Alterations on shirts with handwork?

[raley]

I took 2 shirts to the tailor - a Lorenzini and a Truzzi. I asked for the waist to be taken in and for the sleeves to be slimmed. To do the sleeves they said something about have to detach the arms and take in the chest/changing the size of the armholes. They said that this was a problem with the shirts because they had some amount of handwork, and it would not only take a lot of effort to remove the sleeves, but also when they were reattached with a machine it would remove the quality of the handwork.

My main question is - is this bs or is there truth to this? Should I just have them take the waists in and deal with the bulkiness of the arms, or should I just tell them to go for it?

 

[whnay.]

I'd not pursue major alterations of any kind on fine RTW shirts with the exception of taking in the sleeves. Slimming down or altering arm holes is drastic work that can end in disaster if your not dealing with a top of the line alterations outfit. If it bothers you that much don't buy those brands, flip them on ebay and buy....the following.

For future reference, both Fray (non-US stock) and Finamore make a nice slim fitting model that would satisfy both of your needs.

 

[raley]

So it is actually possible to take in the sleeves without altering the armholes? They made it seem like this was not possible. I guess I will have to ask them about this. I mean the armholes themself aren't that bad, but the sleeves are what really need to be slimmed down. Thanks for the Fray/Finamore suggestion.

 

[whoopee]

This is not BS. That's why bespoke tailors (and clients) don't like their handwork-filled suit being taken to the local dry cleaner for alterations.

 

[NoVaguy]

what about with mid-line shirts? what if i wanted to slim down the sleeves and body of some basic brooks brothers or barney's type shirts? they really have no handwork or such, so i have no worries on that point.

theoretically, what would the operation cost? bad idea or good idea?

what if i just slim the body (my arms aren't that small, so the regular sleeves are fine although not ideal).

i did just get a shirt back from land's end custom, and was pleased with it - it fitted slightly better than a brooks brothers slim fit on me. might order another and take in the body a little bit more.

 

[whoopee]

Cheap and easy.

 

[damonallan]

Regarding the sleeves:

Why don't you remove the cuff and cut the sleeve and sew the cuff back on? That's what my shirtmaker does for me. I guess if there is bulk under the armpit then that's another story and that would require what was said to you.