Tailor Alterations

You might expect to spend upwards of £10 to have a skirt tailored. This may vary depending on the kind of alterations you have in mind.

Minor alterations to a wedding dress can cost as little as £60, but if you want to alter the hemline or bodice, this can quickly rise above £200. Note this is not including the price of the dress itself. Also bear in mind that if you are having a wedding dress tailored, you will often need to book multiple fittings so that you can take stock of the original fit of the dress before getting the changes made. After which, you can review and see whether further tweaks are necessary.

A fully-bespoke 3-piece suit can easily set you back more than £1,000. If you are making alterations to an existing suit, you might pay substantially less. Shortening the sleeves of a jacket, for example, might mean paying around £20; tapering and adding cuffs might cost a little bit more. Shop around and get a quote from a tailor you trust.

Tailors can make extensive changes to the size and shape of a dress or suit but sometimes the changes required are so substantial it would involve fundamentally reconstructing the item. Usually, it is advised to avoid making big changes to the shoulders, which are complex and delicate, and difficult to change easily. On the other hand, things like adjusting sleeves and adding buttons are relatively straightforward. If you are wondering what a tailor can do to a shirt, the same rules generally apply.

Tailors can alter jeans in much the same way they can alter any other kind of trousers, though you might find that the price varies slightly because of the difficulty of sewing denim.

The changes your tailor makes are often permanent and if you are entrusting them with the care of an expensive garment, it makes sense to do your due diligence and pick someone reputable. Find a tailor on Yell.com and take a look at the star ratings and reviews left by other customers.

A quality tailor should be able to make the waist smaller from a quality item. Waistlines tend to fluctuate throughout life and so clothing manufacturers tend to leave plenty of extra material around the seat for changes to be made.

Alterations made to a cashmere overcoat tend to fall into the ‘very difficult’ range of tailor alterations and depend on the kind of changes you need made. Talk to your tailor about what is and is not practical.

How long a tailor takes depends on what kind of work is being done and how busy your tailor is. If the work is complex, like the aforementioned overcoat, it might take longer than a day.