# Can I take a shirt with a bigger collar to a tailor to have it altered?



## blueinc (Oct 25, 2012)

I have a 17 inch collar (measured comfortably, with two fingers slipped-in), but only 36 waist. With Charles Tyrwhitt, I would need a 15 inch collar to get a shirt to fit my waist from them.

Can I buy a 17 inch collar shirt and take it to the tailor to adjust it, but still look decent? My main concern is the shoulders which might be too broad, and I suppose I can't do anything with them.

I'd rather not go the MTM way, but if I have to, I guess I won't have a choice ...


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## filfoster (Aug 23, 2011)

I will also be interested in this answer. I have been told the effects on the other shirt parts are too complicated to make this alteration practical for a shirt or a standing collar uniform jacket. As the collar gets smaller, the adjacent shirt/coat front pieces must 'fill in' to meet the smaller collar. Few garments have the extra cloth seamed in, to manage that.


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## firedancer (Jan 11, 2011)

Hmm, 
A 17" neck/36" waist sounds pretty normal. 

I would looks more at shirt fits, trim, extra trim, etc before trying to alter a collar. 

If you are going to buy shirts and then get them altered MTM may be just as cost effective anyway.


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## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

I had one altered once. I was not really happy with the result.

My tailor did it by cutting and inch or so out of the middle of the back of the collar. You could see a stitched line where she put it back together on the back of my neck. (After I lost weight, I tried to make one of my old custom made shirts work.) Even with a coat on you could see it. I felt self-conscious about it and did not wear the shirt.

If there is another way to shrink the collar, this could work; I can't think of one, but I'm not a tailor.


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## blueinc (Oct 25, 2012)

firedancer said:


> Hmm,
> A 17" neck/36" waist sounds pretty normal.
> 
> I would looks more at shirt fits, trim, extra trim, etc before trying to alter a collar.


Charles Tyrwhitt's Extra Slim Fit shirts (the slimmest fit of them all) have a 44.5 waist measurement. TM Lewin's Fully Fitted shirts have a waist of 40 inch. I prefer CT to TM Lewin because of the cut-away collars, which TM Lewin doesn't carry.



firedancer said:


> If you are going to buy shirts and then get them altered MTM may be just as cost effective anyway.


Around here, services of all kind are cheaper, so I don't think that's an argument. It's also easier for me to order them online and then have them altered in my city than go to another country, or worse, have them MTM online and if they don't fit, send them back across the globe for adjustments.

Actually, I could order them through an online MTM program, and if they need just a few alterations, I could ask my tailor to perform them.


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## firedancer (Jan 11, 2011)

They both sound like fine cuts to me. 
No way in the world you would want your shirt to be the same size as your waist. 

Even my trimmest shirts have 3 extra.


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## Tilton (Nov 27, 2011)

If your waist is 36" you need a shirt that is at least 38-39" just to be able to sit down without looking ridiculous and having the placket pulling open around the buttons. I have had the body of a few shirts successfully taken in an inch or so on either side, as have many here. That's not a big deal. But shirting companies put a lot of time and effort into their cuts, so it is usually pretty reasonable to expect them to be about right. For a 36" waist, a 16.5-17" neck is pretty darn normal, so take your shirts in in small increments to be on the safe side.


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## Natty Shirts (Feb 5, 2013)

A shirt with small collar can be altered to bigger one but is impossible to put a smaller collar on it as the neck line cutting can not be reduced by putting extra fabric back. Even one will need fabric to prepare new collar which won't be available as well in this case as well. This whole process will eventually cost you lot more than a good MTM shirt which you can easily buy online at OTR price.


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## Guest (Feb 22, 2020)

You rip the collar off and save it. Then you put tiny pleats spaced evenly around the part of the neck opening that will be concealed by the collar. 

Try on the shirt and button it all the way up. The neck opening should be smaller but not be super tight. 

Then, you turn the collar inside out and sew a new seam on one end to make the collar shorter. Pin the collar on and see if you like the results. Keep adjusting until you do. You could hand baste the collar on just to be sure. 

Finally, sew the collar back on. This will probably take 1 1/2 hours, so it might not be worth the work.


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## EclecticSr. (Sep 21, 2014)

Charles Tyrwhitt's (the slimmest fit of them all) have a 44.5 waist measurement. TM Lewin's Fully Fitted shirts have a waist of 40 inch. I prefer CT to TM Lewin because of the cut-away collars, which TM Lewin doesn't carry. 

Go back and look at their size chart for extra slim, I read 40.5" waist for 17" collar. 
Do you want a shirt that measures the same size as your waist? At 40.5 a tailor could dart the back if you would like to make it trimmer. What does your chest measure?


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## Color 8 (Sep 18, 2015)

IMO, buy shirts that fit your neck (17) and sleeve length, in the slimmest fit your preferred shirt company offers, and have the body taken in to your liking. This is common.


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## Guest (Aug 13, 2021)

Guest-194122 said:


> You rip the collar off and save it. Then you put tiny pleats spaced evenly around the part of the neck opening that will be concealed by the collar.
> 
> Try on the shirt and button it all the way up. The neck opening should be smaller but not be super tight.
> 
> ...


Wow! What a detailed response. I wish I knew how to sew bc this makes total sense (just had no idea how to do it). Besides, I have no idea what 'hand basting' is but sounds like quite the skill.


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## Steve Smith (Jan 12, 2008)

OP, you are right in the middle of the bell curve with a 17 inch neck and 36 inch waist. I am baffled by the issue here. I wear a 16.5 and have a 35 inch waist. Brooks Brothers Regent fit (Slim) is fine for me. Milano and Soho fit are available for slimmer fits. Maybe you need to look at other brands.

If a 15 neck size shirt fits you in the shoulder then you need to go MTM.


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