Suit alterations, back in two to three days

Questions people ask

How long do alterations take?

Two to three days for most work, which is the shop’s ordinary turnaround. Whether a simple job such as a trouser hem can be done sooner depends on what is already on the bench that morning, so it is worth asking rather than assuming. Delicate cloth, beading and linings all add time, because beads come off by hand along a seam and go back on afterwards. Send a photograph on WhatsApp to 085 048 7655 and you can be told before you cross Bangkok.

What does an alteration cost?

It depends on the job. Bring the garment in, or send a photograph, and you get a number before any work starts. That order matters: an alteration quoted on the garment in front of someone is a real number, and one quoted from a description is a guess. If the work would cost more than the garment is worth, you will be told that too.

Can you alter a suit bought somewhere else?

Yes, and most of what comes in for alteration was bought elsewhere. It makes no difference to the work. What does make a difference is the garment itself: how much seam allowance the original maker left decides how far it can be let out, and whether the jacket is canvassed or fused decides how well it will take the change. Bring it in and wear it, so the work is pinned on your body rather than guessed from measurements.

Can shoulders be altered?

Yes, and it is the one to avoid. The shoulder is where the sleeve, the canvas, the collar and the body all meet, so moving it means taking the jacket apart and rebuilding the thing that holds its shape. It costs more than most jackets are worth and the result is never quite as clean as a shoulder that was cut right. You will be told that before you pay. If a jacket is wrong in the shoulders when you are buying off the rack, that is the fit signal to walk away from.

What should I bring?

The garment and the shoes you will wear with it, every time. Try it on rather than leaving it over the counter, because work pinned on you is work that fits and work done to a description matches the description instead. For a dress, bring the underwear you will wear with it as well, since all three change where the garment sits. If several things need doing, bring them together: they are quoted on the garment and done in order.

Do you alter dresses?

Yes. Hems, waists, straps and shoulders, bust and bodice through the side and princess seams, linings and zips are all ordinary work here, and most of it takes two to three days. Silk, chiffon, lace and anything beaded are slower, because those cloths mark and a needle hole in silk does not close. Wedding dresses have their own timetable of two fittings, the first about three weeks before the day, which is deliberate: a dress altered months ahead is altered to a body that may have changed.

Can a suit be resized after weight change?

Usually by one to two sizes, decided by the seam allowance the original maker left inside the garment. Taking in is the easy direction because you are removing cloth rather than finding it. Letting out is limited by whatever inlay exists, which varies enormously and can be checked in about a minute by turning the garment inside out. Past one or two sizes, proportion stops you rather than the cloth: the pockets end up too close together and the armhole sits wrong.

Do I need an appointment?

No. Walk in any day between 10am and 9pm, including weekends. The shop is inside BTS National Stadium station at exits 3 and 4, beside MBK Center, so it is an easy stop on the way past rather than a trip of its own. If you cannot get there, send a photograph on WhatsApp first: some jobs can be assessed well enough from a photograph to tell you whether the journey is worth making.