Getting jacket tailored?

[Americanaaa Mark]

Do any of you have any experience having jackets of your tailored if they are to big?

What can an experienced leather tailor do with a jacket ?

I'm wondering if anyone has had a chest or arm width brought in a bit before (about half an inch to an inch)

Does it alter the jacket and is it possible? Who do you recommend ?

 

[Superfluous]

I just had three of my jackets tailored. If done right, it can transform an adequate fitting jacket into a great fitting jacket. That said, you must work with a skilled leather tailor who can replicate the finishing of the original. I am fortunate to have such a guy nearby. He used to make bespoke leather jackets for years. He is fantastic.

 

[El Marro]

I have had one of my jackets, an A-2 made by Diamond Dave, tailored and I was very happy with the results. I bought the jacket from Dave last summer off of eBay and since it had not been made for me originally the measurements were a bit off. The length was perfect as were the shoulders, but it was a bit big through the chest and waist. After wearing the jacket for a few weeks I decided I wasn't wild about the loose blousy feel and I went to a tailor I had used in the past to see what he thought.
The tailor took the jacket in and tapered it to fit me well without making it tight anywhere. As Superflous said, it made an adequate jacket fit great and I stopped looking at A-2s afterwards because I felt like I had gotten close to that elusive "perfect" fit that we are always chasing...
if I were you I would seek out a tailor near you because this is something where you definitely want them to see you with the jacket on so that they can mark it up and decide on the best course of action. I stumbled onto my tailor by doing a google search for local tailors and I would recommend that for starters. You definitely want to make sure it's someone who has experience working with leather jackets and is comfortable doing so. I knew I had come to the right place when I pulled out the first jacket I brought to him, a flight jacket that needed replacement knits, and he remarked "ahh, that's a nice G-1".
With the right jacket I think this can be time and money well spent. It can turn a jacket that you almost love, if only it fit a little better, into a jacket that you love!

 

[Bern1]

Well you don't mention where you are. I recently had an interesting experience at Johnson Leathers in San Francisco. I have an old Johnson Leathers jacket that I got in trade from an old friend. It fit me, kind of. I had the arms shortened at the shoulders (by a regular tailor, no problem.). However, the jacket still doesn't fit quite right....a little tight at the waist and a little too much room in the chest.

So I went to visit Alan at the shop, that I wanted to visit anyway. I have heard a lot of good things about Alan on this forum and I have seen a few of his jackets on people here in the Bay Area.

So I truck over there, pull out the jacket and put it on. Alan says, " to be honest, I wouldn't touch it, it fits you great." He said this with a quiet and gentle air of authority that did not invite debate.

If you are in the area I would recommend him as a good source to tailor a leather jacket.

Oh, while I was there he also showed me the $12k special order alligator jacket he made for a customer. He also showed me the left over gator hide that the customer was going to have made into boots! Top shelf kit.

I thought I remember a while back somebody else on this forum mentioned seeing this jacket at the shop and I thought it a little odd that it would still be there waiting to get picked up. Then I thought, maybe somebody else wanted one too!

I don't know that I could pull that one off even if I did have the spare 12k to drop....sure looked cool though!

 

[galvestonokie]

i have had many jackets improved here in Houston. mostly these were new zippers, collars or knits. i "tested" the tailor on a sure enough daily wearer that needed zipper and knits. also, i paid them a premium so that their best tailor would do the work. it ain't laser physics unless you are looking for matching needle holes, etc.

 

[Woodyear]

I've got two leather jackets at the tailor right now. One is my girlfriends vintage Harley Davidson getting the sleeves slimmed down, and another is mine getting the windflap removed and the cuff diameter tightened so they zip down airtight.

 

[Monitor]

Do any of you have any experience having jackets of your tailored if they are to big?

What can an experienced leather tailor do with a jacket ?

I'm wondering if anyone has had a chest or arm width brought in a bit before (about half an inch to an inch)

Does it alter the jacket and is it possible? Who do you recommend ?

I've had a few jackets tapered so yeah, a skilled tailor can do it. It's in fact one of the most common things people want done on their jackets, aside for some basic repairs and alterations like shortening the sleeves and that sorta thing. As long as it's just one or two size numbers down, it shouldn't be a problem but keep in mind that anything over that may end up, well, not what you have had in mind.
Good thing about tapering the jacket is that you won't even see that it's been altered.

Shortening or lengthening the jacket always ends up looking miserable, though.

 

[ton312]

I have had rare success in tailoring a leather jacket. More times than not the end result just doesn't pan out as hoped.
Truthfully I can only recall one than worked and it had to do with the collar, not the fit.