Getting cheap clothes altered?

July 2, 2008 6:45 AM

Is it worth it to get (relatively) cheap clothes altered?

I recently lost a significant amount of weight, and now none of my clothes fit! The thing is, most of my clothes are from places like Target or the Gap. Is it worth it to get a pair of $30 or $40 pants taken in or should I just buy new pants?

I've never actually been to a tailor, so if anyone can give me an idea of how much I should be paying for decent work, I'd appreciate that too.

posted by hapticactionnetwork to clothing, beauty, & fashion (12 comments total)

Congratulations on your weight loss! Tailors (even crappy ones) are not cheap. Expect to pay as much or more than what your pants cost you to begin with to have them taken in. Additionally, as a buyer of Target clothes myself, I know from experience these clothes don't last very long. The investment you make in having your pants tailored to fit your new body won't pay off--the pants will wear out before you can reap the benefits of the better fit. Buy some new pants--it is the best feeling in the world to go clothes shopping after weight loss and to try on SMALLER sizes and have them FIT you!!!
posted by angiewriter at 7:01 AM on July 2, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

For significant weight loss (i.e.: more than a few inches), alterations aren't going to be able to change your pants very well. I lost a bunch of weight, had a pair of suit pants taken in, and now the pockets are WAY BACK. It looks fine, but I probably would have purchased new ones if they still sold those pants.

How much it'll cost you really depends on where you live -- just for an example, having my shirts taken in cost me $10 a shirt (in NC). According to GQ, in New York City, it'll cost you around $20. That's probably the range.
posted by Comrade_robot at 7:06 AM on July 2, 2008

Oh, and congratulations on your weight loss! People don't really seem to notice until you start wearing smaller clothes, for some reason ...
posted by Comrade_robot at 7:07 AM on July 2, 2008

Congrats on your weight loss!
Unless you love the pants and think you can't find something similar in your new size, I think it would be better to start fresh with some new clothes.
Tailoring is great, but only when the clothes mostly fit you and need a small alteration to look perfect. Not so much when you need every aspect of the size changed.

Taking in a waistband or stitching up hems: totally worth it.
Slimming down the entire waist, seat, and leg of a pant: buy new pants.

Treat yourself to a new clothes day! I bet you can find similar styles to what you have in slimmer sizes, or even some brand new types of clothes that you hadn't dared wear before.
posted by rmless at 7:15 AM on July 2, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Congrats on the weight loss. I'd also side with the buy new pants crowd, but I have had a few shirts taken in. Part of that was due to the fact that they were particularly distinctive and part of that was because it's hard to find a shirt with a huge neck without the rest being huge. Shirts are also much easier to take in than pants, so it doesn't cost much.
posted by advicepig at 7:39 AM on July 2, 2008

$10-$20 sounds about right for most alterations. However, unusual materials, patterns, or styles might raise the degree of difficulty and thus the price. For example, pleated pants are likely to cost a bit more to tailor than flat front pants.

Since your clothing seems to be mostly on the low-end of the quality scale, I'd probably agree with the other responses that buying new clothes is probably the way to go.

And since you'll be buying new clothes anyway, you should consider taking a step up in quality, too. Try going to a higher quality store (e.g. Macy's is certainly better than Target). Pants at the higher end department stores are usually in the $70 dollar range. (So, about the same price as your $40 Target pants plus alterations.) And they come with complimentary tailoring.

Also, regardless of where you go for your clothes, remember that most stores have great sales on 4th of July weekend. So, strike while the iron is hot.
posted by oddman at 7:50 AM on July 2, 2008

Tailors are pretty expensive, but worth it if your cheap clothes are going to last a while (IE on sale, good quality fabric, not h&m type stuff) and only need minor alterations. I've taken in $15 jeans making them like $40 pants total but it was really worth it compared to buying $40 pants that don't really fit me.

That said, if you've lost significant weight, you probably can't wear your old tops and pants. Skirts and dresses are often easier to take in. I would buy new stuff and just alter what can reasonably be salvaged.
posted by shownomercy at 7:58 AM on July 2, 2008

Congrats on rockin' the weight loss!

Are you at your final weight? If not, skip the tailor. If you do tailor clothing here are a few suggestions. Nothing should go to the tailor unless it's in perfect shape - if they thighs are worn or the buttons are in the wrong spot, don't waste money on a tailor. Garments with lots of stretch generally aren't good choices for tailoring. Any detail on the garment adds to the tailoring costs - if they need to move pockets, decoration or linings the cost will likely double or triple.

Personally, I'd suggest you buy a few basics and wait a bit. When your body changes, your self image changes. You may find that your old clothes no longer suit you and you'd like to buy different styles. Even if you hate shopping, spend a lot of time trying on things you generally would skip over on the rack. You'll be surprised.
posted by 26.2 at 9:24 AM on July 2, 2008

I'd say go for new stuff; it's painful but worth it, both from the POV of having the right fit, and for the thrill of OMG, I'm a size what?!

Also, if you aren't at your goal, or aren't sure if you're quite there yet, don't hit the high quality stuff yet. Try thrift or consignment stores instead; you may be surprised at the quality. Plus, if your stuff is in good condition, you'll be passing something along for someone else.

Between April 08 and now I've lost 55 pounds, went from a 20 to a 10, and I've been through several rounds of new clothing. This time last year I dumped almost my entire (really nice! just bought 6 months earlier!) professional wardrobe, and was able to get by almost entirely with thrift store threads through last summer & winter.
posted by epersonae at 10:27 AM on July 2, 2008

Pants you love: take them apart, cut them down to the new size, put them back together. Except jeans. Jeans are not worth altering, way too hard, even the expensive ones. Pants you just wear--donate 'em, not worth it. Altering pants so they fit is a lot of work. Just taking in the waist will look terrible.

Skirts also are fairly easy to alter (can't tell if you're a boy or a girl).

Shirts can be altered. You can sometimes add tucks and pleats that look completely as though they are part of the style. The less constructed a shirt is, the easier it is to alter.

Dresses: definitely worth altering because of both cost, and because you're usually a different size on the top and the bottom anyway and they probably need altering that you never did because they "fit."

Sleeveless tops-- easy to alter, worth it if they are ones that you like.

Knit tops-- forget it. Not expensive enough to be worth the time & expense.

I did all this myself after a 40-lb weight loss because I know how to do it. But my guess is that unless you're a total clothes horse with gobs and gobs of expensive items (and it doesn't look like it), it's probably not worth it except on your very favorite and most expensive items.
posted by nax at 12:50 PM on July 2, 2008

I would think it's not worth it if you went down several sizes, because the clothes were cheap to begin with, in fact, what I'd do is buy a few cheap items in your current size and then if necessary, for pants especially, have those slightly altered for a perfect fit to make them look like they cost a lot more than they did..

then again if it's a simple top you really love with a simple cut, I bet it wouldn't be too much trouble to have it taken in, likewise for a skirt that's simple and mostly needs the waist taken in..
posted by citron at 1:21 PM on July 2, 2008

Thanks for all your great answers, everybody. New pants, here I come!

I'm a boy, by the way.
posted by hapticactionnetwork at 8:29 AM on July 3, 2008