Tailoring: Before and After (and 1st winner of shoe giveaway)

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Blazer: Ann Taylor hidden placket jacket– size 00P (buy here)
Top: Ann Taylor factory ruffle chiffon shell- size XXSP
Skirt: Ann Taylor textured pencil skirt– size 00P (buy here)
Belt: Ann Taylor perfect patent skinny belt- size XS (exotic version)
Shoes: Ann Taylor perfect patent pumps– size 5 (buy here)

I cheated on my tailor! *oops* I decided to try out this other tailor just to compare. I am a loyal person to a fault but this time, I had to put my clothes first! 🙂

The alterations were very minor but I can definitely feel the difference when I have the suit on. I took up the skirt hem by a couple of inches. I was going to slim the sides but because of the darts in the back of the skirt, it would have made it much more difficult. So I opted to just take up the hem and I think it will work. I took up the sleeves of the blazer a few inches as well but because there were button holes, I couldn’t take the sleeves up as high as I would have liked. If I wanted it shorter, I would have had to go through the shoulders and it would have cost me an arm and a leg (no pun intended). I will definitely make sure to look next time to see if there are button holes or not- had no idea it would be so challenging.
Just by taking up the hem makes a huge difference in the overall fit. It’s still slightly wide for me but it’ll do. Learning lesson for me is to check the darts of the back of the skirt before purchasing because this can be costly to slim the sides. Will I get a lot of wear from this suit, probably so I am happy with the results.

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Skirt: Ann Taylor Yvonne tweed skirt– size 00P (buy here)
Shoes: Christian Louboutin Simple 100’s– size 35/5 (buy here)
Belt: Ann Taylor perfect patent belt in granite- size XS (exotic version)

I debated getting this sides of this skirt slimmed but the tailor suggested I take up the hem first because it usually alters the fit. So I decided to listen and was happy to save some money. I probably could have gotten away  with not doing anything to this skirt because it was okay but I wanted it to feel good when I wore it. So I took up the hem just a tiny bit and it really did make a difference (to me at least).
Hopefully you can see the difference. Very minor alterations but when the skirt is on, it feels just much more fitted and proportional. Am I happy with the end results? Yes! The alterations were very minor but made a big difference to me. 
What are your thoughts?

**The 1st winner of the Alonai shoe giveaway is AubreyOhDang! Please contact me with your selection and info so I can pass it along to Alonai. Congrats! 2nd winner will be drawn at the end of this month.**
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Leave a comment!

  1. Looks better & more stylish/up-to-date. I love the idea of taking up the sleeves. Brilliant (why I never thought of that!). So are you going back to your old tailor? 🙂

  2. At first I couldn't even tell what alterations were done, but you're definitely right – taking up the hem really does make a lot of difference for the overall look. The first suit looks great! 🙂

  3. Hi,

    Just wanted to say that I've been following your blog for a bit now. So glad I came across your blog! I always did the basic alterations such as bringing up the hem, shortening my sleeve lengths, but never thought to slim an article of clothing. It makes a difference! Thanks for creating this blog, you've given me a lot of inspiration 🙂

  4. Congrats to Aubrey on the win!

    So which tailor will you be going to from now on? 🙂 I'm a little surprised that they said the darts would make slimming the sides more difficult. Are you talking about overall slimming or just from the hips down? Maybe my altering methods are just less sophisticated!

  5. Congrats to Aubrey! I'm surprised she hasn't been doing a little dance on Twitter 😉

    Good tip about darts + skirts. I'll be sure to pay attention to that the next time I'm waffling about a purchase. I actually prefer the blazer sleeves scrunched up — gives the outfit a more casual, which perfect since the fabric is linen (?).

  6. I'm doing the douggie right now. whoooo!!!!

    Annie had to tell me bc I do not read blogs over the weekend. This is awesome. Boy, everybody knows I need this. These 3.5 feet have been so deprived.

    Onto the review, I'm really glad you did not take up the hem of either skirts too high. This is the perfect length, in my personal opinion. Esp since the model for the Yvonne Tweed pencil wears it so short.

    Oh man, I wanted sleeves to be shorten thru the armhole of a wool coat. My tailor quoted me @ $200. That's how much I paid for the coat. so this is very costly!! Avoid at all cost.

    The silhouette of the suit from the back does good things to your figure Annie. So the question is…are you going to stay faithful to your tailor or move onto someone you know is better for your future?

  7. Congrats to Aubrey! I am so excited for her. The suit looks great on you post alterations, Annie. I love the color. It's so fresh and summery.

  8. these minor alterations do make quite a difference. i think it's also just feeling comfortable and confident in what you wear too. when clothes fit, that confidence comes through. great job with the tailoring.

    and congrats to Aubrey too!

    cute & little

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