My MTM topcoat is all wrong. Can I save it?

[Sartorian]

Thanks again for the input all.

Qasim, I am totally in agreement with you about my willingness to get this done right. My main question was more, 'is it even possible?' Only reason I ask here is because I just don't like getting opinions from tailors on such things--they're either crafty and pushing expensive alterations that won't work well, or they're shaking they're heads because they don't want to do the extra work. This happened my first time with Mr. Ned when I asked them to taper the pant legs, and I understood it was a labor-intensive alteration. I was willing to pay more for it.

But with this coat, I just wasn't sure how much shoulder padding could actually be altered. Mikebar and others, the main problem was definitely me--I didn't really have a well-defined image of this particular detail--the shoulder--until I saw what I didn't like. I'm going to make this clear when I go back, but I just wanted to know if it was even worth it to go ask, or if I'd just face an angry glare and be told that basically it wasn't going to happen.

As far as wanting something really light or thin, TBH, as thin as I am, I'm not as concerned as some men about the thrashing a coat of mine gets: I'm just a light-footed, light-moving type of guy, I take good care of my clothes at home and in storage, and so I'm always willing to deal with normal wear and tear, kind of like it actually. In my experience, even my crappy OTR clothes have survived far longer than my actual tastes, and now I'm buying clothes with much greater durability, I figure that these are investments, and if I can get lots of wear out of them, I'm fine with them suffering my abuse. If I were 6'2" and 195 lbs, I think this kind of thing would be more of a concern for me.

And that really gets to why the coat looks so wrong on me--I'm just a skinny, mixed Asian dude, and these big, bold 'American' shoulders look all wrong on me. I've also noticed that many of the standard OTR coats on men I see are softer shouldered. I guess I just hope that they'll be able to re-shape and re-cut the shoulder and be able to keep the armhole the same all together. It seems like it will be a difficult order, I realize.

I'm going to take it in and see what Mr. Ned can do to work with me, taking full responsibility for my lack of foresight. I'll take a before and after pic and post it here and see what you all think after that. It will certainly be a learning experience, and perhaps it will help give some people here a better idea of what not to do

.

 

[Qasimkhan]

Could you post some before and after photos? Could be a really interesting case study.

 

[taxgenius]

Originally Posted by Sartorian

So that's it? This adjustment shouldn't be a problem? Whenever ask here if they can have shoulders altered, most responses say 'don't do it, it'll ruin the look of the jacket.' Does this rule not apply to a topcoat? I checked again, and the padding doesn't even seem that thick. It is, however, about an inch or inch-and-a-half extra beyond my suit shoulder...

Yes, it will ruin the look of the jacket - but that's what you want.

 

[Coho]

Can we pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee see some pics?

This entire thread is worthless without them. I just want to see how far off so I can offer some constructive suggestions.

Originally Posted by Sartorian

Thanks again for the input all.

Qasim, I am totally in agreement with you about my willingness to get this done right. My main question was more, 'is it even possible?' Only reason I ask here is because I just don't like getting opinions from tailors on such things--they're either crafty and pushing expensive alterations that won't work well, or they're shaking they're heads because they don't want to do the extra work. This happened my first time with Mr. Ned when I asked them to taper the pant legs, and I understood it was a labor-intensive alteration. I was willing to pay more for it.

But with this coat, I just wasn't sure how much shoulder padding could actually be altered. Mikebar and others, the main problem was definitely me--I didn't really have a well-defined image of this particular detail--the shoulder--until I saw what I didn't like. I'm going to make this clear when I go back, but I just wanted to know if it was even worth it to go ask, or if I'd just face an angry glare and be told that basically it wasn't going to happen.

As far as wanting something really light or thin, TBH, as thin as I am, I'm not as concerned as some men about the thrashing a coat of mine gets: I'm just a light-footed, light-moving type of guy, I take good care of my clothes at home and in storage, and so I'm always willing to deal with normal wear and tear, kind of like it actually. In my experience, even my crappy OTR clothes have survived far longer than my actual tastes, and now I'm buying clothes with much greater durability, I figure that these are investments, and if I can get lots of wear out of them, I'm fine with them suffering my abuse. If I were 6'2" and 195 lbs, I think this kind of thing would be more of a concern for me.

And that really gets to why the coat looks so wrong on me--I'm just a skinny, mixed Asian dude, and these big, bold 'American' shoulders look all wrong on me. I've also noticed that many of the standard OTR coats on men I see are softer shouldered. I guess I just hope that they'll be able to re-shape and re-cut the shoulder and be able to keep the armhole the same all together. It seems like it will be a difficult order, I realize.

I'm going to take it in and see what Mr. Ned can do to work with me, taking full responsibility for my lack of foresight. I'll take a before and after pic and post it here and see what you all think after that. It will certainly be a learning experience, and perhaps it will help give some people here a better idea of what not to do

.

 

[a tailor]

yes the shoulders can be narrowed. to do it right it must be done at the armholes.
do not allow them to do it at the neck, it will distort.

the shoulder pads can be removed and a 1/4" thick one or something less replace it . but then the shoulder will droop, then the shoulder should be sloped. i wonder if your suit has too much shoulder padding. that may be part of the problem.

do you mean you would like the entire circumference of the coat at the chest level reduced, or just across the front?
if you do the chest area without doing the shoulder narrowing, you will get the top heavy V look.

since all three alterations need the sleeves removed, then all three should be done at the same time.

you say that the coat looks boxy. the sides can be taken in and more of a waist line shaped at the sides.

 

[Sartorian]

Soon as I get my friend's camera, I'll do my before pics and post them here. I'll do that before going back to the MTM suit place.

Tailor, your point about the suit padding is a good one. While neither coat has excessive padding, the two together could be too much. I'll try it on without the suitcoat just to see how the shoulders themselves look.

 

[TheTukker]

Sartorian: any chance you can give us an update on how it came out?

 

[Tarlee]

Originally Posted by Qasimkhan

Logically, you should be willing to spend X - Y dollars to alter the coat so that it conforms to your original vision.

I think that's a formula for sending good money after bad. Let's say X was $2000 and Y is $1000. That means spending Z = $1000 on alterations in order to pay $3000 for a $2000 item. If Z is only $100 it might be worth spending to recover the original investment. But it's not logical to say the greater the disappointment the more should be spent on rectification.

The formula requires some sort of logarithmic rather than straight line function. Which hurts my head.

Any mathematicians who can state this properly?

 

[Despos]

It is easy for this to occur with a topcoat as you wear one coat over another. The bulk increases size and wearing a topcoat with pads over a jacket with shoulder pads, things get exaggerated. Sartorian, I don't think you should take all the responsibility here. The coat should look good on you and appropriately styled for your size & build and that should be the concern of the tailor as well.