The Most Common Suit Alterations and What They Mean — Pant Edition
Welcome back to our two-part series on the most common suit alterations and what they mean!
If you missed part 1 all about altering the suit jacket, you can check that out in our last post: The Suit Jacket Edition.
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Now although you are probably wearing a suit jacket or sports coat for particularly special occasions, you’re likely wearing and shopping for slacks much more often. And even if you’re wearing dress pants every day for work, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t fit you properly and help you look your absolute best.
So today we’re continuing our list of suit alterations with: the pants!
Dress pant alterations to improve fit
In this first section we’re focusing on all the alterations that change the fit of your pants. We’re talking the waist, seat, crotch, and legs. As we mentioned in Part 1, “taking in” means making something smaller, and “letting out” means making it larger. Taking in is almost always easier, so if you’re faced with slacks that are too loose or too sung, go with the former. However, unlike many other garments, there is usually room to let out men’s dress pants. We’ll touch on this more down below.
Shorten/lengthen
Difficulty & cost: 🪡 — 🪡🪡
Referred to as “hemming” the pants when shortening, of “giving the pants a hem”, this is the single most common alteration that comes in to our shop (especially when you count jeans as well). Limitations for hemming pants usually come in when there is a significant taper of some kind in the ankle. This isn’t super common in dress pants, so likely not something you need to worry about. When lengthening, you can usually get about an extra two inches of length if your slacks have a standard wide hem. The cost of this alteration goes up if your slacks have a lining or if you want a cuff.
Legs: taper
Difficulty & cost: 🪡🪡
Looking for a more fitted style? Tapering pant legs can give your slacks a more modern look. This alteration gradually decreases the width of the pant leg as it goes down the seam to the cuff. The higher up the leg you want the taper, the more the alteration will cost. Typically you’ll see “1/2 taper” for only doing the knee down and “full taper” if starting above the knee.
Waist: Take in/Let out
Difficulty & cost: 🪡🪡
Another super common alteration for dress pants. This referrers to the width of the waist. Letting out makes the waist larger, while taking in makes it smaller and the pants fit tighter. While in most other cases, whether or not you can let out a garment is a big “if”, there is typically one or even two inches of “seam allowance” (the extra fabric in the seam) in men’s dress pants, so as long as you haven’t let out the pants before, an inch or so shouldn’t be an issue. Unfortunately, this usually only applies to men’s pants. Women’s pants don’t typically have this extra seam allowance, at least not in the same quantities.
Take in seat &/or thigh
Difficulty & cost: 🪡🪡
The seat refers to the butt of the pant. At least some of the seat will need to be altered whenever you are altering the waist. This is because you have to taper the new width of the waist into the seat so the piece still lays nice and flat against your backside. If you are taking in a great deal in the waist, the taper may need to extend into the thighs. The seat and thigh can also be altered independently of the waist if either area is too baggy or tight.
Shorten crotch/rise
Difficulty & cost: 🪡🪡
If you notice the crotch is a big baggy, or you have bunching at your zipper, that can be fixed by shortening what is called the “rise” of the pant. This is the space from the waistband to the crotch seam, and it can be shortened both in the front and back of the pant, or a combination of the two, all depending on where you have excess fabric.
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Dress pant alterations for customization
Now we’re going to jump into the alterations you can make to your dress slacks for a personal touch or some personality. Even if your pants magically have the perfect fit straight from the store, alterations are also a great option for customizations. Here are few options of ways you can add your own personal flair to your suit pants and make something off the rack look bespoke.
Remove pleats
Difficulty & cost: 🪡🪡 — 🪡🪡🪡
Front pleats used to be the standard pant style in the 80’s and 90’s so you can find a lot of them at the thrift store. (Or maybe even in the back of your closet.) If you have a pair of nice quality, it could be worth removing those pleats to transform them into a more modern style. This is a large alteration as the waistband needs to be completely removed, but it can be done! #thriftflip
From wide-leg to straight or skinny leg
Difficulty & cost: 🪡🪡
Speaking of modernizing - much wider legged pants were once the fashionable choice, while these days straight leg or even a “skinny” fit is more in style. This requires usually a full taper. There can be a limit here, so you may not be able to take the widest legged pants and turn them into the skinniest fit without the leg starting to twist. So be sure to chat with your tailor and they’ll let you know what is possible.
Change pocket lining
Difficulty & cost: 🪡🪡
Adding a fun fabric to your pockets is a super fun way to add a pop or personality to your trousers. Anyone who happens to catch it is bound to be impressed. Plus it’s a relatively affordable switch.
Change/replace buttons
Difficulty & cost: 🪡
While there aren’t nearly as many buttons on pants as there are on a suit jacket, it’s still something you can change up to add a fun detail. Maybe considering switching out the buttons to match those on your jacket!
Ready for your consultation?
Now you and your tailor will be speaking the same language! Once you’re ready for your next fitting, give us a call at (319) 377-0751, or message us on Facebook. We look forward to seeing you!