Is it worth getting a good winter coat altered?

foreign_correspondent

I'm wondering if anyone could advise me. I know very little about alterations, tailoring or dressmaking, so could do with some input!

I have a Marella winter coat, picked up in a charity shop for a fiver a few years ago. I bought it because it was very warm and soft, and appeared to be unworn, but even then it was somewhat dated.

It is this sort of stye, but ankle length and charcoal grey


It is quite thick and is 60% virgin wool, 40% mohair. It seems that Marella is quite a high end brand, sold in House of Frazer, and they start at about £300.

Since buying it I have lost about 4 1/2 stone, so now it is also too big, with a good six inch overlap where it buttons up.

I am wondering whether it is worth paying someone to alter it, or if it would likely to be a waste of money?

I do need a winter coat, but when I've looked I keep finding that most of the ones costing £60-£80 are polyester, and do not look like they will be warm or last well, so would I be better off spending some money on having this one altered instead?

Would a good tailor/dressmaker be able to update it and make it fit, or is it likely to end up looking odd?

Any advice appreciated!

hardpressed

If it is that much too big it will almost need remaking which will be expensive. I assume it's too wide on the shoulders as well, which means the armholes will need adjusting then the sleeves won't fit. I think you'd be far better to trawl the charity shops and find one that does fit.

foreign_correspondent

hardpressed wrote: »

If it is that much too big it will almost need remaking which will be expensive. I assume it's too wide on the shoulders as well, which means the armholes will need adjusting then the sleeves won't fit. I think you'd be far better to trawl the charity shops and find one that does fit.

thanks - just tried it on again, and actually it's not bad on the shoulders, it gets wider further down and really swamps me. Is it the shoulder alteration that gets complex then?

I've been looking for one for weeks now in shops and charity shops and cannot find anything that is good quality and fits well...

jenniewb

Get quotes first!

I bought a blazer for my birthday from TK Maxx. It was around 75% off the rrp and a brand I am a big fan of. It was/is however too large on the sleeves, bit too bloke-like and I'd love to get the sleeves taken in.

That story aside, earlier this year after Christmas I bought a coat from a sample sale. It set me back £20 but was an unlined version of something costing nearly £350 so I was under the impression I'd just take it to a dry cleaners, buy my own lining fabric and get it lined. I was quoted £30 for this and though a bit steep I agreed.

My coat was not good when I got it back. Its a swing coat...only now it no longer swings. It had a nice flow to it, now it just hangs and pinches in odd places. I did dispute this with the dry-cleaner who in his 30 years experience did try hard to rectify things but sadly failed. He said I'd be best off going to a professional tailorer rather then a dry cleaner.
The coat isn't ruined- I could take the lining out but to get it relined could cost in excess of £75 due to the unique style- and thats if I use a polyester lining and I had already bought my own cotton lining myself.

So back to the blazer, I'm now very sure that to get the sleeves taken in I would need to go to a professional tailor and having asked around at a few places online, I've been quoted anything from £30 to £125 a sleeve! (I paid £15 for the blazer itself). I am probably not going to do this, not only due to the price but because I have no recommendations and it would be so easy for my jacket to be messed up in the process.

If you want to do up your coat, get a quote from a tailor who has a good track record and if possible, good recommendations from people you know and trust. It isn't likely to be cheap and you need to be very sure what you want at the end rather then a general "take this in, cut that legnth, reline that part...etc" as it is so easy to end up with a different result to what you had hoped.

lessonlearned

I would get a quote first and then decide.

It looks like a good "classic" style which shouldn't date too much. If you like the fabric and colour it might be worth it.

TBH £60 to £80 for a new coat won't get you much. As you say the fabric will be cheap and inferior. A good quality new pure wool, mohair or cashmere coat will cost you £££'s.

If you have £60 to £80 to spare it would be better spent on alterations - but only if you really love the coat.

I once picked up a suede coat from a charity shop for £4. It cost me £30 to have it specialist cleaned. It was a beautiful soft suede and I could never have bought one of that quality for £34.

no1gymbunny

I too have a winter coat that is too big and I still wear it as I love it! I took it into a seamstress to see about having it altered. She said it would be too much work (ie too expensive) to do it due to how the darts are in it. Definitely take it somewhere for quotes, but you might find it's financially not worth doing. See if you can find a similar coat on Ebay to replace it with? Good luck!

hethmar

Ive been wondering about this too. 3 years back I bought a coat in a Hobbs sale that is size 16 and I need it reduced to size 12 now.IIts a classic style and in a brilliant colour. I was wondering if it would be worth it. I paid £90 for it and it was reduced from nearly £400 but obviously its huge on me now.

I also have a number of good quality Eastex skirts that are too large for me. I would really like those altering too but Im wary of the cost of all these alterations.

Helen1971

Marella is one of the Maxmara brands, so it will be a top quality coat.

I agree with the others. Get quotes from a professional, but in your position I'd have the good coat altered in preference to buying a cheaper version. I despair of the high street since so many of the clothes are made of nasty, sweat-inducing synthetic fabrics. I was in Debenhams last week and decided that if I bought anything I'd generate enough static to power the house!

The only things a tailor has ever refused to alter for me were jeans, since so many things have to be moved (pockets, etc).

foreign_correspondent

Helen1971 wrote: »

Marella is one of the Maxmara brands, so it will be a top quality coat.

I agree with the others. Get quotes from a professional, but in your position I'd have the good coat altered in preference to buying a cheaper version. I despair of the high street since so many of the clothes are made of nasty, sweat-inducing synthetic fabrics. I was in Debenhams last week and decided that if I bought anything I'd generate enough static to power the house!

The only things a tailor has ever refused to alter for me were jeans, since so many things have to be moved (pockets, etc).

It is gorgeous thick soft fabric, very plush, and a deep grey, which is a useful colour, so I think I will get some quotes.

I don't mind spending the equivalent of a new cheaper coat to get this one made good, as it is such nice quality.

As you say, everywhere at the moment seems to be selling manmade fabric winter coats, and I think £80 or so for one is a waste of money, whereas I'm sure this would last many winters.

It's so warm that I've only ever worn it on the coldest days, but I've been very glad of it then! My gut feeling is that spending the money on having this altered, if it's less than, say £100 would be a better investment, as the coat itself cost me almost nothing.

It's actually a very simple style, the body is not tailored, so no darts or anything, just four panels of fabric (ie. both the back and front are two panels each, if that makes sense!)

Now the quest is to find a good tailor or seamstress to go to!

foreign_correspondent

Thanks for all your help and advice, I asked around and found a lady who just does alterations, I've taken it in and she has pinned it to size and will alter it to fit for £40 for me, which is considerably cheaper than a new coat! Hope it looks ok when it's done, she assures me it will! :-)