# How much should I expect to pay to have a suit coat altered?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-should-i-expect-to-pay-to-have-a-suit-coat-altered/540886>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [May 26, 2010, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-should-i-expect-to-pay-to-have-a-suit-coat-altered/540886 "2010-05-26T23:11:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-should-i-expect-to-pay-to-have-a-suit-coat-altered/540886/1 "2010-05-26T23:11:09Z")

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I inherited a tuxedo from my late father in law and need the jacket altered. He was taller than me, so the sleeves need about an inch taken up, and the waist needs to come up. I’m afraid this will be costly.

Anyone got any experience with this?

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**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-should-i-expect-to-pay-to-have-a-suit-coat-altered/540886/2 "2010-05-26T23:24:21Z")

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The sleeves are probably pretty straightforward. Think in the neighborhood of $25 or so. On the waist, it probably depends on the design on the jacket, but I bet you could have the whole thing done by a good tailor for under $100.

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**Author:** ![sharding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90db22/32.png) [@sharding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sharding)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-should-i-expect-to-pay-to-have-a-suit-coat-altered/540886/3 "2010-05-27T06:02:19Z")

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I think $25 is more than I’ve ever paid to have a garment altered (including sportcoats and suit coats). However, they’ve always been minor alterations of brand new items (e.g. adjust the sleeve length, etc.), often at the time of purchase (which might involve a discount). More drastic changes would probably cost more, but if the garment is of decent quality the cost of alteration should be far less than the garment’s value.

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**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-should-i-expect-to-pay-to-have-a-suit-coat-altered/540886/4 "2010-05-27T07:38:42Z")

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Altering will get it to fit. _Tailoring_ will get it to look good. Save up a few lattes and skimp on a couple other things and find yourself a good tailor. It may run you +/- $100-150, but the results will be worth it–particularly as it’s a tuxedo.