Are vintage Burberry trenches easily altered?

apropos · Dec 13, 2008

Thinking of getting one off eBay and then altering it to make it more fitted, and perhaps a little shorter as well.

Has anyone else tried this before, or even just altered their standard Burberry trenches? Is this easy to do, or does the material/construction somehow make this difficult?

Would appreciate any input anyone could offer. Thanks!

babygreenspots · Dec 13, 2008

I've been wondering about this too. This seems like something it would be very difficult to have custom-made except at extremely high cost.

Making the sleeves longer would probably be impossible though. This would make it almost impossible for me.

Bird's One View · Dec 13, 2008

I briefly had a Burberry whose sleeves had been lengthened. A strip of lining that didn't quite match the original sleeve lining had been added. From the outside it looked okay, although if you thought about it you realized there was a longer-than-normal distance from the wrist strap to the sleeve end.

I'd bet the alteration was done when the coat was new. You wouldn't want to try it if there were any wear on the cuffs.

apropos · Dec 13, 2008

Originally Posted by Bird's One View

I briefly had a Burberry whose sleeves had been lengthened. A strip of lining that didn't quite match the original sleeve lining had been added. From the outside it looked okay, although if you thought about it you realized there was a longer-than-normal distance from the wrist strap to the sleeve end. I'd bet the alteration was done when the coat was new. You wouldn't want to try it if there were any wear on the cuffs.
Would you foresee any problems with, say, taking th coat in at the seams? In other words, were there any construction (e.g. belt loops, pockets) that would have made taking the side seams in difficult?

whacked · Dec 13, 2008

Originally Posted by apropos

Thinking of getting one off eBay and then altering it to make it more fitted, and perhaps a little shorter as well.

Burberry trenches come in a variety of length, so with some patience, chances are that you can snag something close to desired specs.

If properly sized, I wouldn't bother taking in the body in as they often come with belt. But if you really want having one altered, it shouldn't be any harder than taking in a jacket. Belt loops can be moved if necessary.

jkidd41011 · Dec 13, 2008

I agree with Whacked about the patience aspect and being able to find a deal. I have been searching here and on e-bay for one, and low and behold one shows up in a local consignment store for $99.99. It's the long double breasted version in brown with the wool warmer and looks like new. As I'm looking at it I notice it's missing the belt. I have them hold it until the next day and do some searching and determined something comparable new would be in the $1,200 range so I decide to get it. As I was paying for it I asked if they could take anything off since it was missin the belt, and they knocked $20.00 off.

Another thing is I would go by the fit and not necessarily the listed size. Mine is listed as a 42L and I am wearing a 46 suit now. The fit is excellent. If this would have been on E-Bay I wouldn't have looked at it because I would have assumed it was too small.

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Are vintage Burberry trenches easily altered?

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