Advice requested re first bespoke jacket
Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2011 11:11 am
I've just taken delivery of my first ever bespoke commission (a single breasted 2 button tweed jacket). I had read enough on forums to know that this would be a learning experience so I would appreciate some help in making sure I learn all the lessons that I can from my first experience.
Unfortunately the result at this stage is a jacket that I would never wear. I paid my balance and took the jacket away on the basis that I couldn't immediately put my finger on what made it look so wrong to me in the fitting room and that maybe after a bit or breaking in and my getting used to it then it might start to look better to me. I am not laying blame with the tailor, they didn't push me out of the door and are anxious that I come back if I'm not happy, and I can't fault the construction. I believe that the issues are down to a combination of my failing to give clear enough specifications for certain features, my making a wrong decision in one very unfortunate area (because it is probably pretty much impossible to fix), and maybe I should have insisted on an initial forward fitting rather than going from basted straight to final (more on that later).
Now that I've had a few hours at home to look more carefully I can identify 4 issues that trouble me and it would be helpful to know at what stage I could/should have caught and adjusted these during the process and also how easy they are to fix now. The issues are as follows:
1) The first and most glaring issue is that the quarters are pretty much totally closed which makes the jacket look extremey unbalanced, it's almost as if I'm wearing a butcher's apron or maternity smock. I assume that this is easy to fix since mercifully opening closed quarters is cutting away material whereas closing very open quarters would be far more problematic and probably impossible in most cases.
2) The second issue is that the front of the jacket is slightly too short, probably by about half an inch. I would have thought that there is enough extra fabric at the front to extend the length but I'm not sure how that throws off the canvassing.
3) Unfortunately the third issue that leaps out at me is pretty much impossible to fix. I specified slightly hacked pockets and I now find that I really do dislike them. Maybe I will find them less offensive with the quarters opened up because at the moment the hacking, coupled with the fact that the pockets seem to be set at least an inch higher than on my other jackets, emphasises the expanse of fabric on the skirt and makes me look pregnant which is quite a feat since I am 5 foot 8, weigh 135 lbs and have a very flat stomach (not quite a six pack but, when I'm in shape, it's pretty close).
4) The waist suppression (which I like and which seems to me to be perfectly judged) is at my natural waist but the buttoning point (the upper of the two buttons) is about 1.5 or 2 inches above my natural waist. This seems slightly strange to me since I though that the buttoning point was always supposed to be at the natural waist. Since the buttonholes are cut I assume that this is also pretty much impossible to fix and on its own it's not an "I can't wear this" level of fault for me but more an area where I would pay more attention in the future. Unfortunately for this particular jacket the combination of no quarters, high hacking pockets and the higher buttoning point all combine to create a hugely bulbous skirt at the front.
From pictures it appears to me that often the first forward fitting doesn't have button holes cut so had I asked for three fittings rather than two then I could have caught point (4) (had I been experienced enough to look for it). Are pockets typically cut at the first forward fitting or are their positions mocked up by tacking on the pocket flaps but no pockets actually cut? If this was the case then I could also have caught point (3) at this stage.
For the length and quarters I assume this is something that is often tweaked and it was possibly my inexperience that made me not notice the effect during the basted fitting. We did discuss length (point 2) during the basted fitting and agree to lengthen it (to the middle joint of my thumbs) but the final length is short of this mark so that is the one thing that isn't my fault but I suspect it's also not fair to say it's the tailor's fault either. I suspect that these sorts of fine tuning adjustments often need more than one attempt to get right and are routinely tweaked again at a fitting subsequent to the basted fitting. A first forward fitting would definitely have given another opportunity to spot this but I suspect that here there is no real lesson to learn apart from "this is a fairly normal part of the process". Please correct me if I am wrong.
I'm now left with something of a dilemma. I need to make a judgement as to whether (a) addressing the first two issues (the quarters and the front length) will result in a jacket that, although carrying a few mistakes, is one that I would be willing to wear in public or (b) the issue with the pockets and/or buttoning point would still bug me so much that I would never wear the jacket. If (a) then clearly I go back and get the adjustments done. If (b) then it seems a bit of a waste of the tailor's time doing the adjustments and I might as well discuss a price for pretty much starting again. I suspect that there is so little that could be reused (apart from the experience) that the price would be very close to a brand new commission in which case I would probably be better doing a brand new commission so that I can get a feel for how a second fabric looks when made up rather than reworking the same fabric as before.
The good news is that the shoulders are one area that has always been an issue for me on RTW stuff and the shoulders on my new jacket seem very good to me. Also, I really like the fabric; more so that I expected after first seeing it at the basted fitting.
