So many of my clients have not utilized a tailor. Many shoppers go into a store, try something on, notice it is slightly baggy in the waist, too long or has some other easily fixable flaw and move on. Clothing isn’t always what it appears to be. Take up that hem, shorten those sleeves, lose the bow and you have a fine garment.
One issue in particular that can be easily fixed are buttons. Every now and then designers put cheap, boring or non-versatile buttons on a shirt, blazer or sweater. The garment is perfect, except for that silly button they threw on there. That’s okay, just take them off and replace them with better ones. You don’t even need a tailor, replacing a button is easy enough to do on your own. Recently, I switched out the button on a client’s cream colored Bobeau fleece wrap cardigan. I replaced the original shabby brown button for a gold one. Whereas the original button was dowdy, the gold button is fresh, modern and works well with the gold jewelry I am always putting on her.
When searching out new buttons, make sure the new one is the correct size. If a button is too big for a button hole, it won’t go through the button hole and the shirt or sweater will not shut. If the new button is too small, the shirt or sweater will fly open constantly. Keep in mind too, sometimes the buttons on a shirt’s cuff or blazer is a different size than the front buttons. I like to take the original buttons with me to the store I intend to buy the new button/s to ensure they are the same size. I usually get my buttons from antique shops, Michael’s and fabric stores. Also, if you are doing a full switch out of a bunch of buttons, make sure you have enough of the same button – unless of course, you are feeling artsy and want to switch out a coat’s matching buttons for a variety of different buttons. If you decide to skip matching buttons, I recommend doing this on a plain solid colored coat so your creativity is well noticed.
