JACKET/BLAZER

YOU CAN . . .

Reset too-large shoulders. Shoulder seams that extend past your anatomical shoulder will often result in a messy upper sleeve and make you look like a kid in a school play wearing her mother’s jacket.

Add a small shoulder pad to balance a large bust or balance out a tummy. We’re not talking about 1980s shoulder pads à la Joan Collins. But a little bit can really strengthen the shoulder and deemphasize the bust and belly.

Have the sleeve shortened so that it hits you at the wrist, not the hand.

Take it in on the side seams or from darts under the bust to create a waist that balances out a large bust.

Add darts in the front of a jacket for more of an hourglass shape.

Take a jacket in through the back seams for better fit.

Narrow the sleeves. There is usually a seam that runs down the inside of the length of the arm, starting at the armpit. When taken in, it creates a great separation between the arm and the midsection, which will help your body look like more of an hourglass.

Add a vent in the back, either single or double. If a woman has a larger tushy, and the jacket isn’t sitting right, a vent adds wiggle room.

Move buttons over on a too-tight jacket.

Add a little hook and eye between buttons. Let’s say your jacket has two buttons, and it’s gaping a little bit because of a large bust, belly, or that’s just the way it hangs. You can have a little hook and eye put in between those two buttons to keep it closed.

DON’T BOTHER . . .

• Shortening a jacket. It will never come out the way you want it to, because it always looks a little off. If it has a curved hem, it’s a lot harder to take up than just a straight sort of squared-off hem.

• Removing buttonholes. You can’t just sew a buttonhole together and pretend it was never there. It’s like an appendix scar. You can sew up the hole, but it’s still there. (Ten years after my appendectomy, I am still traumatized.)