I’ve stayed away from thrift stores because I’ve never expected to find the right size, style and color combination amongst all those one-of-a-kind bargains. Surprisingly, I’ve found that other women with large breasts have not adopted my thrift store avoidance strategy. Their experiences plus three other factors have caused me to re-consider:
- the potential for extending my clothing budget;
- my great dress find at last month’s clothing swap; and
- my search for a high quality blazer worth altering and telling you about.
Last week, I entered a thrift store just three blocks from my home and found a high quality blazer worth altering and telling you about for only $19.
I’m not sure what alterations Elena will suggest . . . perhaps narrow and taper the sleeves again?
I’m pleased with the high armholes. I’ll explain the cuffs with another photo below.
I’m very curious to find out if the back can be made more form-fitting.
Here is a closeup of the cuffs. I’d like to have these lopped off to just beyond my wrist bone so that I don’t have to worry about them becoming un-rolled.
My biggest takeaway from this experience so far: begin with a jacket you already like, not one you have to talk yourself into. Here’s a comparison with the blazer I wrote about last time.
I think you’ll agree that the 100% virgin wool in the new jacket has a much nicer drape.
Look for another report once I take my new blazer to Elena.
Oh, I can’t wait to see the final product! I love your thrift store find, it’s already much more flattering on you AND the color’s great!
Thanks, June!
I’ve had a blazer taken in at the back, and it wasn’t too ridiculously priced. So I think you might have a winner here.
Thanks for the reminder, that I should try it too. There is good thrifting potential in my neighborhood. I live very close to the posh areas of town, and they have to head over to all of the commercial areas that are nearest to me for shopping. There are at least 5 in a 2 mile radius of my apartment. At one of them, I have seen some Stuart Weitzmans in the window. 🙂
I was surprised to find this b/c I don’t live in Manhattan or any of the posh enclaves outside of it. But anytime I go to thrift stores in Manhattan, I feel that they are so overpriced that it defeats the purpose of a thrift store–to get a bargain.
By the way, thanks for the tip you gave in the comments to my last post about blazers when you told us about an alterations credit for signing up for Nordstrom points!
That neckline looks great on your bust. Much more stylish and feminine than the other blazer. I love the color too. Definitely worth altering as it will still be very affordable. It also looks like its very good quality.
Yes, isn’t this neckline great? By being so open, it removes the button-strain/gap issue. At first I thought it was because the buttons started below my bust, but they don’t.
What a great blazer! The loose fabric you see in the back is because your body is shorter than the jacket in the neck to waist measurement. If you were small busted you would see this fitting issue in the front bodice as well. It needs a petite and/or swayback alteration.
Thanks for confirming it’s a height thing. So a petite/swayback alteration is possible? I wasn’t sure. So glad it has a name.
I think you have to remove excess fabric length from the middle of the jacket to make this alteration. That means you have to cut the jacket across the middle area–you can’t make this alteration from the sides. One possible way to do this is to add a waist band in the back only–basically you would cut the jacket where it pooches out, and use some of the removed fabric to make a decorative waistband. This jacket shows the sort of thing I mean. http://www.whitehouseblackmarket.com/store/browse/product.jsp?maxRec=2&productId=570039190&catId=cat6219285
When you are sewing a garment from scratch (rather than altering one), you make the swayback or petite alteration on the pattern tissue before you cut into the fabric.