Lapel Altering

[THe Conductor]

I have a suit that I want the lapels narrowed on. Is this something a tailor can do or am I stuck with what I have?

 

[Gilboa]

In theory, it is possible.

Depending on how much you want the lapels narrowed, it my require the side seams to be adjusted too, so that the lapels still fit your shape.

Your best bet is to go to a tailor nearby and ask for advice (and a quote.)

 

[Tomasso]

The fly in the ointment....the boutonnière......aka the buttonhole.

.

Any significant reduction and you're going to have to deal with that sucker. Not to say it can't be done. An excellent reweaver can make it disappear for around $100-$150 (guesstimate). Then a very skilled tailor (they ain't cheap) can take in the lapel as much as you like and then just re-cut another buttonhole.....then reshape the collar to compliment the narrower lapel.

Of course if you were to narrow them so much as to completely remove the buttonhole then you would save the reweave fee. But then you'd have to be dealing with some honkers like these:

 

[avedwards]

The fly in the ointment....the boutonnière......aka the buttonhole.

Any significant reduction and you're going to have to deal with that sucker. Not to say it can't be done. An excellent reweaver can make it disappear for around $100-$150 (guesstimate). Then a very skilled tailor (they ain't cheap) can take in the lapel as much as you like and then just re-cut another buttonhole.....then reshape the collar to compliment the narrower lapel.

Of course if you were to narrow them so much as to completely remove the buttonhole then you would save the reweave fee. But then you'd have to be dealing with some honkers like these:

A valid point, but a lot suits which could benefit from having their lapels narrowed are 70s suits which have overly wide lapels and no buttonholes, meaning the procedure should be a lot simpler and the buttonhole can be added afterwards if neccessary. If I didn't have seven suits already I would do this to a 70s suit my father no longer wears which could be converted into something that looks like a 50s suit if the lapels were narrower and the trousers tapered rather than flared. Of course then one could debate whether it's correct to change a 70s suit as it loses some of its historical value.

 

[Mario]

Oh my gosh! Is that called a Dumbo suit? Wouldn't stand a chance on a windy day...

 

[Feraud]

If I didn't have seven suits already I would do this to a 70s suit my father no longer wears which could be converted into something that looks like a 50s suit if the lapels were narrower and the trousers tapered rather than flared. Of course then one could debate whether it's correct to change a 70s suit as it loses some of its historical value.

I am not sure a 70s suit could pass for 50s.

 

[Undertow]

Oh my gosh! Is that called a Dumbo suit? Wouldn't stand a chance on a windy day...

Haha, dumbo suit! I don't know why, but that made me laugh out loud here at work.

 

[Feraud]

My problem is I want lapels widened..

 

[Derek WC]

My problem is I want lapels widened..

Somebody has the same dilemma!

I recently saw a film where James Cagney was wearing a single breasted kind of a zoot, with lapels that went above the shoulders.

 

[Tomasso]

70s suits which have overly wide lapels and no buttonholes.

Not every 70s suit was without a lapel buttonhole. The old line conservative US makers like Hickey Freeman, Oxxford, Hart Shafner Marx, Southwick, J.Press, Paul Stuart, Brooks Brothers, etc....kept one on theirs. It was mostly the newer fashion houses (think Christian Dior, YSL, Oscar De La Renta, Oleg Cassinni, etc...) that got into the disco/leisure suit nonsence.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

My problem is I want lapels widened..

The trousers would be the biggest problem. There was a moment around 72-73 where the jackets those old line conservative US makers that Tomasso's talking about would pass for 50s if the lapels were right.

bk

 

[THe Conductor]

For reference:

Would it be plausible for this jacket to pass for a 50's jacket?

 

[Derek WC]

It's somewhat difficult to tell, as I cannot see the majority of the part below the buttons. Is it flared out, straight with slightly rounded corners, or in between?

Also, what are those "UP" pins about?

 

[Tomasso]

Also, what are those "UP" pins about?

Hint: Consider his moniker and his location.

 

[Fletch]

Another hint: the famous M-10000.

 

[Undertow]

No, no - it's PU.

 

[Derek WC]

:eusa_doh: Alright, I suppose that means they have something to do with being a conductor, but what?

 

[Tomasso]

Are you too lazy to Google M-10000?

 

[Feraud]

Fletch generously did the work. Click the M-10000!

 

[Derek WC]

I think the filament for that lightbulb above my head burnt out: I don't use Google a whole lot so I never thought of it, to which my search availed that it stands for Union Pacific. :eusa_doh:

You know, they don't teach us enough about important things in school, like the history of our own country.