A stitch in time

Photo: Simon Letch A tailor-made holiday leaves Stephanie Clifford-Smithworse for wear. It's a great idea in theory: go to a tailor while holidaying inAsia and come home with a new wardrobe for the price of achain-store shirt. It works for some people but, speaking as awoman who has tried six tailors across Thailand, India and Vietnam,and come home with bags of bodgie, ill-fitting clothes, I can tellyou the whole exercise is fraught. Even if you know a bit about dressmaking and can check onpertinent details, it won't necessarily be plain sailing. Thefollowing tips should help prevent a few disasters but, bearing inmind the pressure tailors are under to finish work within 24 hoursand the fact English is rarely their first language, there are noguarantees. Good luck. Advertisement: Story continues below FabricsYour mouth may water at the delicious colours of Thaisilks but silk might not be the most suitable fabric for thegarment you want. I took a favourite pair of black crepe trousersinto a tailor and asked for them to be copied once in purple Thaisilk and again in cream gabardine. Disasters both. The copies wereexact in cut and finish but both fabrics were too stiff for thestyle and didn't fall softly, as the original pair had. Yes, I chose the fabrics and the tailor did as he was asked, butI would have liked it if he had suggested an alternative. The mostsuccessful pieces I've had made were by a tailor in India whoworked in only two weights of cotton. So, although the choice waslimited, he knew his materials and how they'd perform in any style.Sensibly, he followed only a few styles, working from thoroughlytested pattern blocks. Tailors will often tell you what they think you want to hear. Ona mission to find wool jersey in Vietnam, I had bolts of everythingfrom cotton to nylon thrust at me with assurances that, yes, Rosetta Stone Hindi thiswas wool jersey. In one shop I was told they didn't have exactlywhat I needed but they had something even better. With great ceremony and handling worthy of a newborn, theyproduced a bulky, grey polar fleece and told me it wascashmere. Other materialsMake sure that once you've selected your fabric, thetailor knows to match the thread to it. It sounds obvious but insome places every garment, regardless of colour, is stitched inwhite. Fusing and interfacing - the materials used inside necklines,lapels and cuffs to give them body and support - may be too stifffor your fabric and you'll end up with something that won't sitproperly. Ensure the fusing is as close a match in weight as themain fabric. Linings are another potential problem. You might choose abeautiful cool linen for a suit but if the tailor lines it with ahorrible polyester you might as well wear an oven bag. Watch, too,for pressure to have a garment lined. You may not really want theextra layer of fabric but be talked into it with promises that thegarment will hang better. This might be true in some cases, but afew tailors like to cover up unfinished edges and charge a premiumfor the job while they're at it. MeasurementsTry to get a person of your sex to measure you. LargeWestern breasts have been known to embarrass male tailors in busyshops and they may be reluctant to run the tape measure closeenough for a good fit. Women may have similar problems with theinside-leg measure for men's trousers.

Posted in: Rosetta Stone,Rosetta Stone Outlet,rosetta stone software,Rosetta Stone V3