How Much Does It Cost to Have a Suit Tailored?
How Much Does It Cost to Have a Suit Tailored?
A Bespoke Tailor’s Honest Guide to What You’re Paying For
(Note: We don’t perform off-the-rack alterations at Cutting Room Bespoke. This guide is purely informational to help you understand the process and what to expect when working with a skilled fitter. If you are looking for the pricing for our bespoke custom suits find it here )
The difference between a great suit and an okay suit usually comes down to one word — fit.
Whether you’re buying something off the rack or commissioning a fully custom suit in Los Angeles, how the suit fits your body will determine how good it looks, how comfortable it feels, and how confident you appear wearing it.
At Cutting Room Bespoke, we define fit as how closely a suit’s posture, shape, and proportions translate your body’s actual measurements and movement. Cut, on the other hand, is the designer’s or tailor’s creative vision — the styling and proportion decisions that give a suit its personality.
Both matter. But a poor fit will always be noticeable, no matter how expensive or stylish the suit is.
Why Fit Matters More Than Anything Else
You can buy a beautifully designed off-the-rack suit from a premium brand, but if it doesn’t sit right on your shoulders or drape properly across your chest, it will never look its best.
A bespoke suit is designed from scratch to fit you — it starts with a personal pattern, not a standard size. But if you’re working with an off-the-rack piece, you can still improve it dramatically through professional tailoring.
That’s where the right fitter comes in.
A good tailor doesn’t just shorten sleeves or hem trousers. They study posture, shoulder slope, balance, and proportion. Alterations like these require technical skill and an artistic eye — and that’s why tailoring prices can vary widely.
(Note: We don’t perform off-the-rack alterations at Cutting Room Bespoke. This guide is purely informational to help you understand the process and what to expect when working with a skilled fitter.)
What to Expect When Getting a Suit Tailored
If you’re buying off the rack, it’s always smart to have an experienced tailor or fitter look over the suit. Even small improvements can make a big visual difference.
Here’s what typically affects tailoring costs — especially for jackets:
Jacket Alterations and Average Costs
1. Shortening or Lengthening Sleeves — $30 to $100 per arm
Simple adjustments at the cuff are the easiest and most affordable. But if your suit has complex patterns (like a Prince of Wales check) or needs to be shortened from the shoulder — where the sleeve attaches to the body — expect to pay more. Precision pattern-matching takes time and skill.
2. Shoulder Work — $100 to $500
This is major surgery for a jacket. Minor fixes like adding padding to correct uneven shoulders are on the lower end. But reshaping the pitch (to fix a shoulder roll or neck roll) or reducing an extended shoulder line requires serious tailoring expertise — and costs more accordingly.
3. Tapering or Letting Out the Waist and Chest — $100 to $500
If the jacket feels boxy, a tailor can shape it for a closer fit. Simple side-seam work might cost around $40–$50 per seam. More advanced adjustments — involving darts, armholes (armscyes), and forward seams — can raise the price significantly.
4. Shortening a Jacket — $150 to $200
This is one of the trickiest alterations. A suit jacket’s length affects its balance and proportion, and taking off too much can ruin the design entirely. Only trust this to a tailor with a sharp eye for symmetry.
5. Full Jacket Fitting — $300 to $500
If you’re doing several of the above adjustments, expect a comprehensive fitting to cost a few hundred dollars. A great fitter will go over every detail — shoulders, chest, waist, and length — and tailor each area to complement your build.
Tips to Save Money When Tailoring a Suit
Start with the right brand. If you find an off-the-rack label that naturally matches your proportions, you’ll need fewer alterations — saving both time and money.
Fix fit, not design. Don’t try to turn one cut into another (like changing a double-breasted into a single). Stick to fit-related improvements.
Ask for expert opinions. A professional fitter will tell you when something isn’t worth altering. Sometimes it’s better to invest in a new piece that fits better from the start.
When to Consider a Custom or Bespoke Suit
If you’ve ever spent hundreds on tailoring an off-the-rack suit, you might be better off investing in a custom tailored suit Los Angeles clients trust for long-term value.
At Cutting Room Bespoke, we start from scratch — drafting a pattern that matches your shoulders, stance, and posture perfectly. The result is a suit that doesn’t need alterations later, because it’s already made for you.
A bespoke suit Los Angeles experience gives you more control over the details — fabric, lining, buttons, lapels, and silhouette — and eliminates guesswork.
While the upfront investment is higher than typical alterations, the difference in comfort, appearance, and confidence is enormous.
Final Thoughts: Tailoring Is the Difference Maker
Whether you’re altering an off-the-rack piece or commissioning something bespoke, fit is everything. A good tailor doesn’t just make clothes smaller or larger — they make them yours.
For those searching how much does it cost to have a suit tailored, remember:
Minor alterations can start as low as $30–$50.
Major structural work can reach $500 or more per jacket.
A full bespoke experience, made to your exact posture and proportions, starts higher — but the result is precision, comfort, and craftsmanship that no machine or fast-fashion brand can replicate.