Posts related to tailor

A few weeks ago I was getting dressed for work one morning, and put on a shirt I hadn’t worn in a little while. Something felt off, in that I wanted the shirt to fall a little higher around my waste. It was slightly longer than I wanted. Did it look bad? Probably not. But did I want it perfect? Yes I did. Needless to say, I changed shirts and and left for work.

I came to the realization while driving that everything doesn’t need to be perfect. The shirt I chose not to wear wasn’t too slim or too baggy. It didn’t have bizarre colors/patterns. We are talking less than an inch in length that I was being picky about. And that’s dumb.

We can’t stress the importance of fit enough though. It’s one of the main things that separates an OK outfit from a great outfit. And how you define your style doesn’t mean that every item of clothing has the perfect fit. There are definitely important aspects about fit, like making sure your clothing fits your body type. But don’t try to make everything perfect. It’s a dead end street.

For a long time I never considered using a tailor. My clothes seemed to fit fine. But once I started to take my style more seriously, I figured I’d give it a try. I found a tailor close to my house and took an old pair of jeans there. I tried explaining to her what I was looking for and she seemed to not pay attention to what I was saying. This turned out to be true. When I went back a week later, the fit was too slim and she cut the pants too short. She would never get any more of my business.

Weeks later I bought my first $100+ pair of jeans that were too long and needed some slimming. I found Ali – a highly recommended tailor on Yelp. Upon arriving, Ali asked me how I found him and other questions about myself. We then chatted as he took measurements and pinned the backside of the legs of my jeans to show me what the outcome would look like before I said yes. It felt odd at first but I trusted that he knew his craft. We chatted a bit longer before I left. I felt like I had made a new friend.

A week later I show up and I’m greeted by an enthusiastic Ali. He has me try on the altered jeans. They were absolutely perfect. The fit was exactly what I requested. I highly underestimated the feel of a tailored fit. From then on I told myself that I’d never not use a tailor for my clothes.