Assuming a minimum 1/4″ seam allowance, a suit jacket can be altered to let it out a total of 2 1/4″. The collar can be raised 3/8″.
How Much Can You Alter Our Garments?
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How Much Can You Alter Our Garments?
In a previous post we showed some of the typical points of measurement used by the tailored clothing industry. While we attempt to create sizing options based on extensive studies of anthropometric data, the reality is that no two bodies are alike and sometimes alterations are necessary to make a ready-made garment fit better.
In the next series of posts we will show what allowances have been built in to every Hart Schaffner Marx suit to allow for these alterations. The first is the sleeve length.
Measuring tailored clothing
The explosion of e-commerce sites has created a dilemma of how to address fit in a virtual environment. The focus of next week’s convention of the International Association of Clothing Designers and Executives will be on this subject and I am sure I will have lots to report when I get back from it. We are also working on a special project which may revolutionize online shopping and is set to launch as soon as this summer.
One thing I will bring to readers now is that the methods and terminology used in sportswear is slightly different from that used for tailored clothing, and terms you may have seen used online at sites like e-bay may not be used the same way by tailored clothing manufacturers. Having a basic knowledge of these terms will come in handy when talking to alterations tailors or when ordering made-to-measure garments, as it helps to be speaking the same “language”.
Below is a guide to the terms and measurement methods we use at Hart Schaffner Marx, and are also pretty much the industry standard in tailored clothing.
-Jeffery Diduch
Measuring the jacket Back Length: lift the collar and measure from the base of the under collar to the hem of the jacket.
Measuring the Point to Point:measure from the intersection of the armhole seam and the shoulder seam, across to the same point on the other side of the jacket.
Measuring the Half-Back: measure from the armhole seam at the level of the elbow seam on the sleeve, across to the center back seam.
Measuring the Half-Waist: With the jacket laid flat on a table, measure from the front edge to the center back seam, about 3″ above the pocket.
Measuring the Sleeve Inseam: Measure the inseam from the armhole to the hem.
Measuring the trouser Inseam: measure the inseam from the crotch to the hem.
Measuring the trouser Outseam: Measure the outseam from the top of the waistband to the hem.
Measuring the Rise of the trouser: subtract the inseam measurement from the outseam measurement.
The trouser Waist measurement is obtained by laying the garment flat and measuring from edge to edge inside the waistband and doubling this measurement. It is common to allow 1/2″ wearing ease so a size 34 will often measure 34 1/2″.
The trouser Seat measurement is obtained by laying the garment flat with pleats open, and measuring from side to side around the level of the base of the fly. Double this measurement.
This trouser Thigh is taken 1″ below the crotch, and doubled.
The Knee is measured 14″ below the crotch and doubled.
The Bottom (or Hem) is measured at the very bottom of a finished trouser or 6″ above the bottom of an unfinished trouser and doubled.
Made by Hand: Jeffery Diduch
Our head technical designer Jeffery Diduch is a truly impressive tailor. On his blog Made By Hand, Mr. Diduch discusses what he calls “the great sartorial debate,” inspecting bespoke and made to measure suits, sometimes dissecting them and sometimes going into detailed instructions on how to complete certain stitches.
Rob Ventura, manager of the Chicago White Sox, and Jeffery doing a team fitting for their Hart Schaffner Marx suits.
Mr. Diduch was “discovered” for his tailoring skills while making a suit for himself to wear for a meeting, as we learned on a feature interview with him on the Gentleman’s Gazette.
GG: What are the most important aspects in a suit for you? Shoulders, pattern, handwork…?
JD: Fit. Above everything else, fit. An inexpensive suit that fits well will always look better than a very expensive one that doesn’t fit; if the suit doesn’t fit, no amount of handwork will make it look right. Continue reading
Enter to Win a Hart Schaffner Marx Suit
What better way to honor Presidents past than by winning a suit made by the current Chief of State’s preferred brand?
Made Movement (who’s flash sale site MadeCollection.com we wrote about in November) is giving you the chance to do just that. Submit a photo that shows why you need a menswear makeover, along with a quick caption to campaign for their vote. The winner will receive a wardrobe consultation and an American-made suit from Hart Schaffner Marx, manufacturers of luxury tailored clothing and sportswear since 1887.
You have until March 1st, so get on it! Enter here.
Richard Avedon for Hart Schaffner Marx
We came across these amazing vintage ads by the distinguished fashion photographer Richard Avedon. They date from the late 50s to the early 60s and ran with the tagline “The Worldly New Look of Hart Schaffner & Marx.”
On the Road with Hart Schaffner Marx: Chicago Collective
Our Executive Vice President of Sales, Bruce Bellusci. Maybe he’s practicing his sales pitch.
Each season, buyers and editors flock to our New York City showroom to view the latest collection. We show them what’s trending for the next season, how to buy the trends for their stores, and how to get the customers excited about thew new merchandise. Continue reading
