Some people are really attractive. The other ones have a good tailor.
your clothes are almost right. that's the whole problem..
I have a bit of a hot take: more than half of what makes someone look hot and put together has absolutely nothing to do with what they buy. It’s what they do with it after. What they do is go see Muhammad or Marie, or whatever their name is - the person with the pins in their mouths in the teeny tiny atelier two streets over who has been quietly fixing everyone’s clothes for thirty years and charges less than a couple of espresso martinis you had last Thursday.
So sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the the people who always look expensive aren’t necessarily buying better and more costly things. They’re just getting everything adjusted, tailored, customised for their body and the way it moves through the day. That’s the whole secret, as annoying as it is to hear. But let me help and thank me later <3
Before you even get here
Wear the shoes you’ll actually wear with the piece. Not your commute chunky comfy shoes, the real ones (I know you don’t wanna wear your heels on a Sunday afternoon but trust me). Trousers hemmed with flats and worn with heels is a completely different story and I can already tell you’ll be upset to have been through the hassle for such a bad result.
Same for underwear. Wear what you’re planning to wear underneath. Because yes, a bodysuit changes how a waistband sits and a strapless bra changes where a neckline lands.
Bring your piece clean!! Your tailor is not your dry cleaner, also they’ll see the fit better.
Have a rough idea of what you want before you arrive. Of course they’ll help, they’re the technical ones. But be a little directional. More fitted through here, shorter about this much? Show them with your hands, they’ll understand.
The things worth altering that somehow nobody thinks to alter
Trousers hems ob-vi-ous-ly. BUT ask specifically for a hand finished hem on anything good. Machine hems look a bit cheaper even on expensive material trousers. Worth the extra five minutes.
Jacket sleeves. Almost nothing comes at the right length off-the-rack. You want to see the shirt cuff underneath, about 1.5cm of it. I’m sorry but if you can’t see the shirt cuff it means the jacket sleeve is too long and the whole thing will read as slightly off (I can already tell you you won’t be able to put a finger on why that is).
The back of a shirt taken in at the center seam. A shirt that fits the shoulders but gaps at the back looks cheap (no matter what it cost you). That kind of alteration takes like 20 min and the difference is immediate.
Strap length!!!!!! Dress straps, slip dresses. The difference between a strap at the perfect length for your body and one that’s a centimeter too long or too short is the same difference between looking dressed sharp or looking like you borrowed something from a grandma.
Waist suppression on a coat or blazer. Not necessarily dramatically but enough to suggest there’s a body inside it. Something like a couple centimeters on each side seams is generally enough. You’ll try it on right after wondering why you didn’t do it sooner.
Shortening from the waist rather than the hem. This one took me a long time to understand, because my mother used to ask to shorten her pencil skirts and long dresses from the bottom. But shortening from the waist preserves the design of the hem: the shape, the seam, the details - and keeps the proportion of the original garment. Ask for this specifically because not every tailor will suggest it but they’ll happily do it.
The lining: if the lining of a jacket or coat is pulling or too short, it drags everything down and makes the whole thing look tired. Such an easy fix!!
The more specific stuff that took me too long to figure out
If a blazer is a bit too wide on the shoulders but fits everywhere else, you can ask them to take in the side seams rather than touch the shoulders. Shoulder alterations are complex and expensive and I don’t often find the result to be worth it. Side seams are cleaner and can bring the whole thing in without even touching the shoulder seams.
For trousers that gap at the back waistband (I HATE THAT so much) which happens constantly with low rise or if you have a smaller waist in comparison to your hips: ask for an elastic insert at the center back. Invisible under a tucked top and fixes the gap completely.
For a silk or satin piece that slides around everywhere: ask them to add a small strip of non slip grosgrain ribbon at the interior waistband or hem. Sounds a bit excessive but it’ll keep everything in place.
Everything above is useful, but below you’ll find the list of stuff I’d only share with a good friend, it took me so long to figure this out. You can consider becoming a paid subscriber for less than 2€/week, I can’t wait to see you on the other side <3
