The Tailors' Thread: Fit Feedback and Alteration Suggestions

[dukeaw]

Armhole cut high from the get go. I raise my arm, no movement of the shoulder. Perfect line.
All credit for this goes to Frank Shattuck, who hammered this point on my brain until I got it

Is this fit of the armhole something that can be done comfortably with a mtm garment vs a full bespoke? I am working with a local tailor on my suits and would like to achieve something like this without stepping up to his bespoke, as its twice the price. He makes the mtm garments in house

Here is the calculation we used for my armholes, but I still dont get results like yours:

1/8 chest + 1/16 height + 0.5cm

I’m a 41 inch chest. I’m 70 inches tall. That would put the armhole at 5.125 inches+4.375 inches + .2 inches = ~9.75 inches.

 

[ChasingStyle]

Is this fit of the armhole something that can be done comfortably with a mtm garment vs a full bespoke? I am working with a local tailor on my suits and would like to achieve something like this without stepping up to his bespoke, as its twice the price. He makes the mtm garments in house

Here is the calculation we used for my armholes, but I still dont get results like yours:

1/8 chest + 1/16 height + 0.5cm

I’m a 41 inch chest. I’m 70 inches tall. That would put the armhole at 5.125 inches+4.375 inches + .2 inches = ~9.75 inches.

I'm no expert in MTM, so my educated guess is that the answer depends on how close the pattern is to your actual body, and how much adjustments the tailor will do at cutting time.

As I understand it, usually MTM patterns will have a wider armhole, to allow for a more "universal fit", so if the MTM approach is to cut the pattern that fits your size, and then adjust at 1st fitting, the armhole will have already been cut to big for what you want.

Now, if you get them to already cut a tighter armhole from the pattern they have, then you'll get what you want.

I'm sure others can give you a better answer.

 

[buddyfuzz]

For people who know about shortening the back rise on pants to clean up excess fabric under the seat, is this the correct alteration?

Should I only need to remove the back of the waistband in this case? The pants in actually have slightly lower than normal pocket placement for some reason, so that shouldn't present too much of an issue aesthetically.

Or have I completely misunderstood this?

 

[Megakurth]

Just got my new jacket from Sartoria Pastena Elegance in Minnis Mockleno special run from the forum

Overall happy. Slight roll on the collar which may be from it being too short, but for some reason with any maker I seem to run into the same issue. Haven’t pressed yet. I welcome any feedback.

shirt and pants @luxire and tie from @Drakes

 

[Despos]

Just got my new jacket from Sartoria Pastena Elegance in Minnis Mockleno special run from the forum

Overall happy. Slight roll on the collar which may be from it being too short, but for some reason with any maker I seem to run into the same issue. Haven’t pressed yet. I welcome any feedback.

shirt and pants @luxire and tie from @Drakes

View attachment 1537931View attachment 1537932View attachment 1537933View attachment 1537934View attachment 1537935

Looks good. Doubt this cloth needs pressing, wrinkles should fall out. What was the process to get this? Did they fit you or was it all done online?

 

[Megakurth]

Looks good. Doubt this cloth needs pressing, wrinkles should fall out. What was the process to get this? Did they fit you or was it all done online?

Found on Instagram originally. Process was all on done online. I took some basic measurements (shoulders, chest, length to thumb, etc) along with photos for posture, sleeve pitch, etc and discussed everything via WhatsApp. Some of the process is nebulous but I believe it’s a father/son operation in Napoli. I’d receive video and photo updates regularly.

 

[ebayhtl]

Hi guys,
Is there any hope for a repair for the below holes in the back of the right sleeve of a blazer (snagged it on something last year)? One is half inch in length and one is just over 1 inch in length.
If so, let me know how to do it, or is this something that most alteration tailors can do? Thanks!

 

[Megakurth]

Hi guys,
Is there any hope for a repair for the below holes in the back of the right sleeve of a blazer (snagged it on something last year)? One is half inch in length and one is just over 1 inch in length.
If so, let me know how to do it, or is this something that most alteration tailors can do? Thanks!

View attachment 1539191

A reweaver might be able to fix that, but it’s not going to be cheap. I’ve had success before with similar holes from French-American reweaving in NYC. It was pricey and on a solid color, but very hard to notice. They’ll usually evaluate if it’s worth it or not.

