- 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.
- 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.”
- 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 / 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.
- 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.
- 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.”
- 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.”