GAPING POCKETS

[a tailor]

Do the pockets on your trousers gape and stick out like wings?
Why? because the trousers are too tight even thought it may not seem so.
Lets do an experiment. Put the trouser on and hook the waist but
Leave the zipper open. Now pull thr pockets closed and flat.
See the result, The fly pulls open.,its just too tight across the front.
Solution? get larger trousers and have the waist taken in. But what if its your expensive suit trousers.
Dump the suit, or alter the trouser. It can be done if there is enough outlet
cloth available at the back. Or in the case of a custom made trouser
there may be outlet cloth on the side seam.

Check the diagram.
The available cloth is at the back. but its needed at the front.
The waistband is removed including the lining, but not at the fly.
Next the back seam is sewn to make the trouser larger.
See the line that bisects the waistband that marks the poiunt that
meets the top of the side seam. The distance from that line to the
arrow on the waistband is the same as the amount let out in back.
Now the two arrows are matched together and the side seam advances.
The whole point of this is to breng that side seam foreward in order
to add more width to the front. Now we see that the seam edge on
the top of the front is longer than the seam on the waistband.
A dart or darts can take care of the match up of the seams.
Or the top of the front can have the fullness worked worked in by
basting and shrinking as would be done with sleeves fullness.

If these trousers are custom made and an allowance was on
the side seams then the job would be somewhat easier.
Only the front and sides would be concerned, and not the back.

 

[Renault78law]

Informative post, thank you very much. Slanted pockets would minimize the effect. Would this also explain why front pleats stay open?

 

[Despos]

This is a great adjustment and even better if your trouser is originally made this way. Trying to find tailors today who grasp this and can execute this is rare.

 

[Mr Engineer]

Would letting out the seat also be a solution?

 

[Despos]



Would letting out the seat also be a solution?

That's what you are doing in the diagram but you need to bring the cloth to the front where it is needed. Letting the seat out is only part of the adjustment. Shifting cloth to the fronts gets the result.

 

[jrd617]

Great post. I've had to part with a couple pairs for this reason, but never knew the root cause.

 

[a tailor]



Informative post, thank you very much. Slanted pockets would minimize the effect. Would this also explain why front pleats stay open?

yes this is a good remedy for gaping pleats.

 

[aravenel]

Just wanted to say thanks for a super informative post!

 

[jcep]

A tailor, despos,

Thank you for a very clear and useful post. have this problem often (I even encountered it recently in a pair of MTM pants) and would find it incredibly useful if you could refer me to an alterations tailor that may aid me in this specific problem. I realize that the price may be higher but I think its worth it if it will erradicate this issue from my pants. Thank you in advance, I would do the due diligence myself and call around but since, as Despos mentions, it is rare to find a tailor that can understand and resolve the issue I thought it best to ask you in hopes you can give me something off the top of your head from any of the guys you know.

Thank you in advance and Happy new year to you both.
Best,

Jcep

 

[hookem12387]

Thanks, yall. I constantly have this problem. I'll just have to read a tailor's great post a few more times to understand exactly what is said and the fix.

 

[jefferyd]

Very strong thighs could also benefit from a dart on the front panel of flat-front trousers, in addition to this extra fullness. Many place the dart right under the belt loop where the crease would meet the waistband, which is aesthetically pleasing but anatomically incorrect; it should go closer to the side seam to accommodate the sartorius and the tensor fasciae latae muscles.

 

[Despos]

I do both, closer to the side helps more when dealing with prominent, pronounced hip bones and slender body types. It's more effective as It puts more cloth where you need it most. I cut a wider front panel and lower the hip point to create more ease at the bottom of the pocket opening, especially with heavy thighs.

 

[jcep]

Despos, A tailor,

I am fairly certain I could use all of these in my pants as I have the body type you describe (prominent, pronounced hip bones and seat and somewhat slender body type). Is it safe to say I would only be able to achieve this level of features on a bespoke pair of trousers or is there a MTM that could possibly incorporate the features you both mention above?

Best,

Jcep

 

[Despos]

Depends on who you work with, regardless if you go MTM or Custom. You need to work with a good fitter in both scenarios. There is also the quality of construction to consider.

 

[jcep]

I understand, would you by any chance have someone in mind that might fit the bill in NY Despos? I have tried a tailor I found myself (entry level custom) and a suggestion here for a mid level custom tailor but haven't had any luck and I'd rather not keep trying to guess who can do the job and finding out just by my own trial and error experience if I was right. I'm basically looking for someone who has your level of expertise so I can rely on them to just do their thing instead of awkwardly try ing to explain to them how to do something I am not trained to do.