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1. Shorten a shirt or add a shirt tail hem.

“Having a shirt hem taken up even a half inch can make a big difference, as a too-long top can overwhelm a petite frame and always tends to bunch up and look sloppy. On most simple tops (even those with buttons), you can ask Tommy’s Alterations to add a curved, shirttail style hem instead of a boring straight one. This will create a more interesting, flattering silhouette. This alteration also allows you to tuck tops into clingier skirts or trousers with only minimal bunching.

2. Take in a shirt at the side seams.

“The golden rule of alterations is that anywhere a straight seam exists on a garment is pretty much fair game for an alteration. So if you’re considering the purchase of a blouse or shirt you love with a fit that’s on the not-so-perfect boxy side, check to see if it has a straight seam on each side of the body. If it does, march right up to the pay desk pay for that bad boy, because taking a straight seam in at the sides is one of the easiest clothing fixes there is.

“If your boxy-cut shirt or blouse has sleeves, the alteration becomes slightly more complicated, as we will need to cut into the underarm area too. But altering the sides through the underarm is still easily accomplished and totally worth doing. Just keep in mind that it means you’ll have to make sure the shirt in question has enough room in the underarm to allow for a small chunk of fabric to be removed. If it’s big on the sides but tight in the underarm, it’s a no-go.”

3. Take up a shoulder seam (or shorten your straps).

“This is the mother of all alterations for those of you with short torsos. If you find that many garments hang down a little too low in front and shows the sides of your bra, it’s likely due to the shoulder seam being too long. And a good shoulder fit is important, as it can actually improve the look and feel of the entire garment. This alteration works best with a sleeveless or tank top style blouse, as removing the sleeve and reattaching it is tricky, and many times, they won’t hang right afterward.

“Taking a sleeveless garment up at the shoulder seam is an easy, inexpensive fix, “However, it does automatically raise the front and back necklines too, making the neckline circumference smaller. Whatever amount you raise the shoulder seam will also take the armhole up by the same amount. So make sure you can afford to lose the room before you take the plunge.”

4. Hem a pair of trousers or jeans.

“A simple hem on a pair of trousers / jeans does not cost the earth, but the difference it makes in your look is priceless. Just a few inches off the bottom allows the pants to fall straight from your hips as the designer intended — resulting in a clean, sleek, fresh line from waist to floor.

“Everyone thinks shortening the hem of jeans is totally out of the question because it’s so hard to replicate the original one due to stitching details. But it’s really not — you just need to turn Tommy’s Alterations to achieve it.

A word of caution: “Always make sure to wash and dry your jeans at least once or twice before hemming so they can get all the shrinkage out of their system,” Then, and only then, will you know how much you can safely chop off.

5. Add some darts.

“Darts are most commonly used in blouses and shirts to improve fit, but can be just as useful to shape a pair of trousers or a skirt. At Tommy’s Alterations we space the two darts apart evenly, most likely placing them over the fullest part of each bum cheek.

The darts will take in the most fabric at the waistband and go down to zero fabric at the point where your hips begin to widen. “You can also use darts to slim down a boxy jacket. If you have broad shoulders, you may find that you need to buy your jackets a size or two up to have them fit well through the shoulders — but this almost always causes it to be too boxy through the waist.

6. Slim down a sleeve.

“Cutting down a voluminous sleeve is another alteration that doesn’t cost a ton but makes a huge difference in how a garment looks. When a sleeve is too loose, it usually means the armpit is too big as well. Tommy’s Alterations can take in anywhere from a half inch to a full two inches from the underside sleeve seam, going from the wrist all the way to the underarm and down into the side-chest seam to create a slimmed down, prettier shape. 7. Taper a trouser leg.

“You obviously can’t make a pair of wide-leg trousers into a legging with this alteration, but you can easily trim a bit of excess volume along the garment’s inner and outer seams, resulting in a more flattering, streamlined silhouette.”

Fair warning: “Bringing a pair of trousers in by more than about two inches often necessitates moving the pockets to a point where the whole thing just looks wrong. You may be better off just springing for a new pair that fits you better.”

8. Replace a terrible invisible zip.

“The zip that will give you the most trouble in life is an invisible zip, which is practically embedded into the garment, rendering the zip — wait for it — invisible once zipped up! They are commonly found on better cocktail and party dresses.

