Just heard a tailor say 'fit over fabric' and it stuck with me

I was at a thrift store in Portland yesterday and this older tailor was talking to his friend about how people spend $200 on fancy fabric but skip getting it hemmed properly. Made me realize I've been wasting good materials by not paying for basic adjustments. Anyone else ever ruin a nice piece by skipping the tailor?

3 comments

3 Comments

miles721mo ago

Bought this sick wool coat from a vintage shop for like $150 thinking I was stealing it. Took it to a friend who sews and she was like "the fabric is nice but the shoulders are totally wrong for your frame." She fixed it for $40 and now it actually looks good instead of like I'm wearing my dad's jacket. Cost me more in the long run than if I'd just budgeted for the tailor upfront lol.

the_patricia1mo ago

Put that extra $40 in the "tailor fund" column from the start, @miles72. It's almost always cheaper to buy something decent secondhand and pay a pro to tweak it than to buy something brand new that might fall apart in a year. I've learned that lesson a few times myself, once with a pair of trousers that I swore fit perfectly until I saw a photo and realized the crotch was hanging like a hammock. A $25 hem and a $15 waist adjustment turned them into my favorite pants. People really sleep on how cheap basic alterations can be, especially for shoulders and lengths. The real steal is knowing what to look for and budgeting for the fix ahead of time, not just the sale price.

kim8191mo ago

Is it really cheaper though, or do we just tell ourselves that? I get that a $40 fix can save a dud find, but I've wasted way more money on "bargain" clothes that needed so many alterations they ended up costing more than a decent new piece. Plus, not every town has an affordable tailor, and some shops charge $30 just for a basic hem. I think it's a solid strategy if you know what to look for and have a good relationship with a tailor, but for me it's been hit or miss. Have you had any items that just couldn't be saved no matter how much you sank into them?