How much can you alter pants before its too much?

[stretch1]

I'm a skinny, shorter guy so i generally wear a sz 30 waist, 9 inch rise and around a 7 inch leg opening for my pants. There are currently some very nice corduroy pants on ebay at a very good price in a size 30 waist, but the rise is 11 inches and the leg opening 8.5 I've gotten legs tapered before and I'm sure my tailor would have no problem adjusting the leg opening to a 7, but would he be able to adjust the rise from 11 inches to 9 inches? what would i ask him to do exactly?

thanks, learning as always

 

[Klobber]

If something is quite far from fitting, then the only logical choice is not buy it. To have a tailor simply rebuild any item of clothing is crazy - in that case you may as well get the tailor to make you pants from scratch. Anything more than tweaks - then dont buy - never ever. Ignore that eBay auction and wait for other opportune moments.

 

[Aaron01]

I doubt a tailor can change the rise of trousers.

People seem to measure trousers quite differently on ebay, so who knows how that 11" rise will compare to the 9" rise you're used to...

 

[Master-Classter]

dude I got the same stats as you and probably 90% of my wardrobe (casual and formal) has passed through the tailor at some point so I speak from experience... there's only so much you can do with things like shirts and pants. Shirts are generally easy to taper the body and sleeves so I used to just buy it if the neck fit and I liked the fabric... generally that works out fine. As for pants, you can take in or let out the waist about 1 inch max, after that it gets messed up. As for the rise, for casual I go with 9.5 and formal 10.5, but that's just me. I've played with shortening rises and I'd say 1 inch is about the max to go otherwise the whole fit goes funky. I've taped legs down by a good 1.5 inches on the diameter so taht's no problem (I do 11 thigh, 8.5 knee, 7.5 hem for most wool and cotton dress pants and then 10.5, 8, 7 for casual like jeans or khakies). I tailor almost everything but I've learned now to stick with minor tweaks like a little slimming or tricks like moving buttons (cuffs and plackets) to get the right shape.


on the particular pants you're looking at, I say avoid for now. search and try on everything because there's stuff out tehre that fits, no doubt. Eg Uniqlo has perfect slim shirts for like $30, hell it used to cost me $25 just to tailor a shirt to make it fit.

PS - go to a tailor, ie someone who actually makes suits, not a drycleaners or some alterationists like that.

 

[phxlawstudent]

Originally Posted by Klobber

If something is quite far from fitting, then the only logical choice is not buy it. To have a tailor simply rebuild any item of clothing is crazy - in that case you may as well get the tailor to make you pants from scratch. Anything more than tweaks - then dont buy - never ever. Ignore that eBay auction and wait for other opportune moments.

I disagree. I will never find OTR suits with a pants drop to accomodate my waist size. Okay, except for Joseph Abboud, but that's only because they're 36s jacket fits me. Anyway, the only option is to recut the pants, buy custom, suit separates, or thrift and recut the pants. I've used option #4 pretty much exclusively. I've got some really nice clothing that fits like MTM for less than $600. Granted, they have some wear, but I'm going to get at least a few years out of them. By the time I need to replace them, I should have a real job and can afford MTM.

 

[Despos]

The rise is the most difficult to adjust that much. If you reduce the rise by taking off the waistband and lowering, the pockets are too close to the waistband. If you reduce by taking in the crotch at the bottom of the seat, there is a limit to this. Trouser will be baggy. Risky purchase.

Sounds like you want tailored trousers to fit you like jeans, not recommended.

 

[GBR]

You should never try to make such major alterations - the idea is to do minor tweaks not try to get them recut.

 

[landshark]

Link? I'll buy them. I prefer higher rise trousers.

 

[1901]

Originally Posted by Despos

The rise is the most difficult to adjust that much. If you reduce the rise by taking off the waistband and lowering, the pockets are too close to the waistband. If you reduce by taking in the crotch at the bottom of the seat, there is a limit to this. Trouser will be baggy. Risky purchase. Sounds like you want tailored trousers to fit you like jeans, not recommended.
Noob question: Would there be any oddities resulting from reducing the waist size of suit trousers from 35 to 33? The seat might have to be taken in a fair degree as well.

 

[Despos]

Shouldn't be a problem reducing the waist 2"

More than 2" the side seams come too far to the back.

 

[Bananafish]

Originally Posted by Despos

The rise is the most difficult to adjust that much. If you reduce the rise by taking off the waistband and lowering, the pockets are too close to the waistband. If you reduce by taking in the crotch at the bottom of the seat, there is a limit to this. Trouser will be baggy. Risky purchase.

Sounds like you want tailored trousers to fit you like jeans, not recommended.


Couldn't you just wear the pants lower on your waist and have the thighs tapered and both the crotch and seat taken in? I just bought a pair of higher waisted trousers (10.3" rise) and this is what I'm planning to do as I normally wear my trousers at 9"/23cm.


What are all of your thoughts about alterations on heavier wools and fabrics that are patterned (ie. checks, windowpanes, etc) ? I have a few pairs of expensive Italian trews that I'd like to take in as I prefer a slimmer fit than most, but don't want to risk ruining them even though I have faith in the aptitude of my tailor.

 

[Master-Classter]

the other issue you'll probably run into when taking in the waist by 2 inches is that the back pockets suddenly look really close together and it makes it look like you're squeezing the ol' butt cheeks together.