 

[dirknowitzki]

Dear forumers,

Just received a Spier & Mackay Neapolitan fit jacket. Here is the side by side comparison with my bespoke jacket made by local tailor. I think sleeves of S&M need to be shorten and the bespoke jacket is a little bit short for me. Personally I feel my bespoke jacket looks weird on me but i can't tell. Maybe the length and buttoning position make it imbalance.

Would appreciate your thoughts on both jackets, and see if can be improved by an alteration tailor.

Best regards
Jeff

 

[dukeaw]

Dear forumers,

Just received a Spier & Mackay Neapolitan fit jacket. Here is the side by side comparison with my bespoke jacket made by local tailor. I think sleeves of S&M need to be shorten and the bespoke jacket is a little bit short for me. Personally I feel my bespoke jacket looks weird on me but i can't tell. Maybe the length and buttoning position make it imbalance.

Would appreciate your thoughts on both jackets, and see if can be improved by an alteration tailor.

Best regards
Jeff

The Spier Mackay fits better than the bespoke in several ways... But usually a custom commission has some tweaks

The bespoke fits better in the chest. The spier mckay fits better in the back. They both look good in the shoulders.

The bespoke has an issue with collar roll. The shoulders may not be balanced, but that may be a product of the lighting. Also the bespoke is slightly short.

the SM jacket needs some adjusting to angle of sleeves from looks of it, but also may be product of lighting

The pants need work in the seat. The sagging below your seat needs to be fixed by adjusting the curve of the seat or adjusting the front/back balance

Please repost pics wearing the dress shirt that you plan to wear otherwise no one can judge sleeve length.

 

[Megakurth]

The Spier Mackay fits better than the bespoke in several ways... But usually a custom commission has some tweaks

The bespoke fits better in the chest. The spier mckay fits better in the back. They both look good in the shoulders.

The bespoke has an issue with collar roll. The shoulders may not be balanced, but that may be a product of the lighting. Also the bespoke is slightly short.

the SM jacket needs some adjusting to angle of sleeves from looks of it, but also may be product of lighting

The pants need work in the seat. The sagging below your seat needs to be fixed by adjusting the curve of the seat or adjusting the front/back balance

Please repost pics wearing the dress shirt that you plan to wear otherwise no one can judge sleeve length.

Maybe it’s due to the collar roll, but photos also reflect bit of collar gap/not sitting flush on the Bespoke jacket. Concur on posting with dress shirt

 

[mythage]

Hi guys, this is my first suit from S&M, it's a 38 contemporary. The front fits pretty well to my eye but the back needs work. Is it fixable or should I try a different cut/size down? New to suiting and welcome your feedback - thanks!

 

[CasuallyWorked]

is it possible to hem a pair of cotton twill trousers with cuff already maybe about 1/2 inch shorter, while leaving the cuff the original length 2 inches ? I ask because I am not sure if the crease from the previous cuff will show?

 

[leeyiuwah]

Dear All,

Hi there, I’m posting this to ask for your help and feedback please. I recently tried on this blazer in my normal size of 38 short. Aside from the shoulder divots, are there any other issues that you see with this blazer? Also, are the shoulder divots “fixable”? Thank you for your time and help in advance!

 

[GaiusM]

Hello All,

This is my first MTM jacket. I got it in October and since then have grown increasingly dissatisfied with it. The tailor specializes in drape cuts which is what I wanted but the final product does not look at all like any others I have seen. My main issues are:
1 - the pinching and borderline horizontal 'stripe' at the buttoning point. Too small? I gained no weight between fittings
2 - the strong creasing on the arms. It is Harris tweed and I expected little to no wrinkling due to the properties of the fabric. These wrinkles showed up the first time I wore the jacket and I have never been able to get them out.
3 - the bagginess in the upper back arms, over the triceps.
4 - the overall shape and profile. I am not overweight and lift and exercise regularly. The profile from the rear looks alright but the front is dumpy at best.

Please let me know if there are any other issues you spot and how many of them are due to the nature of drape cuts or possibly poor tailoring, also how much is fixable. I have taken to wearing it unbuttoned because it looks so off.

Thank you in advance for any advice you can give, this situation has been very disappointing.