What caused my bespoke suit to fit differently?

[lullemans72]

Hi guys,

I haven't posted a thread here in quite a while, but this topic warranted it.

Here's the backstory: I had my very first bespoke suit made back in 2019 here in Japan where I live. It's been an absolute pleasure wearing something that is made to fit me so closely.

This week, after a 6 month hiatus, I took out my suit from my closet to wear it to the office, so I was really looking forward to it. As I was getting ready in the morning, I noticed something rather strange in the mirror: the left lapel on my suit didn't seem nice and flatly aligned like the right lapel. It had this "dent" in it which you usually see with cheaper, ill fitting suits.

Shocked at the sight of this, and not knowing why it only happened on one side, I decided during my lunch break to head over to the tailor who made my suit. I was told that it might be because I gained some weight around the waist which is why the suit fits differently now, but he assured me it was not a problem: he could somewhat fix the issue by moving the position of the buttons 5 millimeters.

Later that day, I picked up the suit from the tailor after work, and although still visible, the change in button stance definitely made the dent in the left lapel less obvious. The tailor added that he could completely remove the dent if I wanted to, but I would have to compromise on the suit's silhouette as he would have to take out some of the fabric in the back, inevitably making the suit look more boxy.

For reference, I'm posting a photo from when the suit was made back in 2019 where you can see the lapels draping very nicely over my upper torso, as well as a photo I took yesterday AFTER the tailor made the adjustments to the buttons. You can still see a slight gap in the lapel.

My questions to you guys on the forum are:
-Did this happen because I gained or lost weight?
-Why did it only happen on one side and not the other?

 

[JohnMRobie]

Are you talking about the lapel bowing out and lifting off your chest?

 

[lullemans72]

Are you talking about the lapel bowing out and lifting off your chest?

Yes, that's what I was trying to say.

 

[JohnMRobie]

I believe bowing is usually a sign of tightness in the jacket somewhere - Chest, shoulders, etc. so what your tailor diagnosed it as makes sense to me.

When we gain weight the mass it isn't always distributed evenly. Could have gained more mass on one side or the other if it's only one side. I'm not a tailor so can't diagnose it for sure or offer suggestions but you can ask the tailors thread for ideas. https://www.styleforum.net/threads/...ck-and-alteration-suggestions.265924/page-663

 

[lullemans72]

Gaining weight unevenly is an interesting concept. Hadn't thought about that.

Thanks for the link to the thread! I had no idea there was a thread like that on here. Will check it out.