Overcoat alterations, ready before the weather turns.

A coat is fitted over everything else

An overcoat is the one garment fitted over other clothes, so it is pinned over the jacket you will actually wear beneath it. A sleeve that looks right over a shirt can be far too short over a suit; a hem that clears the knee in socks may sit differently in boots.

Heavy cloth also behaves differently to suiting. It holds its own shape, it is bulky at the seams, and its lining has to move with it. That is why coat work is pinned carefully and priced separately from jacket work.

What we alter on coats

Overcoats, topcoats and covert coats in wool, cashmere blends and other winter cloth:

• Coat hem, with the lining re-finished, from £85
• Sleeve length, from £70 — heavy cloth may be quoted at the visit
• Button stance, so the coat closes where it should over a jacket
• Vent and pocket repairs
• Buttons sewn or replaced, from £6 each

Hems and linings

Shortening a coat is not only a question of length. The lining has to be re-finished so it hangs freely without dropping below the hem or pulling the cloth up. Where a coat has a vent, the vent is kept in proportion to the new length. All of this is included in the hem price, from £85.

Fashions in coat length change, and the right length depends on your height and on what you wear underneath. The fitter can pin two lengths so you can see both before deciding.

Heavy cloth, vintage coats and quotes

Guide prices are for standard cloth. Heavy coating and vintage construction are quoted after the visit, once the fitter has seen how the coat is made inside. You are told the price before anything leaves your address. Leather and heavy oilskin are quoted only after the fitter has seen them, and technical outdoor wear is outside what we alter.

When to book

Coats are usually needed the moment the weather turns, and that is when everyone asks at once. Standard turnaround is 7–10 working days, so booking at the end of the summer or early in the autumn means the coat is back before it is needed. Express is for hem, taper, waist and shirt work, so coats run on standard turnaround.

If the suit or jacket that goes under the coat also needs work, pin them on the same visit so the lengths are set together.

How the home visit works

Send a request with a preferred day and a two-hour window. We reply to every request by email within one working day. A named fitter then comes to your home, office or hotel; appointments run daily, 07:00–21:00, and most visits take under half an hour.

The garment is pinned on you, confirmed in sterling before it leaves, and returned pressed to the same address. Standard turnaround is 7–10 working days. There is a £30 visit fee, credited in full when confirmed work reaches £120, and a £60 minimum order per collection.