Not too long ago, I was tailoring-naive. I would read countless blog posts by fashion bloggers big and small talking about having their clothing tailored, and to be honest, I used to think it was a bit of a waste of money and not worth it.
Lately though, I’ve been dabbling with getting my clothing tailored, and I think I may have been converted. Five months ago, I posted an ASOS haul featuring this lace dress:
I loved so many things about this dress – its Self Portrait-like style, the delicate lace, the black trim, the rustic gray blue color… Despite its many positive attributes, I kept feeling like the dress could be 10x better for my frame if it was above the knee and pinched in a bit at the waist. So off I went to the tailor.
I was hesitant about taking this dress to the tailor because I wasn’t sure how easy it would be to tailor all that lace. I talked to my tailor and he said it wouldn’t be a problem at all, that he would definitely be able to do it. When I picked up the dress and tried it on, I could see that he wasn’t lying. The dress was beautiful and fit like a glove.
Excuse the gap at the top! The zipper was hard to reach by myself, so I could only pull it up part way.
My advice if you’re new to tailoring like I am is to tailor items that you wouldn’t easily find “right off the rack,” as they call it. For example, it is extremely hard for me to find trousers for my petite size and stature, so if I were to find a slightly large pair of trousers, I might buy it and bring it to the tailor for a pinch and a hem. Tops are not as difficult for me to find, so I probably would not bring something like this to a tailor. For tops, I would wait to find a better fitting top that fits right off the rack.
This dress was so unique in its design and fabric that I felt justified in bringing it to the tailor. Even in hindsight, I don’t regret spending the extra money to have this dress tailored because it just feels so pretty on.
Have you ever dabbled in having your garments tailored? Do you think it’s worth it to have your clothes tailored to fit? Leave your comments down below!
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Thanks so much for reading!
I haven’t every gone to a professional tailor, though I probably sure since even petite pants tend to be too long on me (the woes of being a member to the under 5 foot club). I do come for a family of short people though and my mom is a sewing fiend, so she’s been crafting a better fit for all of my father’s work clothes for years. I need to get her tips!
I have an aunt who’s a tailor, but unfortunately we don’t live in the same state. Whenever she comes to visit, I can’t help but ask her to tailor a couple things for free. Me on the other hand, I’ve yet to even learn how to sew on a loose button, nevermind tailoring =P