Sew What?

A friend and I were discussing the importance of good tailoring which can make the difference in your suit jacket hanging on you like a sleeping bag, or looking as if was hand made to accent your gorgeousness.  And, yes, good tailoring can make you look as if you spend hours at the gym pressing, squatting, spinning and lunging.  It can make a cheap suit look expensive and mean the difference between “you’re hired/you’re hot” or not.

Tailoring is for everyone.  Nothing fits perfectly off the rack, not even spandex bike shorts.  Be honest in the dressing room.  Tailors are happy to hem your slacks, let out your waistband or replace that zipper that you broke in rush hour haste.  The best ones can give advice on the best fit or length for you.  If you have a good tailor you can buy that darling Kenneth Cole dress that is a little too big at ½ off and have it lovingly nipped and tucked to fit the best parts of you.

You can be tres chic with the assistance of a needle and thread in skilled hands.  The local dry cleaner can handle routine sewing requests such as hems and replacing buttons.  For more complicated matters such as refitting suits or replacing linings, I recommend an old school tailor whose work uniform includes a tape measure worn rakishly around his or her neck.  However, if you’re lucky enough to have an aunt or cousin who knows her way around a Singer sewing machine, take your clothes to her with a good bottle of wine as a down payment.  Just make sure that you raise your glasses after she has measured, pinned and basted.