Visiting a tailor shop (ателье) to see a tailor (портной) often requires trying on (примерить) your clothes to get the perfect fit.
| If you need a good tailor, go to this tailor shop. | Если вам нужен хороший портной, то идите в это ателье. |
| The tailor asked me to try on the suit one more time. | Портной попросил меня примерить костюм ещё раз. |
Attenuated Comparatives (по-)
When asking for alterations, you rarely want drastic changes. To soften a comparative adjective and mean "a little more" or "a little less," simply add the prefix по- to the standard short comparative form.
- короче (shorter) -> покороче (a little shorter)
- шире (wider) -> пошире (a little wider)
- уже (narrower) -> поуже (a little narrower)
- длиннее (longer) -> подлиннее (a little longer)
| Make the sleeves of this shirt a little shorter. | Сделайте рукава этой рубашки покороче. |
To talk about specific parts of a shirt or suit, you will need words like collar (воротник) and seam (шов).
| Make the collar a little wider, and this seam a little narrower. | Сделайте воротник пошире, а этот шов — поуже. |
Fits and Details
If you are altering pants or a dress, you might need to adjust the waist (талия) or the belt (пояс).
| If you make the waist a little wider, then the belt needs to be a little longer. | Если сделать талию пошире, то пояс нужен подлиннее. |
During the fitting, the tailor might use a pin (булавка) to hold a fold or pleat (складка) in place.
| The tailor took a pin in order to make a fold at the waist. | Портной взял булавку, чтобы сделать складку на талии. |
This softening prefix applies to all comparatives, including irregular ones like меньше (smaller), which becomes поменьше, and крепче (stronger), which becomes покрепче.
| Please make these folds a little smaller, and the seams a little stronger. | Пожалуйста, сделайте эти складки поменьше, а швы — покрепче. |
Finally, a client ordering an alteration is a заказчик (or заказчица for a female client). For instance, she might want to make an item a little bigger (побольше).
| The client (f) is asking to make this belt a little bigger. | Заказчица просит сделать этот пояс побольше. |