# Tailors - how much can you take in pants?



## medhat (Jan 15, 2006)

Any and all. Just received in the mail 2 suits I ordered from STP with a ridiculous Facebook discount, and trying them on tonight before bringing them to the tailor I find the pants (both 36") are expectedly huge (I'm a 30... now). Does anyone have experience with having pants taken in to this degree (~ 6")? The jackets are both 42 short, and while they're too generous in the waist the shoulders are really quite good for RTW. One's a Calvin Klein Slim (I know, don't stay it, but it was plenty cheap), and the other is Jack Victor (Canada made). Looks wise they're quite nice, and if I can get them to fit I'll keep them. My tailor has done similar alterations on other same-sized suits (also from STP, mostly Arnold Brandt) with good results, but my waistline has continued to shrink (on purpose) and I don't know if I'm pushing the limits on what can be done with the pants. Given that they were quite inexpensive (with discount on discount) to start with, I don't mind paying a little more for tailoring. They're suits for work, for after hours stuff I have bespoke/MTM, and thus bypass this problem. Thanks!


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## drlivingston (Jun 21, 2012)

6"??? You may as well just merge to have one back pocket. :icon_smile_big: Seriously, I feel that it is going to be too extreme of a measure.


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## Flanderian (Apr 30, 2008)

Usually a max of 2", if you hope to have them wind up looking decent.


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## aluminiumfish (Feb 19, 2009)

10% is a useful rule of thumb of the maximum (not great at that ...but wearable).


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## Barnavelt (Jul 31, 2012)

I approached my tailor with a similar request and was told it wouldn't work.


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## Tim Correll (Jul 18, 2005)

medhat said:


> Any and all. Just received in the mail 2 suits I ordered from STP with a ridiculous Facebook discount, and trying them on tonight before bringing them to the tailor I find the pants (both 36") are expectedly huge (I'm a 30... now). Does anyone have experience with having pants taken in to this degree (~ 6")? The jackets are both 42 short, and while they're too generous in the waist the shoulders are really quite good for RTW. One's a Calvin Klein Slim (I know, don't stay it, but it was plenty cheap), and the other is Jack Victor (Canada made). Looks wise they're quite nice, and if I can get them to fit I'll keep them. My tailor has done similar alterations on other same-sized suits (also from STP, mostly Arnold Brandt) with good results, but my waistline has continued to shrink (on purpose) and I don't know if I'm pushing the limits on what can be done with the pants. Given that they were quite inexpensive (with discount on discount) to start with, I don't mind paying a little more for tailoring. They're suits for work, for after hours stuff I have bespoke/MTM, and thus bypass this problem. Thanks!


Why can't you just wear the bespoke and MTM suits to work? Are they made out of a delicate fabric or something (such as over super 120s thread count, any amount of cashmere, cotton, linen, silk, under 10 ounces, and so on and so forth)? If so, buy bespoke and, if possible, MTM suits that are 13+ ounces (or, at the absolute least, 10 to 12.75 ounces), under super 100s thread count, 100% wool (fresco and worsted are best for durability, especially on the job) and so on a so forth.

If I wore a suit to work, I would want to look my best possible without over doing it. Such a thing is possible with all bespoke and a few MTM suits, but only if the fabric weight is 10 to 12.75 ounces (medium weight range), much preferably 13+ ounces (heavy weight range)-16+ ounces only for nappier fabrics like wool tweed, woolen flannel and worsted flannel (to name a few), thread count under super 100s, 100% wool (10 to 15.75 ounces should be limited to fresco and worsted, which, of course, can also go up to 16+ ounces) and so on and so forth.


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## filfoster (Aug 23, 2011)

You can take them in that amount but most tailors DO NOT WANT to do the serious alteration that is required. I spent some time with my tailor (Mike Trotta in Cincinnati) who showed me what's required to 're-cut' the trousers. The waistband, belt loops, etc. have to be taken off, which is a pain in the a**. The zipper and fly may also have to be recut. For most people, it's not worth the cost of the tailor's time.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

A couple of years back I purchased a size 46R suit from O'Connell's and found it necessary to have the trouser waist reduced by almost three inches. I'm not sure if my sensitivity to such has been unrealistically heightened from reading threads such as this, but it seems to me that a three inch reduction does affect the positioning of the hip pockets to the point that an observer might scratch their head, wondering if the wearer just might be squeezing the cheeks together in resistance of the aftereffects of that bowl of black bean soup they enjoyed for lunch that day!  Seriously, I would not recommend altering trouser waists more than two inches and certainly by not more than the three inches that I attempted.


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## Flanderian (Apr 30, 2008)

eagle2250 said:


> a three inch reduction does affect the positioning of the hip pockets to the point that an observer might scratch their head, wondering if the wearer just might be squeezing the cheeks together


And I suspect a 6" reduction might move the side pockets sufficiently to the rear to make an observer wonder why you have gills on your backside! :icon_smile_wink:

I have little doubt that a highly skilled tailor could recut the pants, and for the mere price of a new pair of bespoke trousers you could have your bargain altered to fit properly.


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## medhat (Jan 15, 2006)

Thanks everyone. A brief visit to my tailor today confirmed everyone's impressions. I just brought one of the suits (a Glen Plaid), and she said that while "maybe" it might work if it were a solid, she felt that trying to make all those changes with a patterned fabric would likely end us looking (her words) "weird". Returning the suits today. Oh well. Will likely suck it up and make an appointment with Gordon Yao next time he's traveling stateside in Chicago. Again, thank's for the input!


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## Mr. Mac (Mar 14, 2008)

Can and should are different things. Should? 2". Tread lightly beyond that, for there be dragons.


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