Ferndale High School has about 739 students, and every June some of its seniors solve the graduation suit the way families have always solved it: the father’s suit comes out of the closet. Sometimes that works. Whether it does is decided by one seam, and it’s worth knowing which one before the boy gets attached.
The seam
The shoulder. If the father’s jacket sits on the boy’s shoulder with the seam at the bone, the suit can be cut down to him: sleeves shortened, sides taken in, trousers taken in at the waist and hemmed. Roman, master tailor at Lincoln Tailor, on site in our store, does all of that, and will say at the fitting what it will cost against a new suit. If the seam hangs past the bone, no tailor moves it, and the jacket is his father’s for good.
The trousers usually survive
A waist can come in a good way and a hem can come up, so the trousers often fit the boy even when the jacket won’t. That’s the moment to look at separates: select suits on our floor sell as separates, so a jacket in his size can go over trousers from the same cloth, and the father’s trousers stay in the closet for the next son.
When it’s a new suit
An Everyday Classic, $139 to $159, in navy, bought for the shoulder that fits today. It goes to the ceremony, the summer wedding and the first interview, and small jobs he can often do while you wait, so bring the shoes.
More on alterations, or plan your visit to our Oak Park showroom.
