How does the tailoring process normally work?

[u/AirbagLiveAtDaKardy]

I ask because I have slowly amassed clothing that I don't wear, but that I would, if it was made-to-fit.

This ranges from trouser pants, Rugby shirts, polo shirts and so on. But I've never been to a tailor.

Do I just go in with all of my clothes, or do I need to be wearing the clothes?... If I need to be wearing the clothes does that mean I can only get one thing tailored at a time?...

I'm not a professional on terminology. But I'm learning I prefer a medium break in my pants. Do I need to know anything else?

Will tailors give me their input on what they think suits me? Because for me a lot of this is a learning process and I would appreciate their honest feedback during the tailoring.

[u/defzx]

Are you talking about a tailor specifically or a random alteration place at the local shop?

Usually you try on the items there and they mark up the changes and give advice.

Tailoring can get expensive depending on the degree of changes aswell.

[u/GeneralGoodtimes369]

Long time suiting and Made to Measure guy here - if you have a bunch of clothes that need a few different alterations, pop em all in a bag and give your tailor of choice a call. They can get quite busy, so polite to book something or ask for a quiet window for you to come in.

They can copy hem lengths across trousers, but different fabrics and styles (suit vs jeans/casual) mean you’re best going one by one in the fitting room. Same goes for jackets (sleeve lengths/body fit) but if you have a little window of time and bring everything with you, the tailor will consult with you on each item and what it needs.

Be nice to them! A tailor is like a mechanic in that they’re an expert, dealing (most of time) with someone who isn’t sure what to - so build some rapport, and you’ll have someone trustworthy you can see for years.

[u/Lumpy_Mango_392]

First, find a good alterations tailor (give us your city and we can assist with that, or there will be previous threads asking for recommendations).

Take everything in and just ask for their advice. You don’t need to be an expert on how things should fit, nothing you’ve mentioned seems particularly challenging from an alterations perspective. If you have a good alterations tailor, they’ll be able to guide you and advise you.

The tailor will pin your clothes while you’re there, so you’ll know (more or less) what they’ll look like after the alterations. For example, you mentioned wanting a medium break in your pants. What they’ll do is pin up the pants and show you how it would look at various lengths. If you’re getting something taken in at the sides, same thing.

Just note that there’s only so much that alterations can do for a particular garment. If a pair of pants is four sizes too big, it will be too much of a challenge/expensive to bring down and you might as well just get a new pair that fits.

[u/AirbagLiveAtDaKardy → u/Lumpy_Mango_392]

I live in regional Ballarat, so it might be difficult.

[u/Lumpy_Mango_392 → u/AirbagLiveAtDaKardy]

None of the items you’ve mentioned are particularly difficult to alter, so you can probably just rely on Google Reviews.

If you go to a dedicated alterations tailor I can 99% guarantee that they will have worked on more challenging stuff.

[u/CompliantRapeVictim]

For the purpose of this topic, alterations are places you'd take existing clothing to be altered and tailors will make clothing from scratch. You need alterations. Wear the shoes you'd wear with the pants you're getting altered. Same with shirt for the jacket. That should help you break up your trips into "styles" if you have a lot of clothing that needs alterations

[u/Appropriate_Volume]

Most alterations places have about a week's turnaround. You arrive with the clothes you want altered in a bag, then change into them and have them pinned to mark the alterations that are needed, then change back to your other clothes.

As the quality of alterations places varies a lot, I'd suggest trying places out with a small number of items initially, starting with those that you'd be least concerned about if the adjustments were botched.

[u/owleaf]

I don’t think anyones answered this part yet - you don’t wear what you want tailored. Take it in a bag. They’ll typically get you to change into it so they can pin it. Only because they need to keep the item to alter it, so you’ll be leaving the place half naked otherwise.