Tailoring a mediorce fitting suit VS. selling it to buy a new suit?

[Hexenmeister]

I bought my first suit a little over a year ago; it's a three-piece grey suit from Alfani's Red line of menswear. I was satisfied at the time, though I always felt the fit of the jacket and waistcoat were always just too big. This sentiment has been enhanced by my recent purchase of a custom cut suit from Indochino. Now that I know what a properly cut suit should fit like, I just don't like the fit of my grey suit. I've been thinking of my options, which have come down to either having the jacket and waistcoat tailored to fit better, or trying to sell the suit so I can buy a new one to match my measurements.

My main problem with the tailoring approach is that the whole suit cost me under $300, and what the price of tailoring the jacket and waistcoat could be. It cost me $15 just to have the waist of a pair of pants let out an inch; so I know having a jacket taken in at the waist and chest, having the sleeves shortened and armholes made smaller, getting the jacket shortened by an inch or so, and having the shoulders fixed a little (the padding seriously juts out an inch-and-a-half beyond my shoulders) will cost a few bills. It may not even be possible to do all that to a jacket without ruining it. Then there's the waistcoat to deal with and having the pants shortened to a medium or no break.

All this is compounded by the fact that there are no tailors in this area who can really help consult on the issue. They all just expect me to know everything that needs to be done at that moment. I need someone to help me figure out what I need to have done.

In the end is it more cost effective to just sell the suit and buy a new one?

 

[Feraud]

In the end is it more cost effective to just sell the suit and buy a new one?

Yes!

 

[Chasseur]

Unless its special item, or is a simple tailoring job (hem trousers, let out waist, etc.), tailoring can reach the point of deminishing returns.

A particular problem I have is slightly longer arms than is standard in vintage jackets for my size. So most things I buy have to have the sleaves let down. The one local tailor who does this well charges $30 for this, so just about any time I buy a vintage jacket I generally have to factor this in.

 

[singlechange]

Agree with Ferard. Once you have experienced a custom, made to measure or bespoke suit, hard to go back to off the rack menswear. I live in a fairly large city and my tailor is highly skilled and if you were to have your Alfani suit done there with all the alterations you mentioned, the alteration cost could easily be equal to original price of your suit.

 

[Hexenmeister]

Agree with Ferard. Once you have experienced a custom, made to measure or bespoke suit, hard to go back to off the rack menswear. I live in a fairly large city and my tailor is highly skilled and if you were to have your Alfani suit done there with all the alterations you mentioned, the alteration cost could easily be equal to original price of your suit.

Thanks, guys. I think I see eBay in my near future.

Edit: I've decided to give mine fellow loungers first pick, if anyone is interested.
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=51525

 

[GBR]

You won't get much for it second hand - very little inherent value. If however you just want to cut your losses and $20 appeals then eBay.

 

[Orgetorix]

If the shoulders don't fit, pass or get rid of it without a second thought.

If the chest doesn't fit, think about it for a few seconds, and then get rid of it.

If shoulders and chest are OK but the waist needs work, begin to consider the quality of the suit and whether it's worth sinking in the necessary money to have it properly tailored.

When I'm thrifting, my thinking goes like this: If it fits perfectly and it's something I'll wear, I'll buy it even if it's mediocre quality (Joseph A. Bank, for example). But I wouldn't buy the same suit or coat if it needed alterations--the quality just isn't high enough to make it worth the money. A JAB suit is a good deal at $10, but not at $80 after the tailoring bill.

High-quality items, on the other hand, I'll buy even if they don't fit perfectly, if I think my tailor can get them to fit me. A $20 thrift store Oxxford is still a great deal even after a $100 or $150 tailoring bill.

If an item doesn't fit me and can't be made to, I'll only buy if it's old enough ('50s or older) or a recognizeable enough name brand to resell well here or on other forums. I've left beautiful suits from makers like Samuelsohn and H. Freeman & Sons hanging on the rack because I knew there wouldn't be enough resale interest to make it worth my time.

 

[Bourbon Guy]

When in doubt about such matters, ask Feraud, then just do what he tells you.

Sow's ear purses always end up being too expensive.

 

[CLShaeffer]

Apologies for raising an old thread, but my question seems to fit here and I haven't seen it directly addressed elsewhere.

I was recently given a small fortune in jackets and pants that *almost* fit. The pants can be let out so no worries there. The jackets fit my upper body and waist *perfectly* but the sleeves are a little too long (up to an inch) and the coats overall length... 1 to 1 1/2 inches too long for me to curl my fingers around it. Quite a bit too long, really, and that's my concern. Being relatively short (5' 6") and not particularly athletic, a jacket that is too long looks a bit silly.

