Sport coat problem

[Stu]

I recently bought off Ebay a Zegna Napoli Couture 15milmil15 navy sport coat in 42R. It is a wonderful garment, but it is a small 42R, measuring only 44 inches in the chest. Jackets fit me much better when they are 46 inches in the chest. It buttons just fine, but when unbuttoned, it hangs open a bit wider than I like in my jackets.

Do I:

1. Just live with this
2. Sell it and look for a 44R
3. Try to find a brilliant tailor to open it up an inch in the chest?

 

[shoefan]

It might be relatively simple for a tailor to let out the top of the sides, which might suffice; beyond that, I would guess that letting out the chest would be a pretty difficult task, though others probably can comment more knowledgably than I. I would recommend finding a good tailor and asking his/her opinion; usually they will be pretty honest about whether an alteration will work well.

Otherwise, I would suggest you sell it and try to find another that you feel more comfortable with; in my experience, if a jacket doesn't seem comfortable, one is unlikely to wear it very often, and therefore it will end up being a waste of money to have it sitting around in your closet.

 

[Stu]

Shoefan: I've never thought about letting it out at the top of the sides. What a great idea, if it can be done. The seams are covered by the sleeves so it would hide where they were let out.

 

[The_Foxx]

i dunno, sounds like a dangerous alteration to make...even for a skilled tailor of custom experience. I've always heard that the chest and shoulders of a jacket are the things that really need to fit, as everything else can be altered. think i saw that in the neiman marcus video "Soul of the Suit," which featured comments from the houses of Brioni, Zegna, Oxxford, etc.

 

[bengal-stripe]

While a bespoke suit has usually generous inlays (for later alteration), ready-to-wear has not. You have to examine it, by rubbing between your fingers, to see how generous the inlays are. (If the coat is only partially lined, then forget it: it cannot be let out.)

Go and seek the opinion of a tailor you trust and go only ahead with the alteration if the tailor feels s/he can do a good job. Otherwise it will have to go to eBay.