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Alterations Questions -- Is This Possible?

IndyGal

Hi, everyone --

I'm a long time lurker of this blog and would love your expert advice. I've recently lost about 20lbs and have an ultimate goal of another 15lbs. I'm having quite a bit of trouble now with my work wardrobe, as everything is too big.

My question is, does anyone know about how many sizes down one can alter clothing before it loses its shape and integrity? For reference, I'm 5'4" and hourglass, all of my pencil skirts are about a size 10/12 while my body is now about an 8 (so everything's currently really loose), and I'll be about a 6 by the time I'm finished with my weight loss. Should I wait until I reach goal and try to alter all of my clothing? Or is it even possible to take in fitted pieces like pencil skirts a full 2-3 sizes? Or should I just alter them a bit now so they fit better and buy new pieces once at goal?

Any seamstresses out there who can advise, or anyone who's been in a similar position?

Thanks in advance for any replies. Sorry if this post seems obnoxious to anyone... I know, woe is me, I'm too small for my clothes! I genuinely don't know what to do, though! I look like frumpty dumpty now.

Dressing

14 replies

Latest reply was from ironkurtin

Meredith1953

Veteran

HI Indygal,
First of all congratulations on that weight loss! I wish I knew more about what tailoring is required but I can' even sew a button on straight!

Nakidra

Veteran

Not a seamstress, but first I wanted to say CONGRATS on you weight loss! When I first started working I was newly pregnant so all of the work clothes that I had were too big (like 2 or 3 sizes too big) or maternity clothes. After I had the baby I did have some of the nicer non-maternity clothes taken in several sizes. Some of the pieces turned out really great and some on them were no saveable - it depends on the existing shape of the garment. Also, I went to a really, really good seamstress (not my dear mother who does a fab job!) and she did a good job. I had good luck with some of my nicer suit jackets and with straight-legged pants. High-waist pants did not work and neither did jeans.

Hopefully someone with more knowledge can help you out.

Good luck!!!

IndyGal

Thanks for the nice comments, ladies!

Nakidra, you're probably right -- I may just need to take all of my clothes to my tailor (who, like yours, is amazing) and ask her opinion on what can be salvaged based on how they're constructed. I really don't have many pants; it's just my collection of about 25 skirts I'm worried about! This may sound silly (well, perhaps not on this forum...), but I really love my clothes and would be sad to lose them all!

IndyGal

Double post, sorry!

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

Congratulations, Indygal! What a great feeling, to be reaching your weight goal. And what bittersweet happiness, to be unable to wear some of your old favorites. I sew a lot, although I'm no alterations expert. Pencil skirts can be altered to fit your new size and shape, probably from your 10-12 down to 6. Some caveats. . . .
1) If they zip in back, that's good (you can take in side seams more easily, if you're not removing and reinserting a zipper).
2) You may find that any darts in front and/or back will end up farther toward the side seams than you would place them if you were sewing the skirt from scratch. This may or may not look awkward enough to bother you. If there's a single dart on each side of the front (and/or back), you could always take another dart next to it, closer to the center, to help balance out the look.
3) Unlined skirts may be easier to alter than lined skirts. (The lining is essentially a second skirt that needs the same alterations as the outer one. And it's attached at the vent and hem, etc., so not quite as simple as altering two separate pieces.)
4) There's a lot of work involved to remove a waist band or waist facing, to do these alterations. So I would not expect the alterations to be inexpensive. But you can always get an estimate and see if you're willing to pay the price.

For pants, you may or may not be able to alter them. You can take off the waistband and take in side seams like you do with the skirt. If the crotch is too long, you can cut off some of the top and put the waistband back on lower--but this would work only for pants that don't have pockets, on back or front. AND even with these adjustments, there remains the possible problem of extra fabric under your fanny at the top of the thigh, which would require taking in the inside leg seam. At this point, you could probably pay for a custom-made pair of pants from scratch!

I wouldn't attempt any of this until you reach your final weight goal, in any case, because the alternations will depend on your final shape, not just weight.

HTH!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

First, congratulations on your ongoing weight loss! And I can commiserate. Not too long ago I lost a total of 37 pounds, and for a while, I literally had nothing to wear. That is when I joined YLF to try to get help in revamping my wardrobe.

My experience, for what it is worth:

Until I lost as much weight as I needed and wanted to lose, I decided not to buy much. My economic circumstances didn't really allow me to, and since I work from home I was fortunate in that I did not have to be seen in public all that often! However, I did buy an "interim" pair of jeans and a few shirts.

Once the weight was all gone, I got serious about purging, altering and purchasing.

I purged bags and bags of stuff.

