Broad shoulders and broad blazers.

October 29, 2009 8:34 AM

I've got these wide shoulders. I've got this blazer. Can they live together?

I'm a lady with the type of freakish proportions that most blazers don't enjoy. If it fits in my broad shoulders, the blazer is a tent elsewhere. If I accommodate my bust, then the blazer is ridiculously small. It's bizarre. But! I've finally found a vintage velvet blazer that is almost perfect- except for my damned wide shoulders. It's tight across the back but not uncomfortably so. I just worry that I'm going to pop a back seam tying my shoes.

This kills me. I love this stupid blazer but I don't want to murder it with my girth. Is there something that can be done to stretch the shoulders or otherwise correct the fit? I'd have no problem going to a tailor but I'm not even sure what a tailor can do in this situation.

posted by cheap paper to clothing, beauty, & fashion (4 comments total)

The shoulders are the hardest part to mess with on a jacket -- by contrast, it is a relatively simple procedure to take in the sides (using the two seams located on each side of the back). If it's just a little uncomfortable across the shoulders, I'd just put up with it, I'm afraid.
posted by Comrade_robot at 8:40 AM on October 29

Tailor. Tailortailortailor. Take it to a tailor. Ask what they can do.

In the future, it's easier for tailors to take stuff in than expand it, in general, so find a blazer you love, and get it to fit your wide shoulders perfectly. Then take it to a tailor and get them to make the rest of it fit you.
posted by brainmouse at 8:53 AM on October 29

Yes, take it to a tailor, but be warned (at least as far as it concerns this particular jacket):
Velvet crushes after a while. If it is vintage, even if there is enough fabric inside the back or side back seams, it will be crushed and you will probably see the lines of the previous seams after the alteration. So in this case, it is probably not an option.

Otherwise, brainmouse has it right - find a blazer you love that fits in the shoulders, then take it to a tailor to have it fitted down through the chest, bust and waist. Be warned that this may take more time and work than you think - depending on the cut of the jacket, the back seams and collar as well as the sides and part of the armscye may have to be taken down to get the shape and proportions correct. Every now and then the front seams and darts may have to be shifted a bit as well. It is usually doable, though.
posted by Tchad at 9:29 AM on October 29

yep, tailor. likely they will "square the shoulders", which is a common practice.
posted by randomstriker at 11:13 AM on October 29