[Satan]

I'm so middle class, all my suits are standard sizes. I realise that sentence has a joke setup, but the point was in the statement. Anyway, can't remember how it was when I bought them, but now I feel like a five year old in my daddy's clothes. So I figured I'd get a tailor to maybe fix them up a bit. But I've never done this and don't know of anyone who has. Therefore I come to you, Internet people above the gassy crack in the earth. Is there anything I should be wary of or other general tips before I let a stranger cut off half an arm on my most expensive clothes ever?

[Abyss]

 Satan, on 19 July 2013 - 02:28 PM, said:

...Is there anything I should be wary of or other general tips before I let a stranger cut off half an arm on my most expensive clothes ever?

Yes.

• find a reputable tailor whose work someone you know can vouch for. If not, ask them outright if they routinely do suits.
• hemming jeans and skirts DOES NOT mean they know how to work a suit.
• go with the typical belt/shoes/shirt and yes tie you will wear with it because the clothes can affect the measurement ( a thick tie can displace the location of the jacket button, too close a jacket can make the tie 'puff' if you wear it closed - once you're doing this, do it right).
• if they tell you they will do something 'stylish', be careful. A minor detail (extra slant to the hems or cuffs, unusually wider shouder etc) can look realy odd when the style is 'out'. Too many of my friends bought into the recent high cut pants leg fad (hem cut high enough to expose some sock even at rest) and ruined a few perfectly good suits because it now looks like they shrank the suit in the wash or experienced a growth spurt.
• if they tell you they will sew additional fabric in somewhere (ie: back to widen shoulders, hem or cuff to legthen), be damn sure they match the lining or its somewhere it won't show.
• If they ask you which side the snake sleeps on, leave immediately.

[tiam]

 Abyss, on 19 July 2013 - 03:04 PM, said:

If they ask you which side the snake sleeps on, leave immediately.[/list]

Yeh dont go to a prison tailor.

[Una]

Ask around your friends, coworkers, or relatives to see if they have anybody to recommend. When I was going for my first set of major interviews, all I had were some hand-me-down suits where the skirt was too small and the jacket had the big 80s power shoulders. My mother's friend recommended a retired lady who worked out of her senior's apartment and did alterations for extra cash and to pass the time. I would never have found her on my own, but she did a great job.

[Satan]

 Abyss, on 19 July 2013 - 03:04 PM, said:

 Satan, on 19 July 2013 - 02:28 PM, said:

...Is there anything I should be wary of or other general tips before I let a stranger cut off half an arm on my most expensive clothes ever?

Yes.

• find a reputable tailor whose work someone you know can vouch for. If not, ask them outright if they routinely do suits.
• hemming jeans and skirts DOES NOT mean they know how to work a suit.
• go with the typical belt/shoes/shirt and yes tie you will wear with it because the clothes can affect the measurement ( a thick tie can displace the location of the jacket button, too close a jacket can make the tie 'puff' if you wear it closed - once you're doing this, do it right).
• if they tell you they will do something 'stylish', be careful. A minor detail (extra slant to the hems or cuffs, unusually wider shouder etc) can look realy odd when the style is 'out'. Too many of my friends bought into the recent high cut pants leg fad (hem cut high enough to expose some sock even at rest) and ruined a few perfectly good suits because it now looks like they shrank the suit in the wash or experienced a growth spurt.
• if they tell you they will sew additional fabric in somewhere (ie: back to widen shoulders, hem or cuff to legthen), be damn sure they match the lining or its somewhere it won't show.
• If they ask you which side the snake sleeps on, leave immediately.

Top notch advise, cheers mate. Regarding no. 3 though, I was planning on using many different shirts and ties with my suits, ie. I don't have one set deciding how my suit should look. I wouldn't have imagined that be a problem?

[Satan]

 Una, on 19 July 2013 - 07:59 PM, said:

Ask around your friends, coworkers, or relatives to see if they have anybody to recommend. When I was going for my first set of major interviews, all I had were some hand-me-down suits where the skirt was too small and the jacket had the big 80s power shoulders. My mother's friend recommended a retired lady who worked out of her senior's apartment and did alterations for extra cash and to pass the time. I would never have found her on my own, but she did a great job.

I have a little bit, but no luck (so much for Facebook). I know there are two tailors in town but other than that I'm all blank.

