In an era of personal style, with trends like the “hard 75” and “333” challenge offering two ways to remix clothes without buying anything new (remember those microtrends?), and the rise of getting your colours done, whether at home or in South Korea, altering and tailoring clothing has become a subtle yet effective way to personalize one’s wardrobe.
During the pandemic, many turned to retail therapy, spending a lot of time at home. It’s hard to deny the dopamine hit that came from frequent package deliveries during that time.
Now, the clothes purchased during that period no longer fit or suit the wearer’s current style. Puffed sleeves? What was once appealing now feels out of place—probably a form of escapism, with nothing saying “escape” quite like puffed sleeves on a fit-and-flare dress, paired with a basket for an instant cottage-core look.
But what if the wearer is not cottage-core; they are more of the “wore a uniform for the entirety of primary and secondary school and likes navy” type of dresser.
Rather than donate items that no longer fit or suit, it’s important to consider that a large portion of donated clothes often don’t end up in local thrift or secondhand stores. Instead, they are shipped to countries like Kenya, Chile’s Atacama Desert, and Uganda. The situation has grown so problematic that some of these countries are considering banning clothing imports. So what can you do if you don’t want to just donate your clothes to rot in a desert? Try changing them.
Tailoring vs. Alterations
Off-the-rack clothing rarely fits perfectly unless someone is the brand’s fit model. That’s why, when standing in front of a mirror, there’s often that feeling that the item is almost perfect. That’s when a skilled tailor is needed to transform the off-the-rack piece into a custom fit.
The Basics: Hemming
The easiest way to change the look of an item is to hem it. A floor-length green cotton dress, once never worn because you couldn’t figure out where to wear it, was shortened to a midi-length and became a go-to for dinners, drinks, movies, and casual outings over the summer.
Trousers, skirts, and jeans can also be hemmed. Straight and wide-legged pants can be hemmed without altering the garment’s overall shape, but pants with bootcut, flare, carrot, or barrel legs should be chosen carefully to avoid distorting their shape. For jeans, it’s recommended to ask the tailor to cut off the bottom and reattach it to retain the original look.
If extra fabric is available, it’s possible to lengthen bottoms by letting down the hem or by adding a ribbon hem, which involves sewing a strip of ribbon to the bottom and hemming it underneath. This method can add up to half an inch in length.
Adding Extra Material
If trousers are too tight, and you don’t want to donate them, a tailor can insert coordinating fabric, like a tuxedo stripe down the sides, to make them fit. When everything fits except the waist, it’s possible to make the waistband bigger, provided there is extra material in the waist seam. Or you can ask for a wedge of matching fabric to be added in the back.
Jackets
Jackets are more complicated due to their patterns, but certain alterations are possible. Sleeves can be shortened easily if they don’t have a button placket (the part where the sleeves can be unbuttoned). For sleeves with buttons at the cuff, a tailor may need to detach and reposition the buttons when shortening them significantly. Non-buttoned cuffs are easier to adjust—simply fold and hem the sleeves.
The side seams of a jacket can also be taken in or let out to adjust the torso fit, giving it a slimmer look if the jacket feels too boxy. However, altering the jacket’s structure, like the lining or the back vent, can complicate these adjustments.
Shoulder adjustments are possible but challenging, as they involve altering the jacket’s structure and padding. A skilled tailor can make these changes, but they are generally expensive and are only recommended if absolutely necessary.
If the fit is right but the lining is uncomfortable or doesn’t breathe well, it’s possible to replace the lining. This alteration can be pricey, starting around $150, so it’s only worth doing if the jacket is truly loved and will be worn.
Sleeves
To slim down wide sleeves, fabric is removed along the inner or outer seam, giving the jacket a more modern, fitted look. This same technique can be applied to shirts and dresses. One cottage-core puffed-sleeve dress was altered by depuffing the sleeves, reducing the “cottaginess” by 80%.
If more room is needed, a tailor can check if there is extra fabric in the inner seam. If there is, the seam can be let out slightly. Another option is to insert a thin strip of matching fabric or a triangular insert along the inner seam for additional room. This is dependent on the jacket’s style and fabric availability, and it’s not completely invisible, so you must be comfortable with the alteration being noticeable.
However, it may not matter if the alteration shows. The important thing is that the item is kept and given new life. Yes, alterations can cost money, especially if the wearer doesn’t sew, but the environmental and personal benefits of keeping clothes out of the global clothing waste piles make the investment worthwhile.
