Sport coat sleeve alteration on Loro Piana sport coat

[patrick_b]



If they didn't offer to shorten the sleeve from the top, it may be that they are not skilled to do it or don't want to take on such a labor intensive job. You want to discuss options without assuming they will know or want to do what you may think is the right thing to do. Tell them what you were expecting and see what they say.

I remember bringing a suit to my local, small town "tailor" (for lack of a better term). She'd altered plenty of pants for me and always did a fine job, as long as I stated very specifically the size of the cuff and reiterated how little break I wanted. She always suggested a 1.25" cuff and a pool of pants around my ankles. The first time I asked her to alter sleeve length, she stated in a thick accent, "that what it supposed to look like. You keep how designed."

Clearly she didn't want to take on the job which is understandable and certainly her business decision to make. I found a new tailor.

However, now that I think about it, I have no idea how my other jacket's sleeves have been altered. Should you always ask for the sleeves to be shortened from the shoulder? Is it ever appropriate to have it done from the sleeve end? For instance, if there aren't working button-holes, can sleeves simply be shortened from the sleeve end?

 

[Sanguis Mortuum]



For instance, if there aren't working button-holes, can sleeves simply be shortened from the sleeve end?

They should always be altered from the end unless working button-holes make that impossible.

 

[patrick_b]



They should always be altered from the end unless working button-holes make that impossible.

Thank you.

 

[swiego]



That^^. Don't assume that a "high end" tailor working on a "high end" piece will read you mind.
Say this next time:
"I want to shorten the sleeves 1/2" from the shoulder. Can you do that and how much?"

Or, leave a 2-star review of the tailor online, so others know how they approach their work, then move on to another tailor.

I go to a tailor because I expect them to be the subject matter expert on the art of tailoring. It does defeat the purpose when I have to know as much about their art as they do in order to tell them how they should do the work. A good tailor should educate me on the options, inform me of their comfort level with them should I choose to go down a road they would rather avoid, etc.

That said, I do try to mitigate risk by asking questions when I take something in for tailoring. I like asking questions like "is there any other way to do this or do all tailors do this the same way?" because an option comes out that would be better, that the tailor had not thought of.

 

[Despos]

Is the jacket solid or is there a pattern in the cloth?
When there is a horizontal pattern in the the cloth, plaid or windowpane, you cannot shorten the sleeve from the top unless the amount you shorten the sleeve is the same amount as the repeat of the cloth pattern.

 

[Perplexed]

Thanks for your input. I guess the bottom line is that I should accept responsibility in that I didn't specify a different approach to this type of alteration. The professional tailor who I spoke with told me they should know better than to essentially butcher this type of alteration. That's why I came to this forum to ask for other thoughts. Thanks everyone for your advice.

 

[dandy1]

the tailor should have done this from the shoulder, this is quite a tricky job as putting the shoulder back together is a very time consuming job in making up a jacket. seems it was lazy to do it the way you suggested but perhaps they didnt want to pay for it to go back to italy and instead wanted the in house tailor to do it best they could, this is frankly ridiculous on a jacket at those prices.

would agree with one of the previous responses that the buttons should be at least an inch if not a little more away from the end. as for the issue of the working cuff, it is illogical anyway that they should all unbutton apart from the end one (as this makes unbuttoning any of them redundunt).

i also recently bought a sportcoat from loro piana and although the cashmere fabric is fantastic in thickness and weave, the tailoring and specifically the techniques they use in stiching the jacket are very poor. they seem to use a lot of loose stitching without proper reinforcement in their jackets which are usually unlined/haf buggy lined. ok for hanging on the rack in the store but in normal wear (even if you are their target market ie a playboy sailing around on your yacht etc) this is asking for trouble, or frequent and expensive trips to your tailor. personally i think they are cutting corners as they chase the volume game with new stores/web sales etc. shame.

 

[dandy1]

oh and dont beat yourself up over not being specific on how they should do it, of course its not your fault that you didnt specify how they should shorten the sleeve, thats their job! if you had your car fixed you wouldnt expect to guide the mechanic through the process now would you!

 

[Sanguis Mortuum]



they seem to use a lot of loose stitching without proper reinforcement in their jackets

 

[Perplexed]

Thanks Dandy. Here's an update: I brought coat back to the retailer yesterday and showed them the alteration. Indeed they admitted it was done improperly but I was surprised to learn that the last button is considered a false button and buttonhole that is only made right after the fitting. So in my case because the sleeves were shortened they will remove the last button, remove the false buttonhole (not quite sure how they do this) then add the button as the now top button and create a new operable buttonhole. Make sense? They apologized and promised to fix it appropriately. I'm curious to see the final job as I'm not sure how they get rid of the current false button hole but they assure me the coat was designed for this alteration and they do it often.
Also, I agree with your thoughts on some of the quality aspects. Recently I had a professional tailor make me a wool/cashmere jacket that is wonderful for less than half the price.

 

[Despos]



I'm curious to see the final job as I'm not sure how they get rid of the current false button hole but they assure me the coat was designed for this alteration and they do it often.

Since the bottom buttonhole (closest to the bottom edge) is not cut thru and not operable, ask to have it removed and a buttonhole made above the others. You regain your spacing to the first buttonhole and that's why they don't cut all the buttonholes.

the buttonhole thread is on the surface of the cloth and the cloth is not cut. All they do is remove the threads. This is what my previous post explained. The buttonhole is not cut thru so it can be moved to adjust the spacing from the bottom button to the sleeve hem.

 

[Perplexed]

Despos you were correct on this except the first button hole WAS cut through but inoperable due to the way the hem was stitched. After speaking to the head tailor again today my suspicions were confirmed. They cannot re-close the first button hole (the original first button was already removed through the shortening of the sleeve). So now they'll add a 4th operable button, as they should have in the beginning, and lengthen the button side of the sleeve one quarter inch and angle the sleeve length to the originally shortened length.
Thanks for your input. I learned something on this and ended up spending more time on a button issue than I would have ever imagined. Not sure the end result is worthy of the hassle time spent.

 

[Perplexed]

Thanks. I totally agree.

 

[dandy1]

i hope it works out and they make a good job of it, otherwise I suggest you ask for a replacement which is altered correctly.

hi sanguis, if you look at the insides of theblazers they use a lot of loose stiching, by which I mean stiches which are not flush to the cloth, they are easy to catch and if not reinforced the stich comes away with normal pulling on the jacket during wear. the store has told me in the past they do this as cashmere will pull if you put a tighter stich in but im not convinced by this line of reasoning.

 

[Shikar]

I have not bought or seen a new LP or any higher end jacket with cut buttonholes on sleeves. Usually just basted sleeve or stitched non functional buttons with allow ease in altering length without messing with shoulder.

Regards.