The Tailors' Thread: Fit Feedback and Alteration Suggestions

[Despos]



I just thrifted all of these. They were $10/suit, so I wasn't too picky about fit. What do you guys suggest?

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Navy Pinstripe: Solid Navy: Solid Charcoal Beige Sharkskin Light Grey Overcoat Double Breasted Dinner Suit Plus they are all too long. Dinner suit is the longest and most obvious. Steel Blue - I bought this one new in the fall. Because of some damage, the company is going to replace the vest with this suit. I am wearing the 36S. The 38S is half an inch longer. I'm between the two sizes, so I could get either. So, should I get them to replace it wiith the 36S or 38S?

Plus they are all too long. The dinner suit being the longest and most obvious

 

[ImTheGroom]



Am I curious if part of the reason they appear long (I agree on this; they seemed much better in the store) is that I am not filling them up in the chest and waist -- they are almost all too big there. I'm not opposed to simply selling them (I should easily recoup my $10 investment, I would think) but if they are close enough to make fit for a reasonable cost, I am in need of both charcoal, and navy.

 

[Despos]

Once you are aware of an issue it becomes a point of contention. If you wear other jackets that are shorter and are more comfortable wearing them the longer length will be annoying. If you need these suits to get by you could get an estimate from a tailor of the work to be done and decide. Putting all the alteration money into a new suit and reselling these is another option. Some have the point of view of one suit that fits correctly is more pleasing than several that don't fit as well. Insert your point of view here.

The length won't change enough if you filled the jackets out size wise.

 

[brando123b]

Hi all,

First post here. I purchased a couple suits from Indochino about a year ago, and I've been marginally suspect of the fit. I feel the jacket is too tight (the pulling). The pants seem a bit tight. I don't have great range of motion (Tying shoes the pants pull quite a bit) and I feel like the pant shouldn't be touching the back of my calf when standing.

In any event, I'm going to be getting another suit and want to make sure I get it fitted correctly. Thanks all.

 

[Membking]

If the shoulders were squared at the backpart only, it will naturally shorten the back. That will caused the jacket to fall down in the back because it requires that extra length. This is where you're getting the unbalanced look and feel.
Properly squaring the shoulders from the front and back would not change the balance point. As Despos said before, that would've worked better BUT it's a major job that involves recutting the neckhole and possibly the collar as well. Not for most alterations tailors (even a big job for myself).
When there is a roll below the collar, it has to be carefully diagnosed. It could be too much incline for the posture or it could be the shoulders are too square but the incline is fine.
The problem with reversing what was already done is that there's a good chance the fabric was cut off at the top of the neck in order to square the back part of the shoulder. If it wasn't, it can be reversed but only your tailor would know that.

Side note: when thrifting or ebay'ing jackets, it's always wise to have a look at the back of the collar where the felt was attached (or ask the ebay seller) to see whether that stitching is done by machine or by hand or if the stitching isn't completely uniform all around. This is a good sign that the collar was either lowered or that the shoulder/s wear squared from the back part only.

Thanks for the feedback.

Updates:

I brought the suit back to my tailor yesterday to complain the collar gap. I said I was unhappy with the fact that lowering the collar (which she charged 50 dollars) created the ugly collar gap and hope it can be fixed for free. The tailor, however, said that fixing the collar gap would be a different job (which she referred to as "taper the collar") and she would not fix it unless I pay another 50 dollars. I argued that the collars lied perfectly to each other before the jacket collar was lowered but she would not listen.

Was I screwed? I spent 50 dollars to fix one problem which created another problem that she refuse to fix unless I pay another 50 dollars.

 

[Despos]

Do you mean the collar gap from the front view along the sides of your neck?

 

[Membking]

Do you mean the collar gap from the front view along the sides of your neck?

In the posted side-view photo, I slightly pulled the lapels forward to make the jacket collar lie closely to the shirt collar, that is probably why the jacket looked unbalanced with a shorter back and longer front.

Below is what it will look like if I do not pull the lapels, which I believe is more natural. The jacket bottom would look more balanced but there would be a 1/4-1/2 gap between the collars. Before I had her lower the jacket collar, there was no gap at all.

 

[Despos]

It is hard to judge accurately from these photos. Pulling the jacket didn't help. Better to have the jacket in it's natural position.

From the photo above you look to carry your head forward a bit making the shoulder adjustment trickier. Square shoulder and head forward from an alteration position sort of contradict each other.

