How many of your closest male friends have been going back and forth about deciding whether to throw a perfectly good shirt away because of a missing button or nasty rip? Mending your own clothes or taking a slightly imperfect piece of clothing into the tailor to make it fit perfectly on you is a great attribute for every resourceful gentleman. However, clothing alterations should not be done by just anybody claiming to be a tailor. So, how can you pick the best tailor to help fix or totally transform your pieces from good to modern, perfectly-fitting and awesome-looking? Here is what you should know before searching for the perfect tailor and how to tell an expertly-trained tailor from an average sewing professional.
Where to Start: Evaluate your Wardrobe
Do you have jackets or shirts that have started to show some wear? Decide if they will stay or go. It may be a hard decision, yet absolutely necessary at this point. If they need repair, set them aside and organize your time to have them fixed (or even fix them yourself). Your wardrobe should only have your best items, even if that means it has six shirts or up to forty. As for sentimental shirts, do keep them; just make sure they are properly maintained so you can wear them for long.
Now, if your closet is full of secondhand suits that are quite big in the shoulders, sports jackets that are too long or blazers that you purchased because they were on sale, although they were a tad too tight in the torso, then think if it’s really worth the effort. If they need too many alterations to fit good on you, you may end up spending too much for no good reason. You see, a good tailor will manage to save your jacket that’s just had a small tear and make the pants that are too snug look better on you, but if you are asking him to redesign an entirely ill-fitting suit, you are asking for a miracle. So, understanding modifications will allow you to make wiser purchases in the future.
Alterations you can have
Many garments that don’t fit well (i.e. too long sleeves, too little/much room in the seat area of the pants or excess blousing around the torso) can be adjusted to look better on you. You can sort out the pair of pants or shirt with the ideal fit on you and then have a tailor match your other pants or shirts to that pattern. One thing to consider, though, before deciding to alter your garments is the cost of the alterations. If it exceeds what you have paid for the pieces, you may need to re-evaluate your decision. Undoubtedly, you will find tailors that will modify your pieces on a budget, but chances are you will not be satisfied with the work done, especially on the more challenging tasks, such as shoulder modifications.
Again, use your judgment when purchasing clothes because it’ll be sad to realize that they can’t be modified past a certain point (i.e. a jacket 2 inches short cannot be lengthened because there is just not enough fabric to support such alteration or simply because the structural build of the piece doesn’t allow it). Of course, there are exceptions to every rule and there are expert tailors that will do wonders on garments with tough needs. However, the average sewing professional prefers to stay within their comfort zone and not get their hands on something that challenging.
Tip: If the fabric is not there, a tailor’s hands are tied. He can’t open up a pair of trousers or extend a sleeve. So, if you buy pieces that will need to be enlarged, make sure they have, at least, ¾-1 ¼ inch of excess fabric along the seams. Also, a jacket that needs to be shortened by 2 inches is doable, but the reposition of the pockets may not be (for a gent south of 5 foot). It is also extremely difficult to bring it in more than 2 inches (for thin gentlemen). In the latter case, the pockets may be moved to a point that ruins the design of the clothing.
How to find the best tailor
Since there is no going back after an alteration is made, it is critical to find the best tailor out there to ensure your attire is in good hands. Of course, the skill level of the professional doing the work is THE most important thing to consider. But, before you do anything else:
1. Do your homework – Determine what you want and feel free to ask as many questions necessary to see whether one is blowing smoke or not.
2. Ask for recommendations – Friends, family members and anyone that has had their clothes altered is your go-to sources, for starts.
3. Check how you and the tailor communicate – Does the tailor give you a considerable amount of time to discuss exactly what you need? If you feel rushed, then walk away. Can he match what you want when repeating your order? If yes, it’s a good sign. If you are also pushed into fits and styles that weren’t your actual design, turn your back on that tailor. How you look is your decision alone and a trained tailor should know that, although they can point out any problems or errors with your requests if they break common pattern aesthetics or style, but again, that’s as far as he can go.
4. Examine their handiwork – Look at both the inside and outside seam and stitching work and compare them with detailed photos of what’s supposed to be the right tailored stitch work. Details make the difference.
5. Check accessibility– Being available is crucial, especially when you want some help in case of an emergency.
Skill Level per Alteration
◊ Zipper and button replacements, jacket sleeve length, and trouser leg length are all basic and simple alterations that you can easily do yourself.
◊ If you need modifications to fix the neck roll, taper trouser legs or a shirt, add darts, open up or bring in a pair of trousers of the torso of a jacket, shorten a shirt sleeve, replace a shirt collar or alter a jacket’s sleeve length, then a tailor with medium skills will do the work just fine.
◊ If your jacket’s length or sleeve (lined or with working buttons) needs altering or you want to reduce shirt shoulders or reline the jacket or correct the jacket for arm pitch or fix small holes (re-weave), you need a highly skilled tailor as these tasks require more expertise; hence are more costly.
◊ Finally, anything that has to do with adjusting the shoulders or altering the posture of a jacket should only be done by expert tailors.
What is usually NOT repairable
Fabrics that have been burned after ironing, large holes (>1 ½ inches in circumference), fibers that have been exposed to acid or alkaline and demonstrate severe weakening of the fibers, long tears that don’t follow the seam and threadbare are usually not fixable.