Some members have posted about having their shirts 'tailored' a bit in order to make them less billowy. Can anyone post some pics of shirts they've had this done to? I have several shirts that are a little too billowy and I'd like to bring them in to have this done but not really sure what to ask for.
slightly billowy shirts
zandago
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Some members have posted about having their shirts 'tailored' a bit in order to make them less billowy. Can anyone post some pics of shirts they've had this done to? I have several shirts that are a little too billowy and I'd like to bring them in to have this done but not really sure what to ask for.
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You have two options to take in the shirts waist and chest. (Chest is if you want to.) You can either have them cut in from the side of the waists and recut the fabric to fit you better or you can have darts put in on the back of the shirts. I personally do not like the darts because it ruins the lines of any shirt and puts some rather ugly lines in the back of the shirt. However, the recut usually is a more costly alteration; although, it does make it look better. Also make sure the tailor is not merely cutting the fabric without waist some waist tapering because then the shirt looks kind of cheap.
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If your shirt fits well in the shoulders and about the chest and the billowing becomes problematic just around your abdomen, you might do as I have done...have the shirt taken in at the side seams in that area to provide a better fit and a more tailored look to your shirt. It costs me about $12 to $15 to have a shirt altered in that way.
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I have a short, stocky friend who has his shirts tailored all the time. I don't understand this.
If I need to get off-the-rack shirts tailored, then I am either buying the wrong brand, size or cut.
Get your shirts custom-made instead.
If I need to get off-the-rack shirts tailored, then I am either buying the wrong brand, size or cut.
Get your shirts custom-made instead.
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142 Posts
Depending on your shirt budget, it is usually far more economical to buy a RTW/Off the rack shirt and have it altered. Custom made/MTM is obviously the choice if fit is all that matters; unfortunately, I--and I'm sure a great deal of members--don't have the cash flow to buy all custom made clothes.
Having shirts tapered on the side seams is a very common alteration. Just find a tailor that understands what you want. I have it done all the time due to my skinniness :icon_smile_big:
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Unless you are buying really cheap shirts and altering them, it really is more economical to have shirts made...one of the things rarely discussed is that the "billowy" look isn't always caused by too much fabric around the middle - it is also caused by your posture - I have seen people that wear shirts almost skin tight in the front, then there is a big puff in the back...no matter how much you take the sides in, it won't correct this and actually ends up looking as bad or worse than "puffy" all around. (This is one HUGE benefit to having a professional measure you and make your shirts as opposed to taking your own measurements and sending them in)
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Guess it depends how you define "really cheap"
I buy most of my shirts from Nordstrom. They cost around $60 - less on sale. I have them tapered on th sides and have the arms slimmed down - which costs me $15 to $20 at my tailor.
Maybe $80 dollars makes these shirts "cheap", but they work well for me and for I have yet to find a custom made shirt for the same price that will be on the same par as my finished Nordstrom shirts.
Am I missing some great, affordable, bespoke shirt maker?
More than that, try finding ANY bespoke shirt maker in Dublin...
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If you found something that works for you, stick with it...no reason to change.
The custom made shirts I've had made took just three measurements:
Chest
Waist
Hips
If you want your best possible fit you need to take several more. I generate a pattern (on brown craft paper) based upon several measurments. I add 4" of girth (2" of width) to all the measure points. Tighter than that and the buttons will pull at my abdomen when seated and eating.
If you never sit or eat you can go much tighter. I see on TV that Ryan Seacrest (the American Idol host) wears a much tighter shirt when he removes his suit jacket. But I think that shirt is just for the show. I don't think you can sit and eat with a shirt with just over 1" of slack.
When I supply the pattern to my tailor he charges me $8.00 per shirt. If he pins up he charges me $12.00 per shirt. It is both cost effective and time savings to make the pattern. Once you have the pattern you just drop off the shirt and the pattern and no fittings are required.
Make sure that your tailor understands that the pattern represents the seam line and not the cut line. But once that is communicated it is an excellent way to handle the shirt fitting/alteration thing.
A 16-1/2" shirt (neck size) measures on average 50" at the chest. Typically there is no taper at all. So the waist and hips are 50" also.
My waist is 33". No matter how much I improve my posture I doubt there is anyway the shirt will look like it really fits. I take 13" in at the waist on average. It seems to help quite a bit.
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When I say posture, I am not talking about how straight you stand
...everyone is built differently...some people naturally stand more erect than others, some people are a bit "head forward", some people carry more of their weight around their stomach, where some are just "thick" all around...one of the benefits of a custom shirt is that the fabric is balanced based on YOUR body (those were just a few examples of different body types)...just because your waist is a 33, doesn't necessarily mean that 16 1/2" are in your front and 16 1/2" are in your back...a custom shirt measured by a professional allocates the fabric accordingly.
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Hip hip hooray!Jimmy2Dimes said:
This is where I started ten years ago and my vast reading this forum has done nothing to change my mind. I just do not understand folks who insist that the way forward is to buy a shirt that doesn't fit you, and pay someone else to make it fit. I mean, would you buy square tennis balls and pay someone else to make them round? Would you buy flat coca cola and pay someone else to put in the fizz?
If more shirt wearers concentrated on buying shirts that fit them, more manufacturers would make shirts that fit.
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It is true what you say about those things. Yet clothes is a different topic because just about everything off the peg could use or will require some tailoring. The problem is that clothes today are made for the masses with an ever increasing waist size, so those of us who do not have that issue will never be able to find anything off the peg. Yet, there are things (retailer exclusive fabrics, for some people, the pretty label or logo, or certain trademarks) that custom cannot offer without going to the extreme end of the price scale.
Ideally you want everything custom made if have the time (Both getting the measurements and waiting for delivery, but mainly delivery) and money to do so. For those of us who do not have that luxury of time and money, buying off the peg and getting it just right with minimal alterations in about a week seems more efficient.
I would also add tapering the sleeves
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Surely you can empathize with someone that doesn't have the means to afford custom shirts right now, yet they would still like to look as clean and well put together as possible.
I know my OTR / tapering method isn't going to yield the same results as bespoke…but for the time being it is the best I can afford. I also know the insulting people that chose this manner isn't a good way to drum up business.
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If I could find a fitted shirt for someone with a 19" neck and 38 inch waist - I would be happy to buy it.
But most shirts that fit my neck, are like parachutes at the waste.
seriously
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