Fixing what you own

What a tailor can and can't change

Short answer: anything below the shoulder is usually easy and cheap. Anything involving the shoulder, the collar or the overall length of a jacket is hard, sometimes impossible, and often simply refused. So before you spend money on alterations, work out which half of that line your problem sits on.

The cheap half — measure these first

These are the alterations that change how a garment looks on you the most, for the least money:

• Trouser hem. The single cheapest fix and the one with the biggest visual effect. Aim for one break at the shoe.
• Trouser taper. Taking in the leg from the knee down. Gets rid of the "borrowed my dad's trousers" look.
• Shirt waist. Taking in the sides. This is what fixes the billowing shirt that fits your chest but not your torso.
• Sleeve length. Shortening from the cuff works if the buttons allow it. Showing about half an inch of shirt cuff is the target.
• Jacket waist. A light suppression through the sides. Too much and the vents open and the pockets flare.

The expensive half — and the part most tailors refuse

This is where people waste money, because they assume a tailor can "fix the fit" the way a mechanic fixes a car.

• Shoulders. Changing shoulder width means dismantling the jacket and rebuilding the top. Most tailors decline it outright, and the ones who take it on charge accordingly. If the shoulder seam hangs past your shoulder bone, the honest answer is that the jacket is the wrong size, not that it needs work.
• Collar. Same story — it's tied to the shoulder and the chest. Usually not worth touching.
• Jacket length. Effectively impossible. Length is the pattern.
• Chest and lapel width. Very expensive, and rarely worth it on anything but a good jacket.
• A fused jacket whose interlining has separated. You'll see this as bubbling or a wavy, glued-together look, often after long storage in heat or damp. It can be repaired, but the repair can cost more than the jacket did. Ask for an opinion and a price before you agree to anything.

What alterations usually cost

Real prices, so you can tell when a quote is normal:

One thing worth understanding before you negotiate: you're paying for the work, not for the garment. A cheap jacket still takes the same time to open up and put back together as an expensive one, which is why "but it only cost me $60" is not an argument a tailor can do anything with.

Wrinkles are not a fit problem

If a suit sat folded in a bag for a couple of years, the creases are along the fold lines — that's storage, not tailoring, and most of it lifts. Don't attack it with a home iron; on wool you can leave a shine that never comes out. Take it to be dry cleaned and pressed, and ask for pressing specifically, not just cleaning.

Then test it properly: put it on and button it. A fold that moves when you move is fit. A fold that sits exactly where it was folded is storage.

Prices are typical ranges from independent tailors and vary by city and garment. Nothing here is a substitute for the person holding the garment — ask them to look at it in person.