LITTLE ROCK — Q. I have been dieting very successfully, going from a size 48 to a 43 suit. I agree with you that it is better to buy fewer and buy better, which is why I always buy top-of-the-line suits from the finest American and Italian makers. The truth is I’ve bought one or two new suits every year. My problem now is I have a closet full of great suits that must be cut down. Can you suggest a tailor who specializes in such work?
A. As I always suggest, the way to find a good tailor is to get multiple recommendations. Ask around for the names of skilled tailors. Don’t go with the first recommendation and, of course, only ask guys who are great dressers.
However, before cutting down your suits, I urge you to consider a few factors. Think about where you have lost your weight; more importantly is how much you have lost. If you had gone down only a size or two and had lost only in your middle, the trousers and the jacket could be taken in enough to give a good fit. But a man who goes down drastically loses all over so that the shoulders, chest and armholes will require altering in addition to the waistline. That’s a lot of tailoring. Jackets are much more difficult to alter successfully than trousers. But even on pants, the pockets get moved too close together and the length is also affected.
Before you decide to make your suits smaller, think about, “Are you now at yourfighting weight?” As you go into the Christmas season, when we all tend to add a few pounds, will you go back up to a size 44? Where are you going to be in six months? Where will you level off? Or has your new weight really become a permanent way of life for you? Ask yourself these questions before making complicated (and expensive) alterations from a size 48 down to a 43.
Unless you have regular closet clear-outs, you may have a few suits in the back that you haven’t worn for years, because they became too tight. Now you can wear them again.
In truth, top-quality alterations can easily cost 25 percent of the price of a new suit. Perhaps you should (atleast for a while) do as many people do whose weight fluctuates - maintain a wardrobe made up of a few different sizes. I hate to sound pessimistic, but you need to be realistic.
For a suit that is drastically altered, it’s not likely that even a fine tailor can tailor it so the resulting garment looks really sharp. Everything may seem slightly out of balance.
An important point to keep in mind: Often we unconsciously experience a subtle negative attitude about something “old” that has been altered. It’s human nature. A man who is in a position to be buying the sort of top-quality suits that you wear may never be thoroughly happy with something that has been radically changed, no matter how skillful the tailor. It’s not that it cannot be done, but the big question is whether you will feel good in your “cut-down”suits. If you don’t feel terrific in them, it boils down to throwing good money after bad.
For these reasons, I suggest you buy one new suit and also take one of your favorite suits to be altered. Then, see if you wear it. If you do, and if you are comfortable with the look, have the others tailored. But if you don’t feel your best in that altered suit and find you are constantly passing it over in your closet and choosing something else, then you must bite the bullet and look for a good friend who is your former size to give it to. That may embarrass you. If so, there are any number of charities that would welcome with open arms a big green trash bag full of your quality discards. And your tax accountant may confirm that it was a good decision.
Send questions for Male Call to:
lois.fenton@prodigy.net
High Profile, Pages 51 on 11/21/2010