Poor student doesn't want to buy new suits for his new job

September 1, 2009 10:09 AM

Men's suit-filter: Went to the tailor to get a couple of my suit jackets looked at. They told me that it wasn't that the shoulder was too tight (which I'd thought was the problem), but it was that the there wasn't enough room in the sleeve, in the area around my triceps. And upon opening up the inside of the sleeve, the tailor pronounced that there wasn't enough fabric to make the sleeve significantly bigger. Is there any way around this? Thanks MeFites!
posted by demagogue to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (3 answers total)

It would depend entirely on how much extra room you need. The only place on a suit where you might have a bit of extra fabric from which you could have a couple of 1/4" to 1/2" wide "panels" made, to insert into the inside or under sleeve seam, is the seat seam of the trousers, or possibly the leg hems. Such a panel is tapered at both ends, to leave the armhole unchanged, and to end above the elbow; the relief provided is just over the biceps/triceps bulge. You could also have the sleeve linings removed (actually, cut back to the shoulder sleeve seam, and to the cuff, and blindstitched to the sleeve shell in both areas), to give you a bit more clearance, although this will make for an odd wearing jacket in anything but long sleeve shirts.
posted by paulsc at 10:22 AM on September 1, 2009

I know this isn't what you want to hear. But when the tailor tells you that the garment is too small to be altered properly, then the thing to do is buy a bigger one, and have it taken in.

No doubt you will be able to find someone who will be willing to make this alteration for you, but it will probably look bad.
posted by bingo at 11:02 AM on September 1, 2009

You may be SOL but there is something you can try as a last resort:
Boil an kettle and keep it boiling, steam the hell out of the tightest part of the jacket and stretch it over your knee. Once you have the fit about right you should wear your jacket until it cools, then nuke it again a couple of times. It will work...to an extent...

This is really more of a trick for getting into suits on a one-off basis (interviews, dinner nights etc.) but it might work for you.

Oh, and your tailor is probably right. The only suits that build in extra material are bespoke jobs.
posted by fingerbang at 2:00 PM on September 1, 2009