How to Get the Tailored Look

Tailoring makes a huge difference to the appearance of your clothing. Particularly for formal items such as suits, it is well worth the investment. However, you may not want to bother getting your everyday clothes . It just would not make sense to spend more on alterations than you spent on that pair of pants in the first place. Fortunately, there are small tricks you can do yourself in order to achieve that sleek look.

Iron everything

Every item of clothing you wear should be ironed. Maybe not your underwear and socks, but everything else should be perfectly flat. This includes undershirts. This applies even to the most casual of items; the tee shirt. Even the humble tee will have much cleaner lines if ironed.

Cut your loose threads

Sometimes, you will find that a garment has loose threads hanging off it. This happens most commonly with budget items. After you put your new article of clothing through the wash for the first time, trace along the seams, cutting any loose threads short. Do this to both the inside and outside of the garment. Of course, do not cut too close, or you will end up with a much worse problem than what you started with. A small pair of nail scissors is ideal.

If you notice a loose thread hanging off your clothing as you are wearing it, you need to resist the urge to do anything about it until you have access to scissors. The worst thing you could do is pull the thread- your garment could be unravelled in crucial places, leaving you with unsightly holes.

Roll up your sleeves

Wearing shirts casually is elegant, but only if the fit is exactly perfect for you. The cuff of your shirt should hit your first thumb knuckle, when your arms are hanging by your sides. It?s more than likely that you have a few shirts with the incorrect sleeve length on you. Avoid the sloppy look by folding up your sleeves. When rolled up, your sleeve should end somewhere in the range between below your elbow and your mid-forearm. Of course, do not use this trick for situations calling for more formality.

Short shirts

Go for shirts that are short enough that they can be left untucked. If you leave it out, you will not look sloppy. If you tuck it in, you will not have unsightly bulges. A tailor would normally chop off excess fabric; save yourself the trouble by getting shirts that are the right length to begin with.

What not to buy

Some items of clothing simply cannot be saved. Most importantly, you need to choose clothing that fits. There are also other aspects to look out for. When you are purchasing clothing, check that all the small touches are correct. Carefully inspect the seams to check that they have been sewn straight. Check that every edge has been hemmed properly. Sometimes clothing manufacturers use single-fold hemming, which should be avoided as it indicates poor quality. This type of hem easy to spot- if you can see the fabric has only been folded up once at the hem, leaving a raw edge exposed, then it is single fold.