Men's suits tailoring questions

[leadbelly2550]

Father in law retired, is starting to send me some suits, we're both 46 regular. He dressed well, the first four are Oxxford and Ermenegildo Zegna. I'm ok working with a tailor on basic alterations but have a few Q's outside my experience.

1. Trousers are pleated, i can live with that, but a few of the legs have massive circumference. Spouse says 'they look like balloon pants.' is there any way to narrow the legs a bit without compromising the suit? would like to have some basic knowledge when i work with the tailor.

2. One suit jacket has two small (1-3mm) round moth holes, lower right side near the hem. anything i need to know other than asking the tailor to re-weave them? i confirmed my tailor is experience with reweaving.

thanks for any thoughts.

 

[Phileas Fogg]

In the order asked:

1). Yes, but there is a limit. How large is the leg opening now?

2) a tailor won’t reweave it. You need a reweaver for that. It’s specialized work. I’ve used Without A Trace before with good luck. Others have reported otherwise.

 

[leadbelly2550]

In the order asked:

1). Yes, but there is a limit. How large is the leg opening now?

[thanks! approx. 30 inches circumference right below where the inseam ends. 3-4 inches wider than my thigh.]

2) a tailor won’t reweave it. You need a reweaver for that. It’s specialized work. I’ve used Without A Trace before with good luck. Others have reported otherwise.

[my tailor is inside a quality local dry cleaner that does reweaving].

 

[Phileas Fogg]

[my tailor is inside a quality local dry cleaner that does reweaving].

wait, hold on, the leg opening is a 30 inch circumference?

 

[leadbelly2550]

wait, hold on, the leg opening is a 30 inch circumference?

leg opening at the cuff is 18 inches; 30 is at the top, right below the crotch.

 

[Phileas Fogg]

Ok...got it.

you would need to have the slacks tailored from the thigh to the knee and the knee down preferably keeping the same ratio.
The problem is going to be the pleats. Can the tailor do it in such a way as to not pull on the pleats too much.

If the alterations tailor is good, consult him(her) for an opinion.

 

[comrade]

Pleats can be removed, but it's major surgery.

 

[Phileas Fogg]

I've had older pleated trousers slimmed down from the seat, thigh and leg by a good alterations tailor without throwing off the balance. It can be done, but again, it depends on the extent of the alteration.

 

[Despos]

Talk directly to the alteration person and ask how often they have tapered trousers. If they haven’t done it often there is plenty that can go wrong.
Be sure to know what circumference measurements you want at the bottom, knee and thigh. Don’t let them guess.
If you have a trouser you like, give it to them to replicate the dimensions. Tapering from knee to the hem is simple but the thigh and hip take some know how. If they don’t open the side seam along the pocket and reduce from the back you will get a bubble on the outseam just below the pocket. Taking the inseam in too much at the knee can cause problems and the seam will pull and pucker because the curve is too severe. Won’t drape well.
If you are trying to replicate a trim cut trouser that you don’t wear with a jacket, try them on with a jacket and see how balanced your upper body is with the line of trouser.
46 chest, you don’t have a small frame and probably have a 38 - 40 waist. If your waist is larger than 40” then exercise more caution. If the leg is too tapered you look top heavy. Try to balance the proportions. Just a few things to consider and avoid issues.

 

[leadbelly2550]

thank you for the comments and observations. the tailor said we could narrow the legs an appropriate amount (losing perhaps an inch of circumference at the widest point and tapering from there) by opening up the inseam without impacting the pleats or overall appearance.

 

[Despos]

thank you for the comments and observations. the tailor said we could narrow the legs an appropriate amount (losing perhaps an inch of circumference at the widest point and tapering from there) by opening up the inseam without impacting the pleats or overall appearance.

Not ideal to take in on the inseam only. The crease will be off center and you have to reset the crease. Old crease line may still show is so it looks like a double crease, depends on the cloth type. Best result is to reduce equal amounts from both sides of the crease on the front part and reduce outeseam on the back part.

 

[leadbelly2550]

the tailor did, indeed, open up both leg seams & reduced the volume both front and back.

again, thanks for the helpful guidance.

 

[dauster]

sorry to say but this sounds like another styleforum alteration with potential for real debacle. Make sure you spend money on a reputable tailor- if you go to some random person it will not look good - almost guaranteed. May I ask where you live?

 

[leadbelly2550]

sorry to say but this sounds like another styleforum alteration with potential for real debacle. Make sure you spend money on a reputable tailor- if you go to some random person it will not look good - almost guaranteed. May I ask where you live?

In the Maryland suburbs of DC. The tailor has altered several suits for me before and does great work - the norm is length and waist for trousers; sleeves, sides, take in slight bunching behind/below the collar for jackets. He’s uniformly better than any tailor i have dealt with in a retail store. I asked about this particular kind of alteration because it was new to me, and i wanted to understand the landscape. As i noted, they did an excellent job - i wore the suit that needed the more extensive work on the trousers today and am very happy with the fit and how it looks. Unfortunately a fairly expensive proposition, the trousers upped the price for the tailoring to about $160, but clearly worth it.

 

[dauster]

In the Maryland suburbs of DC. The tailor has altered several suits for me before and does great work - the norm is length and waist for trousers; sleeves, sides, take in slight bunching behind/below the collar for jackets. He’s uniformly better than any tailor i have dealt with in a retail store. I asked about this particular kind of alteration because it was new to me, and i wanted to understand the landscape. As i noted, they did an excellent job - i wore the suit that needed the more extensive work on the trousers today and am very happy with the fit and how it looks. Unfortunately a fairly expensive proposition, the trousers upped the price for the tailoring to about $160, but clearly worth it.

that's great, do share some pics when you have a chance...