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Do you need to buy a new suit or can you resize your current one? 
So your favourite suit is now too small (it happens to the best of us!) or now a little too big thanks to some great work in the gym or your new healthier lifestyle. 
 
Do you need to buy a new suit or can you resize your current one? 
 
Well, depending on the number of changes you need, it is entirely possible that your suit can be resized. Clearly making suits smaller is a lot easier than making them larger but here are the options you have and what an experienced suit tailor like ours at Heaphys can do for you in most cases. 
 
 
Sleeves can be shortened considerably 
 
The suit sleeves can be taken up quite a bit. Although it’s unlikely that your arms will have shrunk, if you’ve bought a suit and it’s simply too long in the arm then it’s very simple to take up the arms of your jacket for the perfect fit. 
 
 
Sleeves can be lengthened a little sometimes 
 
Most suit jackets have a little spare material in the arms from when they were manufactured. It’s possible to unstitch this and bring out the sleeves a little to give you some more length in the arms. This is limited to about an inch or so but that inch can make all the difference. 
 
 
Jackets can be taken in on the waist (tailored) through the side seams 
 
If you’ve lost a little around the waist or simply have a jacket that’s a little large around the middle then you can take it in or tailor it to fit you better. A good seamstress (we have one in store) can work on the material and jacket style to give you a great fit and breathe new life into your jacket. 
 
 
Jackets can be let out sometimes, depending on the maker’s seam allowance 
 
Just like the sleeves on your jacket, the seams elsewhere on the jacket do often have some room for manoeuvre. The back of your jacket can be taken out a little although if you’re after more than a few inches you might be out of luck. We’d be happy to have a look behind the jacket lining to tell you for certain if it can be done. 
 
 
Jackets can be shortened up to 1.5” 
 
Working with the existing material a jacket can be shortened up to 1.5” approximately. The areas of the jacket that can be worked on to make your jacket shorter are the hem and vents (flaps at the back). You might notice the front of the jacket tends to follow a curve around the edge, we can replicate that too once it has been shortened. This could work really well if you want to give the illusion of being taller. 
 
 
Need more room in the trouser seat and waist? 
 
The suit trousers can be let out through the centre back seam as long as there’s a good allowance of at least 1”. This is visible from inside the trousers at the back. As long as you have enough material here then the seat and waist of your trousers can be made larger and will give you more room when you’re getting in and out of the car or bending over to tie up your shoes. No one needs to air their undergarments in public by ripping their trousers open! 
 
 
Trouser legs too long? 
 
Your suit trousers can be shortened really easily with a simple adjustment to the hem at the bottom of the leg. The trousers can also be lengthened up to 1.5” by letting out the hem, too. We’ll pop a couple of pins in as well as advising you on the ‘right’ length. 
 
 
Need trousers tailoring? 
 
Your trousers can even be tapered starting just below the side pockets to give you a better fit too. Bringing in the sides of your trousers is much like the jacket resizing in that it will give you more of a tailored fit and will suit your body shape better. This is why a tailored suit always looks better than a rented or off the peg suit. 
 
 
Waistcoat not right? 
 
Waistcoats can be taken in through the side seams like a jacket and can be made up to 4” larger by making a new back. Waistcoats aren’t usually made shorter or made longer generally though. If you have a waistcoat that doesn’t fit you well please feel free to bring it in to the store and we’ll advise you on the best options. 
 
 
Call in for a chat… 
 
We’re always happy to talk through your requirements for fitting or adjustments so please do drop into our Warwick men’s clothes shop or give us a call today. 
 
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