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As a tailor, we often get fit related questions. You can visit a tailor because your measurements have changed or because you want a different fit. As a tailor, I think it is important to clearly explain to customers how sizes relate to styles and fits.
If you really want everything in your suit, jacket or trousers to fit 100% and with the details you want, you will have to have it tailor-made from scratch and visit a bespoke tailor.
If you look at the suit style of the past, it is a different fit than we see a lot now. The fit was wider, jackets longer, trousers were worn higher. Nowadays suits are cut much slimmer.
It may be that you still have an old suit that you used to wear with great pleasure, but have recently left it hanging in the closet because it no longer suits your current measurements, taste or clothing style. Or you see a nice jacket in the store that is no longer in your size and, for example, only one size larger.
It's a shame to leave it hanging or not wear it anymore, because otherwise it is (still) a beautiful piece of clothing.
So, time for a visit to the tailor
Here we show you how you can breathe new life into your clothes. So that you can wear it with pleasure again. This way your clothes will last longer and you will enjoy them more. You don't throw away a bicycle if your tire is flat.
Balance: The most important thing is to see what is possible. A suit has a certain balance and within that balance certain alterations are possible or not. This will differ per garment.
In the example here, the sleeve length could easily be adjusted via the shoulder and the length of the jacket itself could also be a lot shorter.
A point of attention here were the patch pockets. These cannot be moved. If you were to move a patch pocket upwards you would encounter the following points:
The pocket would sit above the bottom button, which looks strange because the pocket would start at your waist. This therefore disrupts the balance in your jacket.
Colour difference. Especially with an older jacket, the fabric under the pocket may not have discoloured with the rest of the jacket. You sometimes see this with old suits that are made wider. The seams have never seen daylight on the inside, so they may look much darker than the rest of the fabric.
If the fabric is not discoloured, you could consider cutting the pocket shorter at the bottom. We would not recommend this ourselves, this is also a disruption of balance, only this time of the shape of the pocket itself.
The roundness of how the pocket is cut and the length compared to width will give a less attractive appearance and will not improve the shape of the pocket.
With this jacket, there was some space between the bottom of the jacket and the jacket pocket. We have reduced that distance for this purpose. By shortening the length, but leaving the jacket pocket where it was.
The shortened distance is not disturbing, as a patch pocket is often placed closer to the edge. This ensures that the proportions remain beautiful and makes the whole look more modern.
Taking in the waist:
The next point of attention was to make the jacket more fitting in the waist. Here you will also come across some points about what is and is not possible.
The size of an armhole cannot be adjusted.
If you try to make the armhole of an existing jacket smaller, the sleeve and side panels of your jacket will start to twist. This would cause your seams to no longer sit in the right place. This is not a pretty sight.
That's why we took it in over the back seam on this jacket, so we could still get rid of some of the excess space on the back and armholes. We included the waist to make the jacket follow the body a little more. This is also possible up to a certain limit, as we cannot make the armhole smaller. If you take in the waist to an extreme, the armhole would only appear wider and larger. So it is also important to keep an eye on what is possible.
This may differ per jacket and taste. Some people would prefer to leave the jacket straighter, so that the size of the armholes is not as noticeable, others take the space on the upper back for granted and still want it to be tight at the waist and have less difficulty with the V shape that you create with it.
To find out what is possible for your clothing, it is useful to stand in front of a mirror together with a tailor who understands proportions of the body. You can then, at your own leisure, indicate what your wishes are and, in consultation with the tailor, choices can be made about what is possible and would give the best result for what you want with your clothing.
