I'm not Bruce Banner, why are my seams ripping?
August 19, 2010 11:15 AM Subscribe
Help me fit into a suit!
I'm 5'6, female, weirdly-shaped proportion wise and can fit anything from size 2 to 6. I'm having trouble finding an off-the-rack suit jacket that will fit nicely around the shoulders: if the shoulder width is right, fabric pulls badly at my back when I lift an arm (even to write sitting down at a desk) and there's no give in the biceps/tricep area. Depending on the brand, it can also be too tight around the waist or too big. If I size up and the back and biceps have some give, the shoulder is way too wide and the whole thing looks off on my frame. My back muscles are probably bigger than average for my size, which is awesome when it comes to pull-ups, but not so much for looking sharp in a jacket. Most suit jackets also seem to be cut for women with C-cup breasts, which I do not possess. (To illustrate, I'm wearing a size small Gap button-up shirt that pulls badly over the back/under the armpits when I raise one arm to shoulder height, but there's enough spare fabric over the torso for me to grab two fistfuls.)
Are there any off-the-rack suit brands (male or female, don't care) out there you can suggest that make a suit jacket with a bit more give in the back and don't have extremely shaped bust darts? (If it's a male brand, it's got to be a pretty slim fit.) It can't be cheap - I'm finding with the way I'm built, cheap fabric starts to pull badly after I lift/use my arms a couple of times to the point where the seams are visibly weakened.
I have 500 bucks of hard-earned cash saved up for this thing and I have tried Banana Republic, H&M and Zara.
Or! Should I buy a good suit jacket that fits me in the back and arms and get a tailor to make the bigger shoulders fit, or should I give up, save up longer and find a good tailor to make me a suit from scratch?
tl;dr suit don't fit, I look weird and hate shopping, what should I do?
I'm 5'6, female, weirdly-shaped proportion wise and can fit anything from size 2 to 6. I'm having trouble finding an off-the-rack suit jacket that will fit nicely around the shoulders: if the shoulder width is right, fabric pulls badly at my back when I lift an arm (even to write sitting down at a desk) and there's no give in the biceps/tricep area. Depending on the brand, it can also be too tight around the waist or too big. If I size up and the back and biceps have some give, the shoulder is way too wide and the whole thing looks off on my frame. My back muscles are probably bigger than average for my size, which is awesome when it comes to pull-ups, but not so much for looking sharp in a jacket. Most suit jackets also seem to be cut for women with C-cup breasts, which I do not possess. (To illustrate, I'm wearing a size small Gap button-up shirt that pulls badly over the back/under the armpits when I raise one arm to shoulder height, but there's enough spare fabric over the torso for me to grab two fistfuls.)
Are there any off-the-rack suit brands (male or female, don't care) out there you can suggest that make a suit jacket with a bit more give in the back and don't have extremely shaped bust darts? (If it's a male brand, it's got to be a pretty slim fit.) It can't be cheap - I'm finding with the way I'm built, cheap fabric starts to pull badly after I lift/use my arms a couple of times to the point where the seams are visibly weakened.
I have 500 bucks of hard-earned cash saved up for this thing and I have tried Banana Republic, H&M and Zara.
Or! Should I buy a good suit jacket that fits me in the back and arms and get a tailor to make the bigger shoulders fit, or should I give up, save up longer and find a good tailor to make me a suit from scratch?
tl;dr suit don't fit, I look weird and hate shopping, what should I do?
Get a tailor. According to what not wear (which you should watch) says you should fit the biggest art of you and get the arts that are to big tailored down.
posted by bananafish at 11:26 AM on August 19, 2010
posted by bananafish at 11:26 AM on August 19, 2010
Call up Nordstrom and make an appointment with a personal shopper. They will help you navigate finding the best-fitting jacket and make it fit better with the assistance of a tailor. It sounds like your clothes-fitting challenges go far beyond suit jackets, and they may be able to suggest styles that work better for your body shape for lots of other types of clothing.
posted by ambrosia at 11:47 AM on August 19, 2010
posted by ambrosia at 11:47 AM on August 19, 2010
Nthing tailor. Also look at nicer places than Banana, H&M and Zara. Those places design their clothes for the most common denominator and it sounds like your body just isn't within their fit parameters. Try Nordstrom instead or even Brooks Brothers. Both will have a tailor in the store who can look at how a jacket hangs on you and tell you what you need to do to get a good fit -- including trying a different jacket.
In either of those places, you'll spend more than $500 on a suit that's not on sale, but both stores do have regular sales and promotions. If you can get an idea of what fits, you can then keep an eye out for a sale and buy when the price is lower.
More generally about fit: It is generally not possible to take a suit jacket in in the shoulders. (Or, if it is, it's way more expensive than is worth it.) But a well made jacket should have ample seam allowance through the back seams and arms to let those seams out where you need extra room. So looking for a jacket that fits through the shoulders that is well-made enough to have generous seam allowance is what you want.
