Getting a Hem or a Taken-In Dress Right: What to Bring to the Fitting

A pair of trousers that pool at the ankle. A dress that gapes at the back zipper. A jacket sleeve that swallows your knuckles. Most fit problems come down to a half inch here and an inch there, and they're fixable by someone with a sewing machine and a trained eye.

Royal Cleaners has a seamstress on site, so the person who pins your hem is working in the same building where the garment gets finished. Their list covers hemming pants, resizing dresses, taking in and letting out seams, shortening sleeves, replacing zippers and adding pockets. That's most of what walks through a tailor's door, and it means a question at the fitting gets an answer on the spot instead of a note on a tag.

Bring the shoes you'll actually wear

This is the biggest single cause of a bad hem. Length is measured against the floor, and your shoes change where the floor is. Trousers pinned over flat loafers will be too short with a boot heel and too long with sneakers. A formal dress hemmed over bare feet is a gamble on an evening you'll spend in heels. Bring the shoes. If you own two pairs you might wear, decide which one wins before the first pin goes in, because a hem can only be right for one of them.

The same logic applies to what's under and over the garment. Fitted clothing is judged in layers, and a jacket that's perfect over a thin shirt can pull across the shoulders over a sweater. Bring the real combination, not a stand-in.

A short list for the fitting

• The shoes you'll wear with the garment, not the ones you happen to have on.
• The undergarments or shapewear you'll wear on the day, especially for a fitted dress.
• The belt, if the trousers or skirt are worn with one.
• A jacket or blazer that goes over the top, so sleeves and shoulders are judged together.
• A photo of the look you want, if you've seen it on someone else.
• A little time. A fitting rushed between meetings is a fitting that gets second-guessed later.

Stand and move the way you will on the day

Once the garment is pinned, don't just stand still and study the mirror. Walk a few steps. Sit down if the piece allows it, because a waistband that looks fine standing can dig in at a table. Lift your arms. If it's a dress you'll dance in, take a normal stride. The person pinning can only fix what they can see, so give them the full range of motion the day will demand.

Stand the way you normally stand, too. Pulling your shoulders back and holding your breath gives a lovely fit that lasts about four minutes.

Say what you want, and ask what's possible

Be specific about the result. For trousers, say how much of the shoe the hem should cover, and whether you want to keep the original hem or a cuff. For a dress, point to where it feels loose and where it feels tight. A photo helps more than a paragraph of description.

Ask what the garment will allow, too. The spare fabric folded inside a seam, called the seam allowance, decides how much a piece can be let out. Some garments have plenty. Some have almost none, and no tailor can add fabric that was never there. Lined pieces, beaded hems and patterned fabrics that have to match across a seam all take more care than a plain hem on plain wool, which is part of why those jobs get a quote instead of a flat number.

How long it takes

Royal Cleaners says minor alterations, like hemming pants, can often be done within a day or two. More complex work may take a little longer, and they give you an estimated pickup date when you drop the garment off. Shortening a hem starts at $16.00 on their published list, and the plus sign does real work there: the final figure depends on the garment, so ask for a quote at the counter.

Build in a cushion. If the garment is for a wedding, an interview or a funeral, bring it in well ahead of time, not the day before. A first fitting sometimes leads to a small adjustment, and you want room for a second visit without panic.

If it still isn't right

Try the garment on before you leave the shop when you can, not in the car and not the night before the event. Royal Cleaners states the policy simply: if something isn't right, bring it back in and they'll make the necessary adjustments.

Customers seem to agree it works. After a zipper replacement and a black-tie dress taken in along two seams, gloria brar wrote, “I'd highly recommend Royal Cleaners for any tailoring or dry cleaning need!” Micah Hobbs, whose wife had a bridesmaid's dress hemmed there, put it this way: “My wife got a bridesmaids dress hemmed here, slightly expensive however she did a fantastic job and service was friendly and efficient.”

If a fitting is on your list this week, the counter at 814 San Pablo Avenue opens at 7 on weekdays and 8:30 on Saturdays, and the number is (510) 323-4167. Bring the shoes.