On the same sidewalk as our brand's Parisian boutique, rue d'Aboukir , installed in a sort of corner as if it didn't want to be noticed too much, is a store popular with those for whom details matter. This is the Zécaf retouching shop. Inside, the place is crumbling under a joyful jumble of reels of all colors, tools that prick and cut, machines that hum severely when they work and, of course, all those shirts that the owner of the place repairs and takes care of on the assembly line.
This one, a small man with eyes brimming with mischief, is called Coban Cafer and comes from faraway Kurdistan. Far away there, he grew up in a family of tailors and naturally became one himself when he had to earn a living. At the time, Monsieur Cafer was even an ace at made-to-measure suits. In 1988, when his native region was shaken by yet another political upheaval, the craftsman went to live in Paris. For him, it was like a dream. "Paris has always been the capital of fashion for me. I imagined very preppy women, with long gloves and big hats," he smiles today. In the big city, Monsieur Cafer was unable to establish himself as a tailor. But, resourceful, he ended up finding a job as an alterations technician with a renowned designer: Thierry Mugler.
“Tie your knot under the button, not inside the shirt. It’s still more aesthetic!”
After several years spent on this side, Coban Cafer opened his own alterations business on rue d'Aboukir in 2004. With some success, there are now dozens of customers who come to beg for his help every day at his counter. "Once I give you back your garment, you will forget that it has been altered," boasts Coban Cafer with an enthusiastic and sincere laugh. "It will even be better than the original!" At Hast, it is not uncommon for us to recommend to our customers to go see the alterationist on rue d'Aboukir if by chance they need to alter one of our pieces. For our newspaper, Coban Cafer from the famous alterations shop Zecaf, details the different alterations that can be done on a shirt.
Shorten
Sometimes you want to shorten your sleeves so that they fit your arms perfectly. In this case, the alterationist will choose to take the piece back at the wrist rather than at the shoulder. "It's cheaper for the customer. And then with an alteration from the top, the arm may end up too tight," explains Coban Cafer. Very concretely, it is then a question of undoing the seam of the tab, this strip of fabric that goes down the sleeve, as well as the one that holds the edge. Once this first step is completed, the excess fabric is cut using large scissors, then the sleeve is reworked in its length so that the famous tab can be repositioned. "If we simply cut the sleeve and fold what remains on the tab, the length will not correspond to what we want," adds Coban Cafer.
Bend
There are two very precise methods for making a shirt fit the wearer's body a little better. If it's a matter of not much, the retoucher creates two parallel darts in the back, that is to say, uniform and invisible folds of fabric. If, on the other hand, it's a matter of major work, he will rid the shirt of long strips of fabric on the sides of the shirt. "We cut and we redo!"
Pockets
Some of Mr. Cafer's stylish clients request that their shirts have extra pockets or pockets at all. The retoucher then takes fabric from the shirt to create this detail. "So that nothing is visible, I take the fabric from the back of the shirt," Coban Cafer explains.
Tears
Misfortunes happen. Like a providential character, the retoucher can recover threads from the seam of the shirt and proceed to a stoppage closing the hole. A job that is expensive and quite rare according to Coban Cafer. The latter, himself, rather likes to create a sort of zigzag with independent thread that he will reinforce with a patch sewn on the back of the shirt . “When the tear is at the elbows because of friction, some customers like me to sew elbow patches. It was old-fashioned and I have the impression that it is becoming a fashion,” says Coban Cafer.
From the air
People with wide necks can sometimes lack a little air in their shirt. It is then possible to move the buttons of the collar for a more comfortable fit. But be careful: this can only be done by a few millimeters. Too much of a shift could distort the alignment of the shirt. "And you should not add fabric to the collar, it makes a shirt ugly!" warns Coban Cafer.
Ultimately, there is only one alteration job that can be done without the help of an alterationist. If you know how to thread a needle and handle it, sewing on a button is not very complicated. Ideally, use thick thread for a better hold. Bonus, according to Coban Cafer: "Tie your knot under the button, not inside the shirt. It looks better!"