Adventures in Alterations – Tailoring a Zara Kids Jacket

Okay…kids clothes. I largely ignore them because I find them of poor quality, distasteful style, and boxy shapes that don’t accommodate a bust, hips, rear end, or show off a waist. With that being said, I’ve discovered some pretty good finds recently from brands that carry scaled down versions of their adult styles, like J.Crew here and here (not to mention Jeans’s great find), and now Zara. This doesn’t mean I’ll go crazy with kids clothes, because I still feel a little dirty shopping in those departments for myself, but sometimes a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do to get a decent fit and save a few bucks.

This Zara girls tweed jacket was $45.90 (still available in blue), which is much cheaper than an adult version which can run between $70 – $130 depending on whether it’s the Zara main line or TRF line. Considering the adult versions need alterations for me as well, it seemed like a good deal if I could get away with some simple alterations on this kids version instead of forking over the price for an adult size plus more costs in alterations.

I found size 9-10 to be a decent fit on me:

This girls Zara jacket is a light weight cream tweed fabric with small chain details that run along the collar and faux side pockets. The cropped shape is a modern cut and the frayed edges have a Chanel-esque appeal.

I liked the style, fabric and details of this jacket, not to mention the tiny fit in the shoulder. As usual, this kids jacket fit boxy in the torso (most evident from the side) and the sleeves hit at an awkward length on my wrist. I hemmed and hawed about the sleeves, but ultimately the length bothered me so I decided to add that to the alterations list.

The alterations I wanted done were:

• Slimming the torso
• Shortening the sleeves to a less awkward (and summer appropriate) 3/4 length

Shortening the sleeve was straight forward enough, but slimming the sides was looking to be a little more difficult. The side seams were very close to the faux pocket, so taking in that seam would displace the pocket detail. Instead, I looked at a seam that ran down the middle of the back. By taking in the jacket a few inches along that center seam, the extra fabric could be removed without having to deal with those side seams.

Stacy and Clinton of What Not to Wear love to say, “every seam is an opportunity for a tailor”, and this center seam is a great example of a non-conventional solution to taking in the torso.

Here it is before and after:

The torso is slimmer for a more flattering fit and the sleeves are now 3/4 length, good for layering and scrunching. These two alterations cost $30 at my favorite San Diego tailor, which is much cheaper than tailoring a similar adult Zara jacket, that on me, usually need something as costly as the shoulders taken in (about a $100 tailoring bill).

You can see this newly tailored Zara jacket in action in this post.

What do you think of this kids jacket alteration? Would you alter a kids item to better fit you?