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The Modern Guide to The Thing Before Preppy

Thursday, July 22, 2021

Exchange or Tailor?

 

I just received a Cordings jacket that I ordered online. I ordered it in my usual suit size and the sleeve and back length are perfect but it fits very close (tight) in the body. Very fine fabric, but now I'm faced with a dilemma; do I exchange it for a size larger, with sleeves that would be too long, or do I go to a tailor and have the jacket let out so that I actually have some room to breathe?

 

11 comments:

  1. Exchange to be sure. Thank you so very much!

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  2. Yeah, I'll echo that. I've read online that buying a size up and having the tailor take in an item (a bit) usually results in a better fit and appearance than the other way around.

    Best Regards,

    Heinz-Ulrich

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  3. It is like cutting wood. Once it is cut it is hard to make longer. So if it is too tight send it back. You can make the sleeves of the new one shorter.

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  4. Assume you are talking about a sport jacket? The key measurement you need to get right on a sport jacket is the shoulders. If the shoulders are right on your current model you should get the chest let out (assuming you have a decent tailor).

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  5. I know there is at least one haberdasher that has a fine store in Asheville that follows this blog - it’d be interesting to get his take on the question. My friend, my tailor would go with taken in rather than letting
    It out - how much room would you get by letting it out? You know, some items off the rack just don’t fit certain people. That’s a fact - not meant to be a knock on any retailer.

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  6. It's difficult to let a jacket out. It's easy to shorten sleeves.

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  7. Most of Cording's jackets have little material to let them out. They also have working cuffs.

    If the sleeves are too long, they have to be shortened by taking them in at the shoulder. On a checked jacket, the pattern matching with the chest will be lost and it would be very noticeable.

    It would probably be better to exchange a checked jacket for a plain one in a larger size and shorten the sleeves.

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  8. Exchange, absolutely. --Holly in PA

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  9. It's a lot easier to make a large one smaller than it is to make a small one larger.

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  10. It really depends on how skilled your tailor is, and how willing he or she is to do major alterations. The choices are: To let out the jacket at the sides, without altering the shape and curve of the jacket between scye and hem on the sides; Or to get a larger size, then have your tailor take in the sleeves at the shoulder.

    I have a tailor in my small Wiconsin college town whom I have known for decades, and he is the best I have seen in terms of alterations. He has picked the shoulders of three sports jackets/blazers for me over the years and narrowed the shoulders beautifully -- a difficult and demanding alteration. And at a cost that might be a fifth of what a big city tailor would charge. I'm very fortunate!

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