How many inches can pants be taken in?

[LisaR]

I'll call around tomorrow but in the meantime, does anyone know how many inches dress pants can be taken in?

My son needs a suit but pants are always a huge issue for him. He really needs 26 x 34. 28" might work. His jeans are 28" but they hang and he needs a belt. The smallest I've found is 32 x 34. Can they take in 4" - 6" without the pants looking off?

 

[chisnpeke]

Has he tried on suit pants? Generally with suit pants you go up a waist size and down an inseam size. So if he wears 26X34 normally, he'd get a 28X32. How tall is your son?

 

[mjantz]

My DS is a 28/34 so I feel your pain! I think they could do that. You might also try either a western store (that's where we have found jeans for him) or find a boys suit with cuffed pants. If they fit his waist the cuff might give enough fabric to make them long enough if uncuffed & rehemmed.

 

[Sadie22]

Is he out of the boys' slim sizes? They go up to Size 20, but I don't know what waist size that is.

 

[mjantz]

I can't speak for LisaR but my tall guy is too tall for boys sizes. Even the 20s are too short. I'm not sure his exact boys waist size but I know he still wears shorts that are boys 14.

 

[LisaR]

Has he tried on suit pants? Generally with suit pants you go up a waist size and down an inseam size. So if he wears 26X34 normally, he'd get a 28X32. How tall is your son?

DH wears suits and hasn't found this to be the case. He wears the same size in his suits as he does with his jeans.

My son is 5'10"

My DS is a 28/34 so I feel your pain! I think they could do that. You might also try either a western store (that's where we have found jeans for him) or find a boys suit with cuffed pants. If they fit his waist the cuff might give enough fabric to make them long enough if uncuffed & rehemmed.

I was wondering if we could let the cuff out of pants from the boys dept. That would be great if it worked.

We solved the jean issue when we discovered Hot Topic. That store scares me but they have tons of slim cut / skinny jeans in 28x34. Granted, we had to weed out the shocking purples and reds to find the normal blue ones but we were able to score four pair on clearance for $5 each!! For that price, I won't mind when we have to get rid of them in another few months when he needs a longer inseam.

 

[LisaR]

Is he out of the boys' slim sizes? They go up to Size 20, but I don't know what waist size that is.

He can wear shorts from that department but not the pants. They are just too short in length. I wish they would work because they have the adjustable waist and that always worked perfect for him.

 

[mjantz]

LisaR: I've had really good luck buying designer jeans used off of eBay. My son has some Diesels, Luckys & a pair of 7 for all Mankind jeans that I found for about $20-$25.
Also, GAP does sell 1 style of dress pants in a 28/34 online only. I found this out when my son needed dress pants. Luckily I found a pair at a thrift store that were perfect but I was very close to ordering the GAP ones.
Oh & if anyone tries to tell you to hit up a Big & Tall store, forget it. Their waist sizes start around 36. Those stores are for big AND tall guys, not tall guys who need a sandwich!!

You may already know all of this but given the struggles I've had, I'm eager to share what I've discovered.

 

[LisaR]

LisaR: I've had really good luck buying designer jeans used off of eBay. My son has some Diesels, Luckys & a pair of 7 for all Mankind jeans that I found for about $20-$25.
Also, GAP does sell 1 style of dress pants in a 28/34 online only. I found this out when my son needed dress pants. Luckily I found a pair at a thrift store that were perfect but I was very close to ordering the GAP ones.
Oh & if anyone tries to tell you to hit up a Big & Tall store, forget it. Their waist sizes start around 36. Those stores are for big AND tall guys, not tall guys who need a sandwich!!

You may already know all of this but given the struggles I've had, I'm eager to share what I've discovered.

Thanks! I'll definitely check out ebay and the Gap.

I always hold out hope that I will find a Big & Tall section that has a section for just tall but that never happens.

 

[msmayor]

Though not an 'official' seamstress, I've sewn a lot in years past and trying to take pants in 4-6" would be a LOT of alteration.

You can't just decrease the waist size. With that much taken in, the proportion of the legs would be off, requiring even more alteration. It would probably be easier and cheaper for someone to make the pants from scratch.

 

[cabanafrau]

A good friend started going through this a few years ago when her son made the move from tall to, I don't know, he's 6'4" or 5" by now. American Eagle sells some sizes online you can't find in stores, and they're the current styles teens are wearing.

 

[lovemygoofy]

Have you taken your son into a men's dress store? Men's Warehouse or something like Jos A Banks can help with the sizing issue for suit pants. They can also tell you how difficult it would be to alter.

My husband wears a slim fitted pant but needs a wider suit jacket and dress shirts. The professionals in the stores were very helpful to us. We are at the point now that my husband also needs to have his pants taken in another 2 inches or so and the seamstress said it would be a pain because the whole "package" of the pleats and inseam cut would be off.

 

[mjantz]

A good friend started going through this a few years ago when her son made the move from tall to, I don't know, he's 6'4" or 5" by now. American Eagle sells some sizes online you can't find in stores, and they're the current styles teens are wearing.

In my experience the only sizes AE has in a 28 inch waist are 28,30 & 32. The problem isn't just the height. It's the small waist size in relation to the height.

 

[Imzadi]

Though not an 'official' seamstress, I've sewn a lot in years past and trying to take pants in 4-6" would be a LOT of alteration.

You can't just decrease the waist size. With that much taken in, the proportion of the legs would be off, requiring even more alteration. It would probably be easier and cheaper for someone to make the pants from scratch.