This is all speculative. The shoulders could have been squared up differently. You may have needed more on the front shoulder than the back or maybe squared up equally front and back. Hard to be certain. This helps the shoulder point at the neck lay in close to your neck. Then you look to see how the collar fits into the neck and decide what to do next. This depends on how much was removed from the shoulder and how big the collar is. If you can distribute the collar fullness properly you don't need to shorten the collar. If the collar is too big then you have to shorten the collar. This is where she should have covered her actions and said "we may have to shorten the collar after fixing the shoulder which will add to the cost" One adjustment often leads to another but you don't know until the results of the first step are known.

Another issue that can happen with this alteration is the back gets too short (as in the photo when the fronts were pulled down to pull the collar closer) then you need to open the side seams and raise the entire back part to compensate.

The point I'm trying to make is shoulder alterations are complex as they effect the drape and balance of the jacket and the fit of the collar. This can create complications and multiple side effects. There are limitations to how much you can adjust the shoulders before you have to start adjusting other elements which become costly. She probably couldn't have predicted the additional work.

 

[HannibalBarca]

Hello. Took this jacket to a tailor since it was a little tight across the waist. She only let out the waist and the hips out. Looking for additional feedback

 

[The_Foxx]

can someone provide the high-end tailor approximate cost of sleeve rotation/ altering sleeve pitch? Have been putting this off for a while now, but seems like several of my jackets do this rumpling/ creasing on the front of my sleeves. hoping for some advice on this issue, which might be:
http://parisiangentleman.co.uk/2013...orrect-sleeve-pitch-can-make-or-break-a-suit/

crappy pix but best I had avail

 

[azwildcat]

Okay, here goes.

Two Signature Gold suits from Jos A Bank...bought separately on clearance for less than the tailoring.

The weird lighting/coloring is from photoshop...the pictures were very dark and so I had to lighten them substantially. The first suit is dark gray and the second is navy pinstripe.

Looking for help with all the problems (e.g., what's up with the backs of the sleeves?), but also specifically wondering: (a) should I have the pants tapered and/or lengthened?...I hate the way they rest on the shoes; and (b) are the sleeves too long?...to me they don't look obviously too long in these pics, but they look too long in the mirror and I'm wearing a dress shirt that I think fits in the sleeves and it's no where to be seen here.

Fire away. Thanks in advance.

 

[OTCtailor]

Hello. Took this jacket to a tailor since it was a little tight across the waist. She only let out the waist and the hips out. Looking for additional feedback

Looks fine around the body. Jacket may be a bit long and sleeves look full.

 

[OTCtailor]

can someone provide the high-end tailor approximate cost of sleeve rotation/ altering sleeve pitch? Have been putting this off for a while now, but seems like several of my jackets do this rumpling/ creasing on the front of my sleeves. hoping for some advice on this issue, which might be:
http://parisiangentleman.co.uk/2013...orrect-sleeve-pitch-can-make-or-break-a-suit/

crappy pix but best I had avail

It's really hard to say...
Anytime a person holds their arms like that wearing any upper body garment there will be torsion in the sleeves.
To be anything close to accurate, we need to see pics of you standing like the very first post in this thread instructs.

BUT

My guess is that the sleeves may not have a pitch issue but are too slim for your arms.

 

[OTCtailor]

The jacket sleeves may be too forward for your arms. A sleeve pitch issue. Either that or there is too much fullness at the sleeve cap and the sleeve needs to be removed and recut to fix it.

With the trousers, they look pretty good from the back. Based on your build, I would recommend braces/suspenders to pull the front up onto the stomach some. If the waistband is falling down, it disturbs the natural intended balance of the the trouser and creates a sloppy drape straight down the front of the leg. An alteration would be to lower the waistband in the front if the person only wears belts. The cheaper and easier thing to do is suspenders.

Would not take these suits to Joe Bank and ask them to perform the aforementioned alterations.

 

[Chopper88]

Hi tailors,

I just can't seem to find a decent pair of straight leg khakis or chinos. Now I'm wondering, can someone in here tell me what goes wrong here, and perhaps if something can be done about this??

The problem is that they all 'bunch up' behind my knees. I've tried a bunch of brands, slimmer or wider around the hips and thighs, hugging or loose around the calves, about 99% of the pants I try have the same problem... I think it's related to my stance, because my calves are pretty big, and seem to be placed further to the back as opposed to my forward hips.

The pairs below are a great example of the problem, while wearing pretty different types of pants. I can imagine the first to be a little too tight, but the second not really.