Tailoring

smiles4jo

Now that the fall is coming, I’m starting to pull clothes out of my closet that I had bought in the spring and finding they’re way too big. Some of these clothes still have tags on them or were only worn 3-4 times before the weather got too hot. Now, it seems a waste to get rid of them, so I’m considering getting them tailored. I’m totally clueless as to how this works though.

Are there some items that work better for tailoring than others? What would be the maximum size difference to have something tailored down? Does anyone have a rough estimate of how much it would cost to get, say, a pair of pants tailored down 2 sizes?

Dano74

A good tailor can resize most anything. It's not too expensive- google a tailor near your place to get specific pricing (my experience was low double digits for a few pairs of pants). Definitely worth it.

cross2bear

I do this all the time - some pieces have been tailored a number of times. Pants are usually worth it, not so much shirts or blouses, jackets too are good to alter. Price range in my area (Canada) runs about $10 CDN for pants, a bit more for jackets as they are a little trickier. I cant buy pants (that I would wear) for $10, so its entirely worth it for me.

SueInAz

Tailoring costs can really differ by area so it'd be worth it to look up a few shops in your area. Most of them should have general prices available online and also check for coupons on their website. The place I have used has a 20% discount available right now. Of course, it's important to consider the cost of simply buying a new piece of clothing rather than tailoring an older piece. A lot of the clothing out there nowadays is cheaply made and that won't be improved by tailoring.

If, however, you're the type who spends a lot of money on good, quality clothing then it might be more than worth the expense and effort. For example, I've had Eddie Bauer pants I spent $60 or $70 on hemmed locally and it's cost me about $15 each to have it done; well worth it. I would assume that actually tailoring would cost more than that, though, because there's more work involved, but haven't had it done. On the other hand, I wouldn't even consider having pants I bought at Old Navy tailored because I could buy pair a new pair for about $15 on sale.

goldthistime

Another path to consider would be to sell your newish clothes at a consignment store to offset your shopping costs.

Whitezombiegirl

In the uk tailoring is expensive. As a sewer id say thats going down more than two sizes is not really possible, especially for things like suit jackets. Not everywhere will tailor trousers where it involves the crotch seam for hygiene reasons. If they do they will want them dry cleaned first and the tag left on.

The best idea is to sell them and buy replacements. Ebay is a good place to look.