“Tommy’s Alterations can replace your zip completely, and we can provide the new zip to ensure a perfect colour and style match. Consider replacing plastic zips with metal ones, as they are stronger and can take more of a beating.

“If you have a dress that’s just a few centimetres too tight (or every zip you ever use breaks and gets stuck), you could also consider replacing your invisible zips with a sturdier exposed zip and treating it like a style detail.”

The Good. Anything in your wardrobe will look better on you when it actually fits.  Sleeve length, excess blousing around the torso, and too much/little room in the seat of the pants can all be adjusted to a certain degree.  It’s very likely that you can salvage many of the ill-fitting garments in your wardrobe by simply having them altered to fit at Tommy’s Alterations.

The Bad. Our Customer base know the cost of making all the needed alterations to a garment may very well exceed what you paid for it due in part to the lack of skilled seamstresses and tailors out there and poor service.  Also, some parts of a garment can’t be fixed or adjusted past a certain point.  A jacket that’s two inches too short often cannot be lengthened because of either the lack of fabric and/or the structural build of the garment does not allow it.  Now there are always exceptions- At Tommy’s Alterations we will be open and honest about our customer’s expectations, however, sometimes we have worked miracles and on the other hand we are not disappointed to say “no it cannot be done”.

The Ugly – No Business is going to admit they are bad at clothing Alterations; instead, some of our customers have shared their bad experiences using other Alteration services in and around East Kilbride.  They have been made promises they could not keep, missing deadline after deadline trying to figure out how to tackle your problem or even fix the incorrect alteration they carried out, not answer or returning calls.

Tommy’s Alterations 3 Ingredients of a Successful Alteration

There are three things that make any clothing alteration successful:

1) We have the skill level to carry out the work.

2) We are Open and honest with our customers on whether or not the garment has the fabric for the alteration and what to expect once altered.

3) We always take into account how the alteration will affect the garment’s proportions.

Shorten a shirt or add a shirt tail hem.

Having a shirt hem taken up even a half inch can make a big difference, as a too-long top can overwhelm a petite frame and always tends to bunch up and look sloppy, On most simple tops (even those with buttons), you can ask your tailor to add a curved, shirttail style hem instead of a boring straight one. This will create a more interesting, flattering silhouette. This alteration also allows you to tuck tops into clingier skirts or pants with only minimal bunching.

However, if there are pockets or zippers involved near the hem of the shirt, attempting to shorten it probably isn’t worth the trouble. Leave those pieces on the rack and never look back, because replacing zips and moving pockets can become costly alterations.

Take in a shirt at the side seams.

The golden rule of alterations is that anywhere a straight seam exists on a garment is pretty much fair game for an alteration. So if you’re considering the purchase of a blouse you love with a fit that’s on the not-so-perfect boxy side, check to see if it has a straight seam on each side of the body. If it does, walk right up to the checkout and pay for that bad boy, because taking a straight seam in at the sides is one of the easiest clothing fixes there is.

If your boxy-cut shirt has sleeves, the alteration becomes slightly more complicated, as the seamstress will need to cut into the underarm area too. But altering the sides through the underarm is still easily accomplished and totally worth doing. Just keep in mind that it means you’ll have to make sure the shirt in question has enough room in the underarm to allow for a small chunk of fabric to be removed. If it’s big on the sides but tight in the underarm, it’s a no-go.

Take up a shoulder seam (or shorten your straps).

This is the mother of all alterations for those of you with short torsos. If you find that many garments hang down a little too low in front and shows the sides of your bra, it’s likely due to the shoulder seam being too long. And a good shoulder fit is important, as it can actually improve the look and feel of the entire garment. This alteration works best with a sleeveless or tank top style blouse, as removing the sleeve and reattaching it is tricky, and many times, they won’t hang right afterward.

Taking a sleeveless garment up at the shoulder seam is an easy, inexpensive fix, however, it does automatically raise the front and back necklines too, making the neckline circumference smaller. Whatever amount you raise the shoulder seam will also take the armhole up by the same amount. So make sure you can afford to lose the room before you take the plunge.

