A suit bought off the peg rarely fits perfectly. The jacket sleeves run a little long. The trousers break at the ankle in the wrong place. The jacket body is slightly too wide across the back. None of these things are the suit’s fault — standard sizing cannot account for every body, and most suits are cut to accommodate a range rather than fitted to one person.
Tailoring fixes that. We work on suits at Angelz on Arlington Way, a short walk from Angel tube. Jacket and trouser alterations, pocket repairs, relining, button work — all handled by the same team that has been tailoring in Angel since 2013.
The most common jacket alteration is sleeve shortening. Jacket sleeves are £44.99 to shorten, £39.99 to lengthen. That might sound like a significant job, but sleeve shortening on a suit jacket is genuinely more involved than it appears — the sleeve head has to be reopened, the lining adjusted, and the whole sleeve reset and finished so the result looks as though the suit came that way. A sleeve shortened badly shows at the shoulder. Done properly, it is invisible.
Jacket tapering — taking in the body for a slimmer fit — is £34.99. A jacket that sits too wide across the back or bags at the sides loses its line completely when worn. Tapering brings it back. We take in from the side seams, adjust the lining, and re-press the jacket on a form so the new shape is set properly.
Body shortening and lengthening — adjusting the overall length of the jacket — is £39.99 either way. This alters the proportions of the suit and is worth doing when a jacket is noticeably too long or short for the person wearing it.
Trouser hemming is £8.99 for both legs. It is one of the most frequently done jobs in the shop — suits bought at a standard leg length almost always need adjusting. We pin the hem with the shoes the suit will be worn with, so the break lands in the right place from the start.
Trouser tapering is £14.99. Suit trousers that are too wide in the leg look dated and make the suit read as ill-fitting even when the jacket is perfect. Tapering from the knee down — or from the thigh, depending on the cut — brings the trouser into proportion with the jacket.
Waist adjustment is £14.99. A common situation with second-hand or older suits is a waist that no longer corresponds to the wearer’s size. Taking in or letting out the waistband, adjusting the seat, and re-fitting the back of the trousers brings the trouser back to a wearable fit.
For the full range of trouser alterations we handle, our trouser alterations service in Angel covers every adjustment in detail.
Pockets on suit jackets and trousers take a lot of daily use — keys, phones, cards, hands. The lining wears through at the corners first, then the whole pocket becomes unreliable. We replace jacket pocket linings fully for £24.99 and partially for £19.99. Trouser pockets are £19.99 for a full replacement and £12.99 for a half repair.
The Savile Row Bespoke Association — the trade body for the UK’s finest tailoring houses — notes that pocket construction is one of the clearest indicators of suit quality. A well-constructed pocket hangs flat and functions smoothly. A worn or repaired pocket done properly is indistinguishable from the original. Done poorly, it shows immediately.
We also restitch loose pocket seams on both jacket and trouser for £8.50, replace hook-and-eye fastenings on trousers for £9.99, and repair trouser crotch seams — one side at £14.99, both sides at £19.99.
A suit jacket with a torn, shredded, or completely worn-out lining is uncomfortable to wear and often looks wrong from the outside too — the lining pulls at the jacket’s structure and causes the back to sit unevenly. Relining is the solution.
We reline suit jackets fully for £65.00 in a standard lining or £80.00 in silk. Sleeve relining alone is £45.00. Our jacket relining service in Angel covers the full relining process in detail — what the job involves, how long it takes, and when relining is worth doing versus replacing the jacket.
Buttons are small but they matter. A missing button on a jacket or a suit trouser looks immediately wrong. Jacket button replacement is £5.00 per button. Trouser buttons are £4.99. If a button is loose rather than missing, tightening it before it goes is £3.00 on a jacket and £3.50 on trousers.
If you have a spare button from the suit — usually stitched inside the jacket or on the care label tag — bring it along. We use it to keep the set matching. If not, we match from our stock as closely as possible.
There is a rough principle worth knowing: if the jacket fits well across the shoulders, the suit is worth tailoring. The shoulder seam is the one part of a jacket that cannot be altered without unmaking and remaking the entire thing. Everything below the shoulder — sleeves, body, length — can be adjusted. But the shoulder has to be right to start with.
If a suit fits well at the shoulder and poorly everywhere else, tailoring will turn it into a suit that fits. If the shoulder is wrong, no amount of alteration will fix it.
We tailor more than suits. Our tailoring service in Angel covers dresses, skirts, shirts, coats, and specialist pieces including wedding dresses. If you have a garment that needs altering and you are not sure whether we handle it, come in and we will tell you.
We are at 18 Arlington Way, Angel, EC1R 1UY — two minutes on foot from Angel tube on the Northern Line. Customers come in from Islington, Clerkenwell, Pentonville, Finsbury, and King’s Cross throughout the week.
No appointment needed for most suit tailoring. Come in with the suit and the shoes you plan to wear with it, and we will assess what is needed before quoting.
How long do suit alterations take?
Most standard alterations — hemming, tapering, sleeve shortening — are ready within three to five working days. More involved work such as relining or a full body taper takes a little longer. We give you an accurate date at drop-off.
Can you alter a suit that has already been worn for years?
Yes. Older suits are assessed in the same way as new ones. The fabric condition and construction quality affect what is possible, but most well-made suits remain alterable throughout their life.
My suit jacket fits but the trousers are too large. Can you alter just the trousers?
Yes. Jacket and trousers can be brought in separately. There is no requirement to work on both pieces in the same visit.
Do you tailor suits in unusual fabrics — linen, velvet, or heavy tweed?
Yes. Linen, velvet, tweed, and corduroy suits all come through the shop regularly. Each fabric is assessed before any cutting or pressing. Velvet in particular needs careful handling at the pressing stage to protect the pile.
Wedding Dress Fitting · Jacket Relining · Zip Replacement · Jeans Tailoring · All Tailoring · All Services
Can a Tailor Fix a Suit That Is Too Big? · How Long Do Suit Alterations Take? · How Many Sizes Can a Tailor Take In a Suit? · How Much Does It Cost to Alter a Suit in the UK?
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