Every well-dressed person knows that getting your essential clothing items tailored can make the world of a difference in your wardrobe. A great tailor will be experienced at fitting your jeans or tops to your exact frame to make sure everything hits properly. And since tailoring can be rather expensive if you send out your whole wardrobe, we break down what to look for in a tailor and what items in your closet should get sent to them.

Scroll through our tailoring guide for tips and trick on how to shop if you’re considering altering your items. After all, instead of making our bodies fit the clothes, clothes should fit our bodies.

Step 1: Find a reputable tailor

The first rule of thumb to tailoring: do your research. Whether that means going with a tailor suggested from a trusty well-dressed friend (or stranger, who are we to judge?), or personally calling, visiting or researching a facility, finding a reputable tailor will be paramount to having well-tailored clothes.

You can even ask your favorite swanky fashion store where they send their customers for alterations. It’s important to note that a lot of department stores will tailor items even if they are not purchased from them. This could be an easy, sure-fire way to achieving a well-tailored wardrobe.

Step 2: Try it on

When you arrive to the tailor, be sure to have a fit session. The tailor will need to see exactly how it fits on you, what your concerns are (although they will probably be able to tell) and where you would like it to sit, hang, and fit. After the expert has examined the clothing item themselves, the conversation begins. A good tailor will education you on fit, and explain how the alteration will work. Through the fit examination, they will pin and mark where necessary.

Step 3: Fit it

When shopping on your own, the best way to avoid tailoring is to try stuff on. Contrary to what you may think, when shopping, don’t focus too much on the size. Of course you have a particular size guide to generally follow, what you really should be paying attention to is how the clothing item fits the widest part on your body.

The rule of thumb, according to experts, is to have it fit the widest part well and then to tailor everything else down. For quick hemming tips, always hem a pants (cropped or not) to the point where your leg begins to taper. Pants should fit nicely through the hips and not be too baggy or tight.

What items you should tailor:

We suggest investing in staples (quality basics that will be durably made to last for a while), and having them tailored to fit.

• Professional wear and formal suits
• Classic well-made pieces
• Occasion wear pieces
• Pant hems
• Everyday basics

Items not worth tailoring:

It’s not worth the money to tailor fast fashion pieces or garments made from cheap fabrics.

You may also want to try augmented reality shopping, although you’ll still have to hit up a tailor if it arrives and doesn’t fit right.

Photo via Valeria Ashhab