The above is a rather long post with few specific questions (only the ones about the status of the pockets and button holes on a first forward fitting) but if anyone has any general observations, wants to correct any of the terminology that I have used, or has answers to my specific questions then all input would be gratefully received.
- Julian
Unfortunately the result at this stage is a jacket that I would never wear. I paid my balance and took the jacket away on the basis that I couldn't immediately put my finger on what made it look so wrong to me in the fitting room and that maybe after a bit or breaking in and my getting used to it then it might start to look better to me. I am not laying blame with the tailor, they didn't push me out of the door and are anxious that I come back if I'm not happy, and I can't fault the construction. I believe that the issues are down to a combination of my failing to give clear enough specifications for certain features, my making a wrong decision in one very unfortunate area (because it is probably pretty much impossible to fix), and maybe I should have insisted on an initial forward fitting rather than going from basted straight to final (more on that later).
Now that I've had a few hours at home to look more carefully I can identify 4 issues that trouble me and it would be helpful to know at what stage I could/should have caught and adjusted these during the process and also how easy they are to fix now. The issues are as follows:
1) The first and most glaring issue is that the quarters are pretty much totally closed which makes the jacket look extremey unbalanced, it's almost as if I'm wearing a butcher's apron or maternity smock. I assume that this is easy to fix since mercifully opening closed quarters is cutting away material whereas closing very open quarters would be far more problematic and probably impossible in most cases.
2) The second issue is that the front of the jacket is slightly too short, probably by about half an inch. I would have thought that there is enough extra fabric at the front to extend the length but I'm not sure how that throws off the canvassing.
3) Unfortunately the third issue that leaps out at me is pretty much impossible to fix. I specified slightly hacked pockets and I now find that I really do dislike them. Maybe I will find them less offensive with the quarters opened up because at the moment the hacking, coupled with the fact that the pockets seem to be set at least an inch higher than on my other jackets, emphasises the expanse of fabric on the skirt and makes me look pregnant which is quite a feat since I am 5 foot 8, weigh 135 lbs and have a very flat stomach (not quite a six pack but, when I'm in shape, it's pretty close).
4) The waist suppression (which I like and which seems to me to be perfectly judged) is at my natural waist but the buttoning point (the upper of the two buttons) is about 1.5 or 2 inches above my natural waist. This seems slightly strange to me since I though that the buttoning point was always supposed to be at the natural waist. Since the buttonholes are cut I assume that this is also pretty much impossible to fix and on its own it's not an "I can't wear this" level of fault for me but more an area where I would pay more attention in the future. Unfortunately for this particular jacket the combination of no quarters, high hacking pockets and the higher buttoning point all combine to create a hugely bulbous skirt at the front.
From pictures it appears to me that often the first forward fitting doesn't have button holes cut so had I asked for three fittings rather than two then I could have caught point (4) (had I been experienced enough to look for it). Are pockets typically cut at the first forward fitting or are their positions mocked up by tacking on the pocket flaps but no pockets actually cut? If this was the case then I could also have caught point (3) at this stage.
For the length and quarters I assume this is something that is often tweaked and it was possibly my inexperience that made me not notice the effect during the basted fitting. We did discuss length (point 2) during the basted fitting and agree to lengthen it (to the middle joint of my thumbs) but the final length is short of this mark so that is the one thing that isn't my fault but I suspect it's also not fair to say it's the tailor's fault either. I suspect that these sorts of fine tuning adjustments often need more than one attempt to get right and are routinely tweaked again at a fitting subsequent to the basted fitting. A first forward fitting would definitely have given another opportunity to spot this but I suspect that here there is no real lesson to learn apart from "this is a fairly normal part of the process". Please correct me if I am wrong.
I'm now left with something of a dilemma. I need to make a judgement as to whether (a) addressing the first two issues (the quarters and the front length) will result in a jacket that, although carrying a few mistakes, is one that I would be willing to wear in public or (b) the issue with the pockets and/or buttoning point would still bug me so much that I would never wear the jacket. If (a) then clearly I go back and get the adjustments done. If (b) then it seems a bit of a waste of the tailor's time doing the adjustments and I might as well discuss a price for pretty much starting again. I suspect that there is so little that could be reused (apart from the experience) that the price would be very close to a brand new commission in which case I would probably be better doing a brand new commission so that I can get a feel for how a second fabric looks when made up rather than reworking the same fabric as before.
The good news is that the shoulders are one area that has always been an issue for me on RTW stuff and the shoulders on my new jacket seem very good to me. Also, I really like the fabric; more so that I expected after first seeing it at the basted fitting.
The above is a rather long post with few specific questions (only the ones about the status of the pockets and button holes on a first forward fitting) but if anyone has any general observations, wants to correct any of the terminology that I have used, or has answers to my specific questions then all input would be gratefully received.
- Julian