And if none of the suits you look at have that, you will probably need to have something custom made. If you do that, look for a place in your city or town that makes custom men's dress shirts -- usually those places either will have someone on staff who can make a suit for a woman or will know who in town can do it. It might not be as expensive as you'd think, either, and once you have them do one, having another made will be less expensive because they'll have already cut the pattern for your body.
posted by devinemissk at 11:52 AM on August 19, 2010
In either of those places, you'll spend more than $500 on a suit that's not on sale, but both stores do have regular sales and promotions. If you can get an idea of what fits, you can then keep an eye out for a sale and buy when the price is lower.
More generally about fit: It is generally not possible to take a suit jacket in in the shoulders. (Or, if it is, it's way more expensive than is worth it.) But a well made jacket should have ample seam allowance through the back seams and arms to let those seams out where you need extra room. So looking for a jacket that fits through the shoulders that is well-made enough to have generous seam allowance is what you want.
And if none of the suits you look at have that, you will probably need to have something custom made. If you do that, look for a place in your city or town that makes custom men's dress shirts -- usually those places either will have someone on staff who can make a suit for a woman or will know who in town can do it. It might not be as expensive as you'd think, either, and once you have them do one, having another made will be less expensive because they'll have already cut the pattern for your body.
posted by devinemissk at 11:52 AM on August 19, 2010
yea, get a tailor to fit it for you. I have odd probortions too, I alter pretty much everything I buy, and it looks so much better after. Also, I have seen women's suits made with fabric that has a little stretch in it - keep an eye out for that, because that will make the them much more comfortable
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 12:25 PM on August 19, 2010
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 12:25 PM on August 19, 2010
Nordstrom personal stylist, then (maybe) free tailoring.
posted by coupdefoudre at 12:35 PM on August 19, 2010
posted by coupdefoudre at 12:35 PM on August 19, 2010
Everyone is right about getting a tailor. Here's what you need to know about buying a suit with the explicit expectation of getting it tailored:
1) Buy a suit that fits your biggest part.
2) It's not really worth it to buy as separates if you're going to a tailor anyway, so go ahead and try department stores, too.
3) Buy solids or tweeds; striped patterns can vex even the most skilled tailor when taking a garment in, because they have to match up the stripes and sometimes they need to cut diagonally, making your stripes wonky.
4) You may be able to save money by buying a suit with basted instead of stitched lining; likewise, you are free to buy a suit with poorly stitched or even torn lining because the tailor will restitch it anyway.
posted by juniperesque at 12:47 PM on August 19, 2010
1) Buy a suit that fits your biggest part.
2) It's not really worth it to buy as separates if you're going to a tailor anyway, so go ahead and try department stores, too.
3) Buy solids or tweeds; striped patterns can vex even the most skilled tailor when taking a garment in, because they have to match up the stripes and sometimes they need to cut diagonally, making your stripes wonky.
4) You may be able to save money by buying a suit with basted instead of stitched lining; likewise, you are free to buy a suit with poorly stitched or even torn lining because the tailor will restitch it anyway.
posted by juniperesque at 12:47 PM on August 19, 2010
Response by poster: You guys are awesome, seriously. I want to hold Ask to my bosom and never let it leave.
To recap: tailors can take almost anything in and can let stuff out as long as there's enough seam allowance, but it's expensive to tailor a shoulder in. Okay. Got it.
If you'd permit me to ask: how can I tell if there's enough seam allowance if the jacket's lined? All of the suit jackets I've tried on have the lining covering the back seams.
posted by zennish at 12:57 PM on August 19, 2010
To recap: tailors can take almost anything in and can let stuff out as long as there's enough seam allowance, but it's expensive to tailor a shoulder in. Okay. Got it.
If you'd permit me to ask: how can I tell if there's enough seam allowance if the jacket's lined? All of the suit jackets I've tried on have the lining covering the back seams.
posted by zennish at 12:57 PM on August 19, 2010
That's a great question. You might be able to tug a little bit at the lining around the back seams; sometimes you can "feel" the lining through the stitchwork to tell if there's quite a bit back there or not.
posted by juniperesque at 1:48 PM on August 19, 2010
posted by juniperesque at 1:48 PM on August 19, 2010
Yeah, it can be tough to tell by look and feel if there's enough seam allowance, though juniperesque is right that you can try the tug thing. I generally find, though, that more expensive = better made = more seam allowance. If you're in a store with a tailor on staff, you can ask him/her -- they'll have done plenty of alterations on what the store has in stock and will know how much they can let a given style out.
posted by devinemissk at 2:09 PM on August 19, 2010
posted by devinemissk at 2:09 PM on August 19, 2010
The Make Your Own Jeans custom clothing site also does suits. I have not used them yet myself, but I intend to get jeans for my hard-to-fit son there soon based on others' experience.
posted by thatdawnperson at 2:55 PM on August 19, 2010
posted by thatdawnperson at 2:55 PM on August 19, 2010
Response by poster: You guys are awesome. Not marking any best answer because they're all fantastic.
posted by zennish at 5:54 PM on August 20, 2010
posted by zennish at 5:54 PM on August 20, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by brainmouse at 11:22 AM on August 19, 2010 [1 favorite]