Can a tailor turn pleated pants into flat-front?
January 25, 2010 1:00 PM Subscribe
Can a tailor turn pleated pants into flat-front?
I recently ordered a custom suit online. I'm quite happy with the quality and fit of the suit--except that the pants were pleated when I thought I'd asked for flat front. I went back to my order and found that, like a jackass, I had accidentally chosen single pleat instead of flat front. Tailors: is it possible to remove the pleats from pants and turn them into flat-front? If it's not possible, I could try to send the pants back and have flat-front ones made, but I'd certainly feel bad wasting material on a mistake I made.
I recently ordered a custom suit online. I'm quite happy with the quality and fit of the suit--except that the pants were pleated when I thought I'd asked for flat front. I went back to my order and found that, like a jackass, I had accidentally chosen single pleat instead of flat front. Tailors: is it possible to remove the pleats from pants and turn them into flat-front? If it's not possible, I could try to send the pants back and have flat-front ones made, but I'd certainly feel bad wasting material on a mistake I made.
Yeah, I'd agree that a good tailor can do this. Not all tailors are good.
posted by dfriedman at 1:32 PM on January 25, 2010
posted by dfriedman at 1:32 PM on January 25, 2010
Best answer: Technically, yes, but it's going to cost you and the result might not look exactly as perfect as pants that were made flat-front to begin with. The reason is that the extra material in the pleat has to go somewhere, but the waistband is only so big. There are several ways of dealing with it, but it will involve opening up at least the waistband and either the inner or outer leg seams, or both. If there are welt pockets on the outside seam, or any pinstripe or pattern in the material, it gets even trickier. The seams might not be oriented perfectly relative to the bias of the fabric after this repair, which does matter in terms of how the material drapes and hangs.
I would not trust such a complicated repair to just any tailor- I'd send them back to the people who made them, explain your mistake and say you're willing to pay for the repair, and ask them if they think it's worthwhile. If you think they're just trying to sell you new pants without any consideration, take them to the nearest person who does bespoke/custom suiting in your area.
posted by slow graffiti at 1:34 PM on January 25, 2010
I would not trust such a complicated repair to just any tailor- I'd send them back to the people who made them, explain your mistake and say you're willing to pay for the repair, and ask them if they think it's worthwhile. If you think they're just trying to sell you new pants without any consideration, take them to the nearest person who does bespoke/custom suiting in your area.
posted by slow graffiti at 1:34 PM on January 25, 2010
Rather than take a chance, maybe you can order a pair of the flat front from your same suit source (they might even give you a discount if you explain what happened), and keep the pleated ones as a backup in case they get ripped, lost, etc.
posted by rkent at 1:47 PM on January 25, 2010
posted by rkent at 1:47 PM on January 25, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks for the advice! There are some good tailors in my neighborhood and I will give one of them a shot, or at least see what he thinks.
posted by ObeyScient at 2:37 PM on January 25, 2010
posted by ObeyScient at 2:37 PM on January 25, 2010
A tailor in the Brooks Brothers - Las Vegas Caesar's palace said $80 when I asked him this question. Maybe this helps as a yardstick.
posted by yoyoceramic at 5:27 PM on January 26, 2010
posted by yoyoceramic at 5:27 PM on January 26, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by melissasaurus at 1:29 PM on January 25, 2010