So since the beginning of the year I’ve lost a fair bit of weight, and as a consequence one suit that I used to wear is now too big but on the plus side my other suit now fits quite well. My question is realistically, how much can a suit jacket be adjusted by? The jacket that fits is a size 40 and the larger one is a 44. There should be consistancy between them as they are both Paul Smith suits.

A decent tailor will be able to take at least a couple of inches out of the waist, maybe more. Best thing is to do some research on good tailors in your town and go visit with the suits.

I had an old suit jacket taken in recently as I didn’t like the shape (too straight). It cost £22.50 for the alteration.

It can be done but it is very difficult to make it look perfect. I’ve never had it done and been 100% happy with the results.

I got a Paul Smith suit in the London warehouse sale, had it altered from a 42 to a 40 but it never did seem to fit or hang properly, ended up down the charity shop within a year.

Also replaced most of my clothing when I started dropping more weight through running. I find trousers and even jeans need taking in at the waist even though they claim to be 34″ and the 32″ are way too small.