I looked critically at a few favourite pieces and brought them for alterations. Some alterations were more successful than others. Best were those where there was an elastic waist (for example) - that just required changing the elastic to a smaller one. Things that could be fixed by taking in the side seams also came out okay. Anything more complicated than that, I tended not to bother with. The clothes were already on the older side anyway.

My next stop was the thrift and discount stores for a few items to tide me over while I worked on figuring out how to dress my new body shape. Because what Firecracker says is true; sometimes we change shape as well as size, and I did. I went from a pear-ish hourglass to a slim hourglass/rectangle with more rectangular tendencies than I'd ever imagined!

If you need work clothes, I would strongly recommend looking for a few simple basics that you can use for now and won't mind donated after you've lost all the weight you expect to lose. And then what fun you will have, shopping!

Lantana

Veteran

Firecracker has given you excellent advice which, as a fellow sewer, I fully endorse. You need to weigh up the cost of altering or remaking your skirts against having new ones tailor made. Consider the fabric, stitching and hardware on your current skirts, all of which will have a shorter life than a newly made skirt. And remember the YLF mantra of dressing the body you have now. If you are size 8 right now, and buy for your current size and shape, it will be less bothersome to size down to your goal of a size 6.

maharani

I also recently lost about 20lbs/1 dress size and have to get everything tailored anyway. 1 dress size can be tailored fairly easily, and I have a black wool pencil skirt that has been taken in twice since I bought it in 2010! I think it is worth it as it is a perfect skirt and I wear it a lot. My seamstress would probably suggest I buy new if I wanted to tailor my current things more than a size down, ie suits-for cost reasons as much as changing the way a garment looks. She is also a personal shopper/wardrobe consultant, so I usually ask her advice first.

IndyGal

Wow, thanks for all the great advice!

Firecracker, thanks for the detailed comments! I checked, and almost all of the skirts have back zippers, but they also have darts, linings, and some kind of intricate waistband, pleats, or hem detailing. This may be more trouble/expense than it's worth, I'm thinking!

Suz, I definitely agree with your thoughts about being pickier about my new purchases. Reaching goal will be the perfect opportunity to buy high quality pieces that will help show off my new size. I can't afford a new interim wardrobe either, but my job is in a very high-profile government building where you could run into the governor or supreme court justices on any given day -- can't have one's pants falling down in that situation! I like your idea about a few in-between pieces that I won't mind getting rid of later.

Lantana, how much on average would it cost to have something custom made? I've never considered that before. Most of my wardrobe comes from Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, and White House Black Market, but I only shop with coupons/sales or at outlets, so I'd say I rarely pay more than $40-50 for any given piece. Think it'd be much more expensive than that to have something custom made?

Maharani, I'm glad to hear that one size can be done easily. I may take in a few of my simpler skirts to be tailored to fit me now as in-between clothes.

You all have given great ideas... I think what I will do is take a few pieces to the tailor next weekend to get quotes and will buy one or two great-fitting basics to hold me over. That should give me a few options until I reach goal in another 2 months-ish.

Thanks again, everyone!!

Mander

(website)

Veteran

You wear a range of fairly common straight sizes, so I think you stand a good chance of finding decent interim clothes in thrift stores, ebay, and lower-end shops. It takes a little patience, but I would imagine you will be happier buying things that fit to start with, even if they aren't the best quality, than having something altered.

IndyGal

Update! I took 10 skirts/dresses to my fabulous tailor to get prices and see which of my too-big pieces would be worth saving. Luckily, she said she'd be able to fix everything, and the price came to about $15 per item -- $14 for unlined skirts and $16 for lined. So, I'm getting 10 "new" pieces that actually fit me for $150! I thought that was very reasonable to be able to keep my nice quality clothing, and it's probably cheaper than buying new cheapo "interim" items while I continue to lose. (That may sound like a lot of skirts, btw, but I don't wear pants. Ever, really...)

Anyway, just wanted to share in case anyone else is in the same boat!

Fruitful

Veteran

Indygal, I've read this thread with interest as I have a lot of things I'd like altered (and some body fat I'd like to lose). I'm thrilled for you that your seamstress can do the job, and for such a good price! Please do update when it's done. (And I hardly wear pants either...umm that came out wrong lol ^_^)

IndyGal

Final update! I picked up everything from my tailor, and it all looks GREAT. Every piece looks like it was custom made for me. So happy to finally have clothes that fit again!

A few things I didn't consider: everything got shorter! I had been wearing everything low on the hips because that's just where they fell, and when they got nipped in to properly fit at the waist, the hemline naturally went up. Also, while you can't see it from the outside, you can tell on the inside where some seams got added or fabric was removed. Not an issue at all, but I can just feel thicker layers of fabric in some places or an extra inside seam on the waistband.

All in all, super happy!

ironkurtin

Veteran

Very interesting thread, thanks for sharing this info!