[Abyss]

 Satan, on 19 July 2013 - 09:26 PM, said:

 Abyss, on 19 July 2013 - 03:04 PM, said:

 Satan, on 19 July 2013 - 02:28 PM, said:

...Is there anything I should be wary of or other general tips before I let a stranger cut off half an arm on my most expensive clothes ever?

Yes.

• find a reputable tailor whose work someone you know can vouch for. If not, ask them outright if they routinely do suits.
• hemming jeans and skirts DOES NOT mean they know how to work a suit.
• go with the typical belt/shoes/shirt and yes tie you will wear with it because the clothes can affect the measurement ( a thick tie can displace the location of the jacket button, too close a jacket can make the tie 'puff' if you wear it closed - once you're doing this, do it right).
• if they tell you they will do something 'stylish', be careful. A minor detail (extra slant to the hems or cuffs, unusually wider shouder etc) can look realy odd when the style is 'out'. Too many of my friends bought into the recent high cut pants leg fad (hem cut high enough to expose some sock even at rest) and ruined a few perfectly good suits because it now looks like they shrank the suit in the wash or experienced a growth spurt.
• if they tell you they will sew additional fabric in somewhere (ie: back to widen shoulders, hem or cuff to legthen), be damn sure they match the lining or its somewhere it won't show.
• If they ask you which side the snake sleeps on, leave immediately.

Top notch advise, cheers mate. Regarding no. 3 though, I was planning on using many different shirts and ties with my suits, ie. I don't have one set deciding how my suit should look. I wouldn't have imagined that be a problem?

Nope. Just bring a typical set. Fitting a jacket over tshirt will be a tiny bit off at least.

[Satan]

Thanks. This helps a lot.

Now if only some o you could move to Tromsø, try the two tailors we have and get back to me before August 17th, I would truly appreciate it.

[Mezla PigDog]

Take one suit, see how good a job they do and then take the rest!

[Vengeance]

There is a very good Korean suit tailor that I take my suits too. He is cheaper then other tailors and very very good. When I went in to pick up my first suit there was a Chicago Bulls players in there picking up a suit. Of course that doesn't help you at all unless you live in Chicago. In which case it is England Custom Tailor 5799 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL.

[Una]

I was also wanting to suggest to go to Chinatown and find some small hole-in-the-wall shop with a skinny little man inside bent over a small worktable. They tend to cheap and good. But I wasn't sure where he lived. Then he mentioned he lives in Norway. I really don't know what the hole-in-the-wall tailor situation is in Norway.

[Satan]

There are relative hole-in-the-wall tailors here, which are massively cheaper than what I would pay at the other place (I've heard - haven't asked the shops for prices yet). But it's still Norway. Nothing but water and electricity is cheap here.

[HiddenOne]

 Satan, on 23 July 2013 - 09:19 PM, said:

There are relative hole-in-the-wall tailors here, which are massively cheaper than what I would pay at the other place (I've heard - haven't asked the shops for prices yet). But it's still Norway. Nothing but water and electricity is cheap here.

what about darkness and ice? heard you guys had that stuff coming out your ears

[Satan]

Darkness isn't a commodity we buy (I would sell everything if it was). Ice is expensive (go figure).

[Mrs Savagely Wishy Washy]

 Satan, on 23 July 2013 - 09:19 PM, said:

Nothing but water and electricity is cheap here.

Well at least you can have a hot bath, ain't that something.

[Abyss]

The hole-in-the-wall tailor can be a risky proposition. Yes, if you have a recommendation from someone who used a h-i-t-w guy go for it, but otherwise, well, one acquintance of mine had his pants AND jacket split at a wedding.

Getting a suit refitted isn't rocket science, but make the effort to find someone who knows what they're doing. Thirty seconds on google should give you a starting point at least. OR call a decent men's wear store and ask who they use.

[Vengeance]

 Satan, on 23 July 2013 - 09:19 PM, said:

There are relative hole-in-the-wall tailors here, which are massively cheaper than what I would pay at the other place (I've heard - haven't asked the shops for prices yet). But it's still Norway. Nothing but water and electricity is cheap here.

Are there review websites like Yelp (here in the US) there in the frozen north. If so check out a bunch of the whole in the wall places.