The Tailors' Thread: Fit Feedback and Alteration Suggestions

[pnin22]



And here are the ones I think need a bit of alteration. Please tell me what you think needs to be changed (eg too loose around waist, or hips, or sleeves, or too long, etc)
#3

Hey man, I have done these kind of alterations myself. It is not easy, and you are probably going to mess up the first few tries. I would not do this to a shirt that you'll wear to a client meeting, but slimming shirts for casual use is okay. The process for me goes like this:

A) To slim the shirt, you will take it in from the side seam (underarm), from the bottom of the shirt up to ~1cm beneath the underarm. If you want to slim the arms, you'll need to go all the way up to the cuff -- I do not recommend this, it is very tricky to get it right, especially at the armpit.

B) Measure, pin the seam where you want it. I use a shirt that fits well as a template.

C) Baste the seam -- this will hold the shirt together while you cut apart the old seam.

D) You'll need to learn how to make a flat felled seam, either on machine or by hand. With a machine, you can get it to look almost perfect with a lot of practice, while hand-stitching will always look off. While making this, it is important to use an iron to keep the seam flat and straight.

That's it! Let us know how it comes out (p.s. I am in Toronto too if you have more questions )

 

[pnin22]

I should add that some members (and sketchy tailors) recommend the slimming of dress shirts via darts either in front or back. I personally think this look ridiculous -- unless you want the fabric to approximate the curvature of your man-boobs. The only real way to slim a shirt is through the side seams.

 

[gettoasty]

I have a jacket that has all the back vents closed. You cannot even tell the before and after.

J/W but if I wanted a single back vent, would a tailor be able to open it up?

 

[pnin22]



I have a jacket that has all the back vents closed. You cannot even tell the before and after.
J/W but if I wanted a single back vent, would a tailor be able to open it up?

Not sure I understand your query correctly, but if you're asking whether a center vent can be added on to a jacket -- the answer is no, there needs to be extra fabric that allows the top flap to hang over the bottom by ~2cm.

 

[Despos]

Only if the cloth is still inside to provide some overlap. If they cut the extra cloth, then no.

 

[Superfluous]



Only if the cloth is still inside to provide some overlap. If they cut the extra cloth, then no.

On this topic, let's say the following:

Let's say you have a generously cut single vent jacket. Since the waist would be very large, would you be able to use the extra material that would be taken out from the waist (side seams) to create side vents?

 

[gettoasty]

Thank you. I am not sure but it is worth asking the tailor.

And yes, center vent. There was a double vent before but because of the way my hips are aligned and how a previous tailor slimmed down the body, the only way to fix the unevenness was to close all the vents completely. Was quite surprised being a noob how it turned out. Looked like completely different jacket how everything was so cleanly closed up.

That said, I guess it is more of a personal preference and I'm just playing with the idea of weather I can and want to open back up a single vent.

Thanks!

 

[Despos]

Have made side vents using the cloth from the inside of the lapel facing from the button hole down to the hem. Then you need to replace the facing with a close match of cloth. Not cheap to do for the amount of time it takes and may not be worth the effort.

 

[Superfluous]



Have made side vents using the cloth from the inside of the lapel facing from the button hole down to the hem. Then you need to replace the facing with a close match of cloth. Not cheap to do for the amount of time it takes and may not be worth the effort.

Is the excess material that would be taken from the side seams when slimming the jacket not be enough?

 

[Despos]

Probably not. It would have to be very very big.

 

[LJubel328]

Bought this jacket and had it tailored but to me it doesn't feel right. Any feedback?

 

[pnin22]



Bought this jacket and had it tailored but to me it doesn't feel right. Any feedback?

I think the tailoring is good, not much to pick at. However, if I were you, I would look for a jacket that a) has some shoulder padding to offset your sloping shoulders and b) has a lower lapel notches which just seems to accentuate the disproportion of your chest and shoulders.

 

[inlandisland]



...
Can I also use it for the sleeves? or would the cuff pose a problem? And of course if the shirt is too long I'll just tuck it in.

Thanks in advance for your help/opinions

I am planning to make a post about this for DIY beginners who want to try this alteration. I am not a tailor, but I've done it about 15 - 20 times. Stay tuned if you're interested and not in a rush to do it yourself... It's never as easy as it looks in youtube videos etc., so if you are going to try following that guide, expect a few snags along the way and start with shirts you don't mind losing.

 

[kdv10]

Hello there!

I've learned a lot from reading this thread and I can't help but to thank all of the tailors for their advice on all of these fit posts. It is very educational.

Now I have a question regarding how my trousers fit me. I've noticed when looking from behind, there is excess fabric around my butt area. I've seen fit photos of others where this is not the case. Some trousers have more excess fabric than others.

I've circled the area in question. This trouser was straight out of the box and no alterations done (yet). Can someone explain to me what is going on here? All of my trousers seems to be like this. Is this a fixable thing or will it require major surgery and not worth it?

I've taken pictures of the front and side as well. The front and side look ok to me, but I may be missing something. Advice much appreciated! Thanks.

 

[antipode]

Hello All,
Long time lurker here, but I have made some purchases recently and I wondered what you make of them.
I'm pretty tall - 6'3" - so find buying clothes a challenge.

This is a summer wool suit with a completely unstructured jacked from Liberty:



And here's a coat, also from Liberty:

The lighting in the second one isn't so good, but it does show the fit better (and make my shoes look shinier!)

The shirt I'm wearing is from Nino's:


Many thanks!!

PS. The shoes are Barker Hand Crafted.