I agree. I alter my own clothing all the time. I can take in the side seams about 1 1/2 - 2 inches on each side, (measured with the clothes laying flat) I suppose that's 4" in all. But, usually it also needs the back seam taken in some. Then the whole waistband needs to be moved down or shortened because it's made to accommodate a larger, taller butt.

It's all doable sometimes depending on the cut of the pants, except on pants that have obvious pockets. The front curved pockets, like on jeans, are no longer over the front of the hip. They are too far to the side, and get taken in so much that you can't put your hand into them. Any back patch pockets are usually cut larger for a bigger butt, so they look out of proportion on a smaller pants. OR they are out of place in relation to where they should be - like too high or low, or too far to the side on the butt, or too close to center - if the back seam was taken in a lot. If the pants have never been washed, the pockets can be taken off, cut down and/or re-sewn into the right place, but all of that is a lot of altering.

 

[LisaR]

I called two seamstress places today and they said no way. Too much material to take in.

I did call The Men's Warehouse when I realized that they are only a few minutes away. The guy said to bring him and and see what they can do. I told him this needs to be inexpensive because DS will outgrown the pants in 3 months from now. He assured me he can make something work. We'll see. We can't go until Friday but we will definitely check them out.

Thanks for all the ideas. I haven't found anything online yet. The best I can find is a 28 waist with a 32 length which is too short or a 30 waist with a 34 length and the waist will just be too big. I don't mind the drooping with jeans but it would look really tacky with a suit.

 

[mjantz]

FYI: Men's Warehouse will do free alterations for the life of the suit. They also have unhemmed pants. If its possible for them to alter without removing fabric, the suit could be a worthwhile investment.

 

[NotUrsula]

I called two seamstress places today and they said no way. Too much material to take in.

I did call The Men's Warehouse when I realized that they are only a few minutes away. The guy said to bring him and and see what they can do. I told him this needs to be inexpensive because DS will outgrown the pants in 3 months from now. He assured me he can make something work. We'll see. We can't go until Friday but we will definitely check them out.

Thanks for all the ideas. I haven't found anything online yet. The best I can find is a 28 waist with a 32 length which is too short or a 30 waist with a 34 length and the waist will just be too big. I don't mind the drooping with jeans but it would look really tacky with a suit.

Not true; you can ALWAYS make a garment smaller, though sometimes it takes more reconstruction effort than not. As long as the trousers are flat-front with slant pockets it would not be horrendously difficult to fit, but it would require removing the waistband and opening not only the side seams, but the seat and also about the top 19 inches of the inseam to get the fit right. (Do avoid flat-welted onseam pockets; those would have to be completely torn out and rebuilt.) The seam allowance can be left up to 2 inches on a straight seam, but no more than one on a curved seam such as the seat. 100% wool has more stretch in it than a blend, so it will drape better if it has been taken and left with wide seam allowances for growth.

Don't call an alterations shop; call a professional tailor who is capable of making a bespoke suit. They can do it; the cost where I live would normally be around $70 to tailor both trousers and jacket (if he is that thin, the middle back of the jacket will probably also need some adjustment.) DH has all of his suits tailored properly after he buys them; it makes a world of difference in wearing comfort.

One note: a decent tailor will insist on chalking the suit with your son in it. Let him know that this can feel a bit "personal" when a good tailor does it, so that he won't be taken by surprise. He should be wearing a dress shirt and his dress shoes when the alterations are measured.

PS: FTR, a boy's 20 normally will be made with a 30-inch inseam if it is pre-hemmed. Land's End sells them unhemmed, so that you can specify length up to 33.

 

[Imzadi]

Not true; you can ALWAYS make a garment smaller, though sometimes it takes more reconstruction effort than not. . .

Don't call an alterations shop; call a professional tailor who is capable of making a bespoke suit.

Very true. The work involved wouldn't be altering, as much as it is really cutting down much of each piece of material and reconstructing the smaller pieces. A good tailor is needed for that.

It's all doable sometimes depending on the cut of the pants, except on pants that have obvious pockets. The front curved pockets, like on jeans, are no longer over the front of the hip. They are too far to the side, and get taken in so much that you can't put your hand into them. Any back patch pockets are usually cut larger for a bigger butt, so they look out of proportion on a smaller pants. OR they are out of place in relation to where they should be - like too high or low, or too far to the side on the butt, or too close to center - if the back seam was taken in a lot. If the pants have never been washed, the pockets can be taken off, cut down and/or re-sewn into the right place, but all of that is a lot of altering.

Here is a perfect example of what it would look like when the pants are just taken in at the sides and the pockets end up too far at the sides. (Only these pant were actually made this way, unaltered.) It looks like a whole third pocket can fit between the two that are there.

Here on the right are smaller, well-place pockets, higher on the butt:

 

[LisaR]

Update:
We went to The Men's Warehouse today and they were great!

Unfortunately, they really had to struggle to find something to fit him. The only jacket that would work was tan and I just didn't like the look on DS. Since the thing he is going to is "jacket optional" and two people we know aren't wearing one, we decided to pass on the jacket.

The pants were even harder to fit than the jacket. Thankfully, their tailor was there and she was able to find the one pair that she felt she could take in considerably. It is basically like she is making a whole new pair of pants for him because she needs to take in the butt, waist, crotch, and legs. She will make the alterations and we will go back on Tuesday so she can hem them.

I see now that I was calling a seamstress instead of a tailor. The couple places I called just did hems and simple alterations. The tailor can do so much more.

Anyway, thanks for all the help. DS has a pair of dress pant...really expensive dress pants.... but at least the shoes were super cheap thanks to Kohls and their coupons!