 Hem a pair of trousers or jeans.

A simple hem on a pair of trousers does not cost a lot, but the difference it makes in your look is priceless. Just a few inches off the bottom allows the trousers or jeans to fall straight from your hips as the designer intended — resulting in a clean, sleek, fresh line from waist to floor.

Everyone thinks shortening the hem of jeans is totally out of the question because it’s so hard to replicate the original one due to stitching details, but it’s really not, the original stitch or one of your choice can be carried out.

 Add some darts.

Darts are most commonly used in blouses to improve fit at the bustline, shirts for a slim look, but can be just as useful to shape a pair of trousers or a skirt. The seamstress will space the two darts apart evenly, most likely placing them over the fullest part of each bum cheek. The darts will take in the most fabric at the waistband and go down to zero fabric at the point where your hips begin to widen.

You can also use darts to slim down a boxy jacket. If you have broad shoulders, you may find that you need to buy your jackets a size or two up to have them fit well through the shoulders — but this almost always causes it to be too boxy through the waist.

Slim down a sleeve.

Cutting down a voluminous sleeve is another alteration that doesn’t cost a ton but makes a huge difference in how a garment looks. When a sleeve is too loose, it usually means the armpit is too big as well. Your seamstress can take in anywhere from a half inch to a full two inches from the underside sleeve seam, going from the wrist all the way to the underarm and down into the side-chest seam to create a slimmed down, prettier shape. Taper a trouser leg.

You obviously can’t make a pair of wide-leg pants into a legging with this alteration, but you can have your seamstress can easily trim a bit of excess volume along the garment’s inner and outer seams, resulting in a more flattering, streamlined silhouette.”

Replace a terrible invisible zip.

The zip that will give you the most trouble in life is an invisible zip, which is practically embedded into the garment, rendering the zip — wait for it — invisible once zipped up! They are commonly found on cocktail and party dresses.

These, however, can be replaced easily, either by supplying a replacement zip or us supplying one to you to ensure a perfect colour and style match. “If you have a dress that’s just a few centimetres too tight (or every zipp you ever use breaks and gets stuck), you could also consider replacing your invisible zips with a sturdier exposed zip and treating it like a style detail.”

Altering clothes not only makes you feel good, but look good and “because I’m worth it” — it makes your clothes fit. Clothing alterations can transform your clothes.

Even if you’re a straight off-the-rack size, a few judicious tucks can make your clothes look like a million pounds. If you’re short, tall, have lost weight, gained weight or want to knock new life into old stuff, it’s also great.

Many of our customers buy everything in random sizes at clearance sales and then get them adjusted, leaving them looking great and sharp. Many people think it is far too expensive to alter clothes, this is not the case, many alterations are far cheaper

than you think for services like hemming, taking in, and basic adjustments, check out our Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/TommysAlterationsEK .

If you buy something — say, a suit or a dress — at a high-end store, many will have in-house tailors, in which case take advantage of it. At Tommy’s Alterations we offer our customers a great quality, cheap and friendly service, check out our reviews on Facebook.

They say you can get a good sense of a Quality Alterations Business with the reviews they receive, check out ours, they will tell you all you need to know.

We set our price structure to offer a cheap, non-discounted, quality personal service, which is our foundation and commitment to all our customers and the reason we are sustaining and growing our customer base, this is why our customers keep coming back.

There is no greater advertisement than word of mouth, All our customers share their experience with family and friends, this is why we are attracting new customers every day.

Very positive first 5 months in trading and growing month on month thanks to the power of social media and word of mouth. In the Alterations Business we depend on our customer base and the satisfaction that our customers receive from our services.

20% of our current growth has been to the detriment of over similar businesses not achieving customer satisfaction  and those customers seeking a friendly low cost, high quality service at Tommy’s Alterations.

We value every customer that comes to us and ensure that the quality of service they receive is No1. When you use our services you get the best, so forget the rest.

New blinds can be made to your specification. Having your blinds made this way can be so much cheaper. Consider this the next time you need any Curtains or Blinds.   

I would like to say a special thanks to all our new customers and I would ask if you would continue spreading the word and pass on my details to all your family, friends and work associates

The true cost of how we design, use and dispose of the clothing in the UK.

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