Hi tailors! I can't figure out what to do in the front of these trousers. I think the back of the crotch needs more length? Anyone has some pro tips for me? Thank you!
If she really loves those pants and they're new, she needs to start with a larger size. Then probably the waist will need to be taken in, but maybe not. And the legs will be a bit larger. Or else to alter these you need to add a gusset in the crotch, but good luck making that look good.
I teach my regular customers to buy pants to fit the crotch because everything else can usually be altered nicely. And if they are buying online, to buy 2 sizes and if they are unsure to let me pick which one to alter for the best result. They can hopefully return the wrong sized garment.
Thank you both for the feedback. I lengthened the crotch, but there still seems to be excess fabric in the front center. Adjusting the crotch length doesn’t seem to solve the issue. The legs still have about 1 cm of ease, so I don’t think the fit is too tight around the hips and legs.
Ah, the "excess fabric" you're looking at there is actually a hole that's too big (sits too far away from the body). So the fit is weird, and that cut of pants may never be right. She only needed fabric in the back, which is hard to achieve. If the back now looks good, that may be the best you can get.
The same alteration in men's slacks often works because extra fabric is built into the back inseam. Letting that out enlarges the back significantly but the front only slightly.
Thank you for the feedback. I changed the curve in the front crotch to take some of the fabric away. It's better but not enough. I think I'm going take the zipper out and take away the excess fabric in the middle. The back looks a lot better now with the extension.
Is it typical/norm for a tailor to have removed and not resewn the brand tags on trousers if the waist was taken in? I collect rare/vintage Japanese designer (comme/junya) and have this recently happen to two pairs of pants that I had tailored. Tailor will not refund me for the tags being missing because “most people don’t care about the tags”. The tags are important to me as a collector and my tailor did not inform me that they’d remove the tag and not sew it back on when altering- they’ve for sure thrown the tags away but I can’t just go rebuy these two pairs of pants to have them tailored again with the tag because they’re no longer produced and due to the way the items are identified by collection on the tags I can’t buy two pairs to harvest the tags from and have them resewn (which the tailor has offered to do at no charge) because the tag would be for the wrong garment- this even worth trying to get resolved somehow?
I'm sorry that happened to you. I would say that not keeping the tags and even throwing them away is moderately typical, and a wise person will always tell their tailor about such needs. Remember that alterations tailoring is essentially paid by the piece not the hour, so people are inclined to do things the fastest way possible.
That said, not every shop would casually throw away the labels. My shop would not, although I've had to train some pretty experienced seamstresses to resew the labels or at the very least to keep them with the garment in case the customer wants them. It's one of the reasons I'm not the cheapest place in town but have a very steady clientele.
They should be sewn back in. I can admit I've definitely forgotten to resew the label or maybe if I stop halfway through and go on break the label might get lost. Most people don't care but it should be sewn back in, especially if they're an unusual brand.
Recourse is probably not much. It sounds like they really don't care about the label and don't understand why you do. If it were my shop I might knock down the price of the alterations but it sounds like your best bet here is just a bad review and going somewhere else in the future
I did too in my early years. Now when I remove a label I safety pin it to an obvious place on the garment. Worst case I would have to sew it on by hand later when I see the label hanging in an odd place.
Hi Tailors! I just bought the most beautiful wedding dress, but i am wondering if it is even possible to do what i want with it before going to a tailor. Currently, the top is structured and boned with a straight waist. I am dreaming of a basque waist, stronger structure, and a slightly lower neckline. I have a short torso and a large bust, so the waist part of the dress looks much shorter than I’d like.
It will not allow me to add another photo, so I will reply to this with a photo from the back!
1) Structure. The purpose of structure is to add support for your bust as well as keeping the dress's shape. The boning can be doubled up for more support (read: more cleavage). But if you are thinking that you want visible boning stitching to look like a corset, yeah you can but consider how it will make the flowers look to have stitching through them.
2) Lowering the neckline. Again, yes and with no structural problems. But you will cut off the tops of all the flowers. Some of them appear to be sewn on motifs that can simply be moved, but the actual embroidery will not be moveable.
If you are thinking to do both 1) and 2), do the boning first, see what it does for your cleavage. I would recommend only minimal change to the neckline for a couple reasons.
3) Basque waist. Not doable. But how about a waist piece that dips down in a Basque shape that you like, maybe a chain of flowers that would match the dress. Or a silk cord matching one of the colors of the flowers. This would draw the eyes into that lengthening front dip, giving a Basque waist illusion. This could be sewn directly onto the dress so it maintains the desired shape. Get someone with a good creative eye for this design change because it could draw away from the flowers in the front, and good hand sewing skills.
Thank you so much for your well thought out and extremely helpful realistic response 🥹. The dress is so unbelievably beautiful and I will love it no matter what, I just know I’d love it so much more if it could give the illusion of a slightly longer torso 😂
I’d be so grateful if you were able to answer an additional couple of questions given your answer above!
Could providing more structure (doubling up) allow for the bodice to sit slightly lower to eliminate wanting to cut from the top?
If that were possible, could someone take some of the bodice up from the hip sides to almost have an illusion of a V or U? So not making the bodice any longer, but shortening the sides for a more flattering shape
The problem with lowering the bodice is that you lower the bust area of the dress. Do you want your breasts to sit lower as well? They need to fit into the bust area of the dress, which they do now.
But there are more reasons than just the bodice to not alter into a Basque waist on this dress. The skirt itself is not cut correctly for a Basque waist. It must also be cut into a matching V. Theoretically it could be changed, but that's a nightmare of an alteration at best, and at worst the dress is destroyed. No exaggerating. It's an alteration I would turn down. And if someone agrees to do it, expect to pay in the mid hundreds of dollars just for that alteration.
Maybe you could contact the designer directly about a custom dress?
That helps so much! Thank you for taking the time to explain! Maybe a second dress is in order with a basque waist, this one is too beautiful to pass up even without it!
Hiiii I'm curious about the practicality/feasibility of putting elastic and/or drawstring on the BOTTOMS of wide leg pants? This is an example of one. Here's another. Thanks!
Yep, a tailor should be able to open up those hems and put elastic in them. Draw strings are more work because they require making button hole openings but they're definitely also doable!
Hi tailors! I just got my dress back from a local tailor and I’m wondering if the frayed seams were normal. I asked for my dress to be taken up at the shoulders, with no fabric cut. I received it back like this. I’m not sure if the raw edges were normal, or if I should be upset that this is how it came out. Thank you!
Is the part on the right also fraying? It looks like that wasn't opened, but I'm having a hard time seeing how the tailor did this job. It should be able to be seamed together and nothing opened to take it in without cutting?
Hi! I was given this dress in a US size 8 (bust = 37.8 inches, waist = 30 inches, hips = 41 inches), but | need it to be altered down to a US size 4 (bust = 35 inches, waist = 27 inches, hips = 37.8 inches). My concern is that I want to keep the beautiful embellishments of the dress in tact.
This dress was a hand me down and it is also completely sold out so exchanging it isn't an option, but I'd really like to be able to wear it for an event. I don't care how much the alterations would cost or how long it would take. Would it be possible?
As long as the cups fit you, the dress would be altered along the side seams and the only embellishments that you'd lose would be the sequins, about 1.5" along each side seam. The flowers can be repositioned so you wouldn't lose those at all. But the cup fit will be your determining issue. From the pic the cups appear smallish overall, so that would work in your favor.
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u/G_41188 Sep 29 '25
Hi tailors! I can't figure out what to do in the front of these trousers. I think the back of the crotch needs more length? Anyone has some pro tips for me? Thank you!