How often have you bought something that mostly fits and then found yourself less and less inclined to wear it because it doesn’t quite sit right? We’ve all been there – off the rack clothes are produced with ‘average’ in mind and honestly, what even is average!?!
Clothes that fit well and make you feel great are genuinely far more attainable than you might think, and you needn’t be an incredible seamstress or a multi-millionaire to own them!
Okay, so how does one go about finding this ‘the perfect fit’
1.Alterations
One great way to get the most from your clothes is by taking time and spending often very little to have small alternations made. Tanya and Tracey from Tracey’s Sewing Room alter clothing in Surrey and beyond literally every day.
There are dozens of ways to alter a garment which range in complexity and these small changes can turn your off the rack purchase into a treasured wardrobe staple!
From hemming a pair of otherwise perfect jeans, to taking in the waist of a dress that’s too big, altering a garment, can really change the way it looks and the way you feel about wearing it.
Taking time to have your clothing altered provides benefits far beyond what you might immediately think. Yes, your clothing fits your body and is nicer to wear – obviously a huge plus. But more than that – if your wardrobe is full of pieces that fit you well and make you feel good then you aren’t always on the hunt for that elusive new piece that you’ll hopefully love. This in turn frees you from that cycle of buying more to find the perfect fit – the perfect fit exists by altering that piece that was almost but not quite right.
And when we aren’t always in that cycle of the next purchase, we’re saving both ourselves money and the environmental impact continuous consumption creates.
If you fancy having a go with making alterations yourself, Tracey’s Sew and Tell social sewing sessions are an opportunity to try things like adding darts or doing hems with her skill on hand to support. But if you’d prefer a professional made the alternations for you Tracey and Tanya are simply a phone call away.
2. Bespoke Garments
We all love a dress with pockets yet the exclamations that follow absolutely any compliments about such a dress suggest they are yet to be a standard feature. With bespoke garments you can have as many dress pockets – and other features – as you like! Wahay!!!
Hearing the phrase bespoke often makes people gaze wistfully into the distance and think about just how wonderful that must be with the assumption that is most surely isn’t for them. But that simply is not the case! Bespoke garments are of course not fast fashion. They don’t come with fast fashion price tags – but we all know those price tags are a terrible representation of what it really costs to produce a garment – but bespoke is not actually outside the realms of affordability.
It helps to think about what your price per wear will eventually be. Consider just how much you would treasure and love your bespoke piece. Something that fits you comfortably and well, is exactly the colour you wanted, has been chosen to go with multiple of your other garments. Something that is sewn well with quality fabrics, cotton and fastenings. Something that if you so choose has pockets! Don’t you think this might be a garment that you wear often. That lasts you many years and sees you through many events and celebrations. Something that is indeed quite the opposite of fast fashion. How many times might you wear that, dozens, hundreds?? And when you take that into consideration the price of a bespoke item might not be such an eye watering amount. Tracey and Tanya make occasion dresses, trousers and skirts and shirts that fit the bodies they’ve been made for like gloves. Bespoke clothing is not an impossible dream, it’s on North Street Dorking at Tracey’s Sewing Room.
With over 70 years of sewing experience between them, there is an impossibly high chance that Tracey and Tanya can create the garment you’re imagining. They can fit it to your body, they can help you select the ideal fabric. And if they cannot – they’ll tell you straight. Bring your idea down to Tracey’s and find out just how possible it is that in future you will be strolling around in the garment of your dreams with Tanya and Tracey’s help.
Please email us for some guide prices for common requests. And, please do remember alternations and bespoke garment making take time and costs are dependent on just how much time is necessary.
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