Is it possible to resize a collar and/or cuffs?

[marks]

I have a shirt with a collar that's slightly under 15.5 but not quite the 15 fit that I need. Can a tailor reduce the size of the collar? It also has very large french cuffs that would benefit from being reduced in circumference.

Has anyone had these sorts of things done to their shirts before?

[SouthPender]

Well, the simple, inelegant solution to reducing a collar is to move the collar button over by a small amount, like 1/4". This will cinch the collar up just a little tighter. I suspect that 1/4" might be the maximum amount that is feasible with this approach, since any more than that would likely throw the collar attachment too far out of alignment with that of the next button, but you can certainly pick up that much reduction with this approach. Another sort of brute-force approach would be to wash the shirt in hot water and then throw it into a dryer at the hottest setting. This will definitely produce shrinkage, some of which will occur in the collar (and some in the cuffs too), although more will occur in the sleeve length, so that this might be risky (unless you would like maybe 1/4" - 1/2" reduction in the sleeve length). This is pure conjecture, but I wonder whether it might be possible to soak the collar in hot water and then dry in a hot dryer to shrink only this part of the shirt. Somehow I have a feeling that a certain NYC shirtmaker of note may suffer apoplexy upon reading this, but in theory, and without further analysis, it seems reasonable.

[marks]

Thanks for the tip SouthPender. I think I've shrunk it as far as it will go. I normally wouldn't have bought it given the fit but I was very attracted to the fabric.

[Costi]

I would say leave the collar as it is, because there is nothing really you could do about it (except moving the button a bit, as Southpender already suggested), or it would most certainly cost you more than it’s worth. You would have to take the collar completely apart, shorten it, shorten the collar band, undo the shoulder seams, take in a few milimiters on each side towards the collar only to narrow the fronts and back for the shorter collarband… really you don’t want to do this!
As for the cuffs, if they are really large you could have one end cut (with the respective set of buttonholes), a new edge sewn to the cuff where you cut it, new buttonholes sewn into the fabric, an extra pleat (or deepen the existing ones) on the sleeve where it meets the cuff and voila! - you have adjusted your cuffs. If they are not so wide that you can cut off that approx. 1 inch of fabric, then forget about it.

[ThomasG]

Can a tailor reduce the size of the collar? It also has very large french cuffs that would benefit from being reduced in circumference.

Has anyone had these sorts of things done to their shirts before?

I've have on various occasions sent shirts back to the shirtmaker to have either collar or cuff modified for size. The body of the shirt was not affected. This is really a job for a shirtmaker and it will not be inexpensive. For instance, Turnbull&Asser charges $80 each for collar and cuff replacement, though you may be able to find someone cheaper.

[Ernest]

Could always just go for detachable collars ,and collar studs, that way a lot easier

Pip-Pip

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