What clothes are worth tailoring
Clothes worth tailoring are ones that fit at the widest point, usually the shoulders or hips, and need small changes elsewhere: hemming pants or skirts, taking in a waist, shortening sleeves, tapering legs or adjusting straps. Skip pieces that are too small, too tight across the shoulders, or cheaper than the alteration. Ask the tailor for a quote and a fitting before they cut.
Why it matters: Small alterations make a closet fit you and cost less than replacing it.
Steps
- Try the piece on and check the widest point first: shoulders for tops and jackets, hips for pants and skirts.
- If it fits there, list what else is off: length, waist, sleeves, leg width.
- Bring the shoes and underwear you will wear with it to the fitting.
- Ask the tailor for a quote for each change before agreeing.
- Ask whether there is enough seam allowance for what you want.
- Try it on at pickup before paying, and ask for small tweaks then.
Common mistakes
- Buying something too small, hoping a tailor can let it out.
- Paying to alter jacket shoulders, which is complex and expensive.
- Skipping the fitting and hoping it comes out right.
Teach this to someone
A one page sheet for showing a friend, a teenager or a parent: what to say, what to show, and one question to check it landed.
Teach: What clothes are worth tailoring
What to say
Clothes worth tailoring are ones that fit at the widest point, usually the shoulders or hips, and need small changes elsewhere: hemming pants or skirts, taking in a waist, shortening sleeves, tapering legs or adjusting straps. Skip pieces that are too small, too tight across the shoulders, or cheaper than the alteration. Ask the tailor for a quote and a fitting before they cut.
What to show
- Try the piece on and check the widest point first: shoulders for tops and jackets, hips for pants and skirts.
- If it fits there, list what else is off: length, waist, sleeves, leg width.
- Bring the shoes and underwear you will wear with it to the fitting.
- Ask the tailor for a quote for each change before agreeing.
- Ask whether there is enough seam allowance for what you want.
- Try it on at pickup before paying, and ask for small tweaks then.
Check question
Where should a jacket fit before you buy it to tailor?
Answer: The shoulders. Shoulders are hard to change; sleeves and waist are easier.
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Related skills
Sources
This skill is general practice and draws on no single published source.
Written in our own words from the sources above. It is general information, not advice for your situation; where a professional, your doctor or your lease says something different, follow them.
Last reviewed . First published .