The London Lounge

Dear Sirs,

I am quite happy to have addressed an 80 years old tailor in Leeds for my very first pair of mtm trousers. I asked them to be without belt loops and I agree this helps keeping the overall aspect of the garment much more tidy.

One problem I have though is that after a day's work sitting at the desk, when I stand up my waistband has severely curled. While this issue would be generally masked by a belt, the lack of it leaves the curled waistband at sight and this is very unsighlty to say the least. How would you advise to sort this problem out?

I was thinking of having two metal hooks at the end of the overlapping waistband bit and very near to the margins, so as to kee the overlap as tightly against the waist as possible.. any other ideas?

Thank you very much.

This is a contruction issue: some tailors prefer rather stiff interlining inside the waistband with (I assume) horsehair, which prevents any creasing or curling. For example, I have never had any problems of this kind with my trousers from Poole.

Others prefer the waistband to be much softer. This can cause the problems you are describing, and any amount of hooks and stitching will not be able to completely resove this issue. Most of these softer waistbands have a button at the end rather than hooks. This resolves the issue.

You were not entirely clear whether your tailor does bespoke or MTM. If the former, it will be possible to use a stiffer waistband. The construction of an MTM garnment on the other hand cannot be altered that easily. You also need to ask yourself whether you would be happy with the added stiffness.

I had this problem with a RTW Paul Stuart trousers and asked my tailors to address it. They suggested the same solution as they usually use for my bespoke ones: the firming tape to be inserted in the high of the waistband. It's not that intricate as with Poole's but serves the purpose.
However that would not be the case if you prefer the softer waist.