A Scarf Instead of a Cape - Buying Tailored Céline on Resale

Hi friends,

Last week, I bought an amazing Céline shearling coat in the most beautiful grey color from 2017 collection (as you can tell, I’m still very determined to expand the number of the Céline coats in my wardrobe) and only after I paid for it I realised that the sleeves had been shortened. As fellow collectors know, sometimes you just come across a really good listing, and if you don’t hit "buy now" someone else will. So I didn’t have much time to make a research or to thoroughly check everything on the photos - the price was too good, so I had to act fast. Only after I checked the model number and compared it to the other listings I saw how short the sleeves were. It’s not the first time I’ve bought something and realised it was tailored only when I got it and tried it on. But not every time I have an option to fix it and return it to the original design.

same coat but in blue color

I also found out that Phoebe Philo was photographed in the same coat but in beige color, and having something she was seen in is a very special moment to me :)

photos by Albrecht Fuchs, London, 2016

So when the coat arrived I checked the sleeves and called my mom (she used to work with fur) to discuss what can be done. We decided to undo the stitches and keep the raw edge on the sleeves to keep as much length as possible. Also there were three clip buttons sewn to the coat that needed to be cut off. Here’s the little video of me working on the coat plus the before and after. And have you seen the price of the Phoebe Philo’s shearling coat from the new drop? €20000! Please don’t be upset with me, but I bought mine for €100!!

Another interesting purchase that I made a few months ago was this white alpaca coat. When I saw the listing it was shown with a headscarf in the matching fabric, and again, the price was really good so I quickly bought it. I started searching which collection the coat was from and why it was so familiar to me before I finally realised that it was that coat with the cape from Fall 2016 RTW collection (look 27 from the runway).

I remembered that I saw the black capes listed as individual items (like here), and I thought maybe you could buy the coat separately, but after closer examination I found out that the cape was cut off and remade into a headscarf. There were also four huge clip buttons on the coat (these buttons will be in my nightmares lol). I’m guessing it wasn’t warm enough, so they decided to do everything they could. I knew Kristina had this coat and asked for the photos to see how the cape was attached, and I was quite relieved to see that they didn’t touch the coat itself. It still looks beautiful without the cape; the fabric is stunning and super warm. But when you know it was supposed to come with the cape, you kinda can't unsee it. I’m still going to wear it, though!

Oh, and what a nice surprise it was to receive the coat in the original Céline garment bag. Price for the coat was €200.

Another tailored piece that I bought was a pair of ivory high-waisted trousers with a contrasting front zipper from Spring 2016 RTW collection (a pair in FR40 is available on VC). I bought them on The Real Real and paid $145 without tax and shipping. I checked the size (FR40) and the condition (marked as very good) and was shocked no one has bought them. Usually on TRR good items are sold out in seconds. The trousers were a bit short on the mannequin but I thought it’s at least 10 cm higher than me so they shouldn’t be too short. I could have checked the measurements, but I didn’t find any note that they were tailored, so I made an order. When I received a package one week later, I found they were not only shortened, but also tailored to fit a smaller size. I was so disappointed that I quickly ran to my tailor to undo everything that had been done. The waist was taken hastily so there was no problem to return it to its original state, but we had to add a piece of fabric on the edges to keep the trousers as long as possible. Unfortunately I can’t show them now because they’re on their way from Belgrade accompanied by other Céline pieces that didn’t fit into my suitcases.

With this long preamble I wanted to hear your thoughts on tailoring and altering designer pieces. Do you think it’s totally normal to make some kind of changes, or you rather see these pieces as an art and feel like it’s wrong to ruin the designer’s vision? I’m only talking about more radical changes (shortening sleeves that were supposed to be long, changing shape of a blazer or turning a cape into a scarf) and not just shortening the length of the trousers or taking the waist. I do that sometimes too when I find a pair in one/two sizes bigger. But I definitely wouldn’t do anything to a blazer or a coat. Especially I don’t see a point to buy it full price and then take it to the tailor to make some drastic changes. And of course it’s fair to mention these alterations when listing such item on a resale platform (though it would affect the price for the worse and that’s why sometimes these details are withheld).

So please share your thoughts! And if you’ve ever bought a tailored item what did you do with it?

See you next week,

Veronika