Overcoat Tailoring?

[Quirk]

How common is it to have tailoring done on a winter overcoat? I'd never really considered it before -- would most tailors do that kind of work, or does the heavy weight of the garment tend to make it problematic? If anyone's had it done, I'd be curious to hear what kind of work you've had done, how it turned out, and the cost relative to suit tailoring. Thanks.

 

[Jovan]

It seems pretty common to me. Don't take in anything too much is my advice, as you still need room for a suit jacket or sweater under.

 

[fatherseanfan]

Last week I had sleeves lengthened ($35) and buttons moved over to loosen the fit ($6) on my overcoat. Very satisfactory results.

 

[Holdfast]

A tailor can certainly handle an overcoat. It's worth doing, too, as off the rack they're often very baggy. I keep meaning to get one of my older overcoats sorted out a bit.

 

[tiecollector]

I had the back shaped on mine, looks like it cost $500 more now.

 

[NKT]

Slightly off-topic, but what are the general guidelines for how long a coat should be for a 3/4 and full length coat? I'm not a tall guy, and I find that sometimes wearing a longer coat can make me look a bit awkward. Advice?

 

[singlechange]

Just recently I had some alteration work done on my first winter overcoat at Field English Custom Tailor in Washington, D.C. The preworn Gieves and Hawke Chesterfield overcoat in herringbone was described by the seller as 40 regular but when I tried it on it seemed to fit more towards a 42 especially in the waist. Mr. Field surpressed it a bit at the waist for a reasonable cost and with fine handwork. Here is the result.

 

[dah328]

Originally Posted by NKT

Slightly off-topic, but what are the general guidelines for how long a coat should be for a 3/4 and full length coat? I'm not a tall guy, and I find that sometimes wearing a longer coat can make me look a bit awkward. Advice?
To some degree, it depends on the cut of the coat. Ideally, you stand in front of the mirror with your tailor and pin the coat at different lengths and see what looks best. I'm "not tall", too, and about an inch below my knee seemed to work best for a relatively fitted, full-length overcoat. Since I wear jackets a lot, I'm not really a fan of the 3/4 length coat since they don't look good over jackets.

dan

 

[a tailor]

if the tailor can alter a suit coat, he can alter an overcoat. be sure to wear the same things you would normally be wearing under the coat when you get fitted,
a suit for instance.

 

[Quirk]

Thanks for the replies -- should make it much easier to find a good winter coat if I don't expect it to fit perfectly right OTR, as I always have. Though given the weather in the northeast, I don't know if I'll need a winter coat this year.

 

[grilledcheese]

I have a beautiful Burberry duffle that needs some work so that I don't look like I'm wearing a potato sack... I'm guessing it can be done, as I was planning on taking it to the tailor tomorrow.