap fix for shoulder divots

Hi, all.

I bought a Pronto Uomo sport coat recently (from Goodwill, so don't freak out ). It seemed to fit me really well, but for whatever reason while I was at the goodwill, I didn't notice that the shoulders divot pretty badly. I like the jacket, but it's definitely not worth finding a tailor to mess with the shoulders or the sleevehead or whatever needs to change to fix the divots (yes, I've read the great post by jefferyd on the subject). I'm going to spend a bit to narrow and lengthen the sleeves, but I don't want to spend $60-100+ on fixing the divots of a jacket that is worth, if we're generous, $175.

I figured that since the jacket was essentially unwearable in its current state (I am much less uptight than most of the Classic Menswear subforum, but there are limits), and since it only cost me $5, I would see if there was anything else I could do about it. So I hit on the idea of having a pad sewn into the top of the arm to prevent the divot. Before you laugh, you should know that I did a mock-up with some tape and some loose cloth I had lying around, and it worked really well.

I thought I would put this out there, see if anyone else had done it, and see if there is any problem with this that I'm overlooking.

Any thoughts? Am I completely mad?

You are certainly impatient.

Send the thing back and avoid such places in future. Second hand clothes will need exactly the same level of alteration as new ones so if you begrudge the cost....it merely demonstrates that they are not bargains, merely second hand tat.

I didn't mean to come across as impatient. I just saw that it had a lot of views but no replies, and I was wondering if that signified that everyone who read it was thinking "oh, my Lord... was he dropped on his head as a kid?" I sincerely apologize for being impatient.

Let me clarify, a bit. Firstly, Goodwill doesn't take returns, which doesn't particularly bother me, because it was only five bucks. The reason I'm interested in giving this a try with this jacket is threefold: firstly, it really is a nice-looking jacket, in my opinion, and it fills a hole in my wardrobe -- I'd like to be able to wear it. Secondly, the jacket cost me only five dollars, so if this destroys it... well, live and learn. Thirdly, if this does work, it would be a valuable lesson for the future.

Post some pictures perhaps? It may simply be that there is no cheap or easy solution.

I will when I have the chance to take the jacket to a tailor, which unfortunately isn't going to be for a while. It may well be that it doesn't work.

If I've understood your "solution" correctly, you are proposing to structurally reinforce the top of the sleeve in order to prevent it buckling.

This could theoretically work - after all, to take this to an extreme, if you put a curved steel plate there, it definitely wouldn't divot - but will likely only displace the problem elsewhere, and with the likely expense of comfort around the sleevehead. If you think about it, the reason the shoulder divots is because it doesn't fit correctly elsewhere (e.g. too narrow or too wide), creating pressure on the cloth. Fix the sleeve by reinforcing it rather than addressing the underlying problem, and the pressure problem will displace elsewhere, with unpredictable results. By all means, feel free to butcher the jacket in the name of experimentation, since it's virtually worthless. You never know, the displaced problem might not be particularly visible and so might not bother you much.

But I would think it simpler to just get a jacket that fits better from the start. I appreciate this would cost more (either literally by spending more, or indirectly by spending more time browsing the charity shops), but will likely yield better - and more consistent - results.

I recently bought a OTR suit. Everything fits great, except for some reason I'm getting the dreaded shoulder divots. My tailor is hesitant to do any work on it, saying he can't guarantee it will fix the problem and will be costly. So like OP suggested, I thought about adding some padding to the suit to "prop" up the divot. I basically got a small piece of gauze pad and taped it to the lining inside of the jacket. It actually worked pretty well, got rid of 80% of the divot, enough for me to be satisfied. Also, because the gauze pad is soft, it is not noticeable under the jacket. The only problem I might be facing is that I worry that the tape might leave behind a sticky residue on the lining. Anybody have any experience with removing adhesive from lining material? Or any other suggestions?