Alterations

[Guest]

Bought my first bespoke a couple of years ago and have been delighted by it. Over the last year I have lost some weight and it doesn't fit as perfectly as it did. Can anyone advise me whether it is a good idea to have it altered, or will this spoil the original cut?

[Guest]

Ask your tailor.

[Guest]

bespoke suits can be altered the same way rtw suits are.

AD

[Guest]

I would say that, on the contrary, rtw suits can be altered the same way bespoke suits are!

If you lost weight, it certainly won't be a problem. If you gained weight, the suit can be altered if sufficient allowance was left at the seams (bespoke tailors usually leave enough). The changes should not affect the overall aspect of the suit, but they do need to be performed by a good tailor.
Surprisingly, a couple of jackets I have had altered actually look better than at the time they were made.

Costi

[Guest]

From my own experience, I don't think that bespoke tailors leave enough leaway for substantial expansion. but, when they do (and they might) there is no reason to suppose that it shouldn't be possible.
NJS

[Guest]

i have seen enough asian m2m garments. a very high percent of them have been cut with seam allowances skimped down to the bone.

AD

[Guest]

I would leave enough inlay inside my bespoke garments so if you were to put on a stone, the trousers and jacket could be let out, on semi bespoke garments there would be enough to let out if you were to put on half a stone.

GS Tailor

[Guest]

Perhaps I should add that some tailors, even when they do leave sufficient allowance at the seams of coats, tend to cut (clip) them so they don't pull, which renders them useless with respect to alterations...
You really need to unstitch the lining and have a tailor look inside the coat before you know if your suit can suffer alterations, what kind and to what extent.

Costi

[Guest]

Yet another reason to take the clothes back to the original tailor.

I have had a tailor other than the original alter clothes -- twice. Fortunately, the altering tailor was very good; unfortunately, his services were very expensive.

RWS

[Guest]

Perhaps I should add that some tailors, even when they do leave sufficient allowance at the seams of coats, tend to cut (clip) them so they don't pull, which renders them useless with respect to alterations...
You really need to unstitch the lining and have a tailor look inside the coat before you know if your suit can suffer alterations, what kind and to what extent.

Costi

you are right. i have seen that cut at the waist line often, western tailors dont do this its a asian thing.

[Guest]

It may not be western school to clip the seam allowances, but it is ceetainly done west of Asia. Romanian tailoring is mostly French and German school.

Costi