Can a tailor help me with my problems? Or should I just buy new clothes?
January 2, 2015 9:57 AM   Subscribe

And can you recommend a tailor, stores, or brands that would help me?

Help me with my fashion problems, that is.

Problem 1: My best figure feature is a great waist to hip ratio. Unfortunately, my worst figure feature is right next to it: a spare tire around my lower stomach (between belly button and pubic bone), so I not only have hips but a gut here. Above my belly button is relatively flat.

Dresses I can mostly manage off the rack, but I have real trouble with tops. Shirts that are tight enough to show my figure tend to end in a place that also accentuates the paunch, such as right at the waist line or right in the middle of the lower stomach. Shirts that end below the lower stomach also tend to be baggy, so then you can't see my figure. I have shirts in both categories. If I took the latter to a tailor, could s/he make them more form fitting, and thus flattering? None of these tops are high-end: Marshall's/TJ Maxx/similar stores, Uniqlo, etc.

Problem 2: My jeans are way outdated boot cut. Can they be converted to skinny jeans by tailoring the bottom part, from the mid-calf down? Again, none of these are particularly high end. I think I paid at most $40.

Bonus questions: Can you recommend a tailor in NYC? If I have to update my wardrobe, can you recommend any good second-hand stores in the city that might have clothes that are actually still in fashion? Finally, if you have the same figure issues, can you recommend any particular brands or stores? (I am a size eight if it helps.)

Thank you!
posted by unannihilated to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (11 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
Absolutely tailor too-large shirts to fit. It's money well spent. Don't be so hasty to tailor your boot cut jeans. Skinnies are on their way out and boot cuts and wider cuts are being rolled out by jeans designers again. That said, if want some skinny jeans, you'll probably pay the same for new, on sale jeans at a place like Old Navy/TJ Maxx/Marshalls as you would to tailor.
posted by quince at 10:10 AM on January 2, 2015 [2 favorites]


Problem 1: A tailor can fix most of your clothes but a lot of them wont really be worth it. You might spend $10-$20 fixing a $30 shirt that will just need to be adjusted again later when your body changes. Also its pretty much impossible to increase the size of garments like these. They would have to add fabric which would basically be custom tailoring and at that point you will be spending more per garment than it would cost to simply buy new clothes. To be brutally honest I think the solution to your problem is getting fit.

Problem 2: Regarding the pants, you can probably find a tailor to make alterations to your pants for relatively cheap ($20 per garment). I don't know any in NYC but I would imagine that it might be more expensive there than anywhere else in the world.
posted by SamMiller at 10:13 AM on January 2, 2015 [1 favorite]


I think if you update your jeans, it might go a long way to solving both problems. Look for skinny jeans that either have "tummy control" or just a higher rise waist than your current jeans, and not too much spandex per some comments here. You may find that having the jeans do more smoothing makes the tighter shirts work better for you.
posted by Bentobox Humperdinck at 10:15 AM on January 2, 2015 [1 favorite]


A tailor could definitely customize a top to you. Seconding the advice to get the slightly-too-large top and having a tailor fix things.

Seconding the "keep the bootcut jeans" thing, because they just generally are flattering for that shape, and unless you've got, like, bell bottoms, I don't think bootcuts will read as "dated" if you look good in them.

I have memailed you with my own questions because I think that you and I have EXACTLY the same kind of figure and I wanted to ask something.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:15 AM on January 2, 2015


We're built similarly. Fit and flare dresses as well as tops and jackets with peplums are my friend. I tend to do especially well with Tahari for work clothes and Nanette Lepore when I want to bust out the fancyness.
posted by batbat at 10:40 AM on January 2, 2015 [3 favorites]


A tailor can definitely take care of the alterations you need. I've had a ton of stuff tailored at Stanton Tailor Shop on the LES. Stanton is quick, reasonably priced, and produces good work (I now tailor most of my own stuff myself, so this recommendation is based on my experience several years ago). I've changed several boot cut pants into straight cut or skinny jeans, it's pretty easy to do.

