My son’s bar mitzvah is coming up quickly. I waited until the last minute to go suit shopping because he’s been growing so incredibly quickly, but the last minute has arrived. So off I went, figuring I shouldn’t have too much trouble getting him a suit.
Wrong-o, fuzzy one. He’s right on that line where men’s suits are absurdly broad in the shoulders, (even at the smallest size) but boy’s are too tight across the chest, and a bit short in the sleeves. And don’t even start on pants – the shortest available inseam is 2 inches too long.
Now, I can attend to things like hems and sleeves. It won’t even take me very long. Shoulders, on the other hand, are trickier. While I can give them extra support with temporary pads, there’s still that boy-head balanced on that slender neck in the middle, and it just looks silly. On the other hand, shoulders are, bar none, the most difficult structure on a suit to adjust – so much so that tailors will tell you to get the shoulders right and everything else can be worked around. And that’s true, if the suit has side-back seams to let out or take in. Unfortunately the current style has only center-back seams, and altering those to come out straight is first cousin to impossible. I know. I’ve done it. I ended up sewing it up, then drawing my straight line and hand-stitching the thing to get it right. It was a miserable experience, and one I swore never to repeat.
So that’s where I am. I’m going to call a place online that specializes in boy’s suits tomorrow morning, run through the kid’s measurements, and ask for advice. If they can fit him, I’ll be thrilled.
If not, I’ve got some serious and intensive shopping to do, followed by some equally intensive tailoring.
We’ll have to see.