One is a tux and, as I said, fits my upper body perfectly. I'd really like to be able to make that work as I highly doubt I'll have the cash to throw at one later. If not, there is no reason for me to hold on to them or shell out for the few minor repairs they also need.

The question: is it at all possible to reduce the length of the coats? And trim 3/4" to 1" off the sleeves? Everything else falls in the right place - waist line and buttons, shoulders, collar, etc. I have no idea if such an alteration is feasible, though. My friend had my build when the suits were tailored to him - but he's a good inch or 2 taller with longer arms compared to his torso.

If its possible the challenge will then be finding a tailor who can and will do it here in the Islands. I'll probably have to take them to Oahu, at least, unless there is some hidden gem of a tailor here on the Big Island. [huh]

 

[Tomasso]

Where your hands fall on the jacket skirt is not an accurate indicator of proper length. Better (but not perfect) would be to measure from the jacket collar seam to the floor and divide by two....this number being your jacket lenght.

If you would like some opinions reguarding fit, post some photos(front, side and back).....jacket buttoned with your hands at your side.

 

[BanjoMerlin]

The question: is it at all possible to reduce the length of the coats? And trim 3/4" to 1" off the sleeves?

These used to be very common alterations included in the cost of a new suit. It shouldn't be too difficult to find a tailor who can do them.

 

[Undertow]

My arms are longer than most suit jackets allow, but to move up to an XL in arm length is typically too much (I'm a 37 length in properly fitting shirts).

I agree with Chasseur that it seems tailors charge around $30 to let sleeves out. I imagine it would be the same to take them up, although that may be inaccurate as I don't believe as much work goes into taking them up as letting them out.

As far as reducing the length of the entire jacket, I would make a phone call to see what a local tailor is willing to charge. My experience with most tailors is that a jacket is usually the hardest and most expensive thing to fix.

fftopic:

Which reminds me just how badly I fit into everything. I'm in between 7 1/2 to 7 5/8 hats (I think a 7 1/2 LO may resolve the issue); a well fitting shirt for me is around 17.5 37, but I have broad shoulders which sometimes forces me into a 38 because some shirts just don't have the room in the shoulders; I need to lose a considerable amount of weight lately, but in any case, my slacks are 42/34 - good luck, best I can do is 42/32; and jackets - good god! I'm a 48L athletic fit, which means I have big shoulders. So I have to buy 50L jackets and tailor them down in the middle to a 48. :rage:

Vintage? Fat chance! I'm too tall, and too fat!

 

[CLShaeffer]

Thanks for the info, all. I'll take pictures after the day is done here.

For measuring length from collar to floor, do you measure with with shoes on or not? Depending on the shoe that could add a bit to your height.

edit: Bah. Nevermind. Threw a jacket on and took a couple full length pictures before heading out and its quite clear that the V of the jacket is too long, buttons too low. Its not as apparent when just looking at the top half of your body which is where I spent most of my time with theses coats - and I've spent years in longer field coats so I'm used to a longer look. These won't work for me. Oh, well.

 

[acl1]

An excellent tailor can adjust the button stance if it is too low, but I suppose this adds to the number of alterations you already have to do.

 

[Tomasso]

An excellent tailor can adjust the button stance

And what would he do with the button holes? Just curious...........

 

[Torpedo]

And what would he do with the button holes? Just curious...........

Right. A competent tailor can alter the button (and lapel) stance from a 2 button to a 3 button, for instance, but the buttonholes prevent doing the reverse operation.

 

[Torpedo]

And what would he do with the button holes? Just curious...........

Right. A competent tailor can alter the button (and lapel) style from a 2 button to a 3 button, for instance, but the buttonholes would prevent doing the reverse operation, as would altering the button stance proportion.

 

[dogrocketp]

I'm going to approach this from a slightly different point of view. I never expect anything off the rack to fit me properly, just because it doesn't. I always want to look well, so I have one (& only one) tailor I'll take my clothes to. I'll only buy vintage or used that I'll be happy with, factoring in a tailoring bill of about $100. I check the clothes carefully before I buy. If it's amazing (got a custom made suit for $30 once), I'll buy it & just pay the tailor bill. Most people I know buy close to fit & settle for something that just doesn't quite cut it, because they don't want to pay a tailor to make it fit properly. If you really want to be stylish, have things altered to fit you, unless you're one of those people I hate who can buy off the rack beautifully. The rest of us need a good tailor, good sense, and good taste for our own physiques. I'm a clothes junkie who tries to read every book on clothing that I can lay my hands on. To me, the goal is to look better & spend less money than most people, just because I don't have the dough!