You may want to look at peplum tops when shopping.
posted by melissasaurus at 10:42 AM on January 2, 2015 [2 favorites]


I strongly (but of course respectfully) disagree with @SamMiller. Buy a shirt that fits your top and fits your hips and ends where you want it to (or at least, is longer than you want, rather than shorter). Then take it to a tailor and have them fit it to you. I live in the DC area, and here I pay about $25 for this kind of alteration (side seams and underarm only -- also shortening a hem would be more). It might seem ridiculous to pay $25 to alter a $25 shirt, but the payoff in how it looks on you, and how you feel in it, is huge. No more tugging at it during the day to get the waist back in the right place, no more leaving the last button open to accommodate your hips.
posted by OrangeDisk at 10:45 AM on January 2, 2015 [1 favorite]


I have some similar issues with upper hip lumpiness and I've found that avoiding certain tight or drapey knit tops helps, but the biggest thing is higher rise pants. Try some high or mid rise skinny jeans or pants and see how you feel; this is basically the only way I can wear t-shirts without unfortunate lumpiness.
posted by MadamM at 11:10 AM on January 2, 2015


Can't help specifically with how to alter those items but as someone who forever needs pants and sleeves shortened, Dimitrios Z is amazing if you're looking on the UES. I found him because he was in my building, I still use him after moving further away. Downside? He's cash only.
posted by TravellingCari at 1:31 PM on January 2, 2015


How about adding a small open cropped jacket over your outfit? (jean, canvas, leather) I'm not so good with colors, but the right combination can draw eyes where you want them.

I think a sweetheart or square neckline would look nice on this body type, which fits in with more structured dresses/tops, ones with thicker fabric in the bodice and wouldn't cling.
posted by ana scoot at 11:26 PM on January 2, 2015


I have an hour-glass figure and very thick legs. The sad fact of the matter is that just because it's in my size and/or fits, it doesn't mean it's flattering. So shopping is really a treasure hunt and one with about a 100:1 ratio of misses to hits.

When I get an outfit right, it's a great feeling. I look put together and professional. When it's wrong, I look sloppy, fatter and dumpy.

Tailoring can't fix a style that's just plain unflattering. I may have to give up entirely on button down shirts. I must have tried on 700 of the damn things, and they're tight on the upper arms, tight across the bust and boxy from the rib-cage on down. Tailoring might help with the boxy part, but if I buy them bigger then they go weird across the back and shoulders with the arm-hole seam drooping to the upper arm.

So I use turtlenecks in the winter and t-shirts/shells in the summer.

I'm also short-waisted, so finding a jacket that actually fits well, will be tempered with the 99% chance that the damn thing is proportioned wrong and it will hit me wrong.

Sometimes we must sacrifice fashion for style. Skinny jeans actually fit me great, they just make me look like I'm smuggling golf balls in my thighs. Shorter skirts might smooth over my hips and make my waist look wee, but then I've got these polkies sticking out from under. Sure, dark tights might help with that, but at my age...I just can't pull that off anymore.

So I've settled on slacks that are straight from hip to foot, a tad long so that I can wear mid-heel shoes with them to give the illusion of length.

Tunics can be very flattering but they have to hit me at a particular place, and one inch too high or too low is wrong.

The old layered shirt/vest/sweater trick accentuates my shape while helping me deal with my short waist. I never tuck shirts into waistbands.

Belts, not as good an idea as one would think.

Longer skirts work well.

My suggestion is to go through your wardrobe and judge what's flattering and what really works with your figure. Then buy more of those things. Buy things that work in multiple colors. Go for items that mix and match so you can change it up without having to maintain beaucoup items. A shirt that only goes with one thing is not a good investment.

Simple is better. Avoid too much embellishment, plain jeans, classic silhouettes, neutral colors. If something in cheap, fast fashion catches your eye and fits well, great wear it for the season, but the second it's passe, get rid of it. Inject color in accessories that can be easily switched out of your wardrobe when no longer in vogue.

Think of clothing as an investment. Don't just buy cheap stuff because it's cheap. Inexpensive things can be fabulous finds. I have some Target Merona knit shells that work GREAT as vests and I've had them for years. I might have paid $15 for them. Macy's has great sales, so you can afford to spend a little on a great Tahari dress that will be wearable for a decade. Keep an eye peeled for fabulous deals. I found a Jones New York navy skirt. Usually they're about $100, this one was $13 on clearance. I bought it one size larger than usual, and took it in for alterations. It's a great piece, I'll have it for years and I can wear it once a week with different tops and no one will say, "Damn, is Bunny wearing that navy skirt AGAIN?"

If you find a pair of slacks that works for you, buy two of them in black.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:47 AM on January 3, 2015


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