A new consolidated Jacket Conversion Thread

[Nathan]

I used to wear a converted tweed in my teens and that experience taught me a few things. I'll share them here:

1) Do the math. If you're paying a tailor, it's often less expensive to buy a used kilt jacket rather than converting one but if you are a less common size, you may not have that option. So, know what your tailor charges for each alteration and calculate that to see if the purchase is worth it. You could pay a lot for almost right.
2) Double down. If you are converting, look for a double vented jacket. This is easier in Britain because in NA most sports coats are single vented or at least they were during the tweed craze of the 70s and early 80s where many of your source material will come from. Even Harris Tweeds made for the NA market are single vented. Frustrating. Jackets designed to be worn with the kilt are double vented.
3) Get Shorty. If you take say a 40 Regular, get a 40 Short if possible. You'll have to lengthen the sleeves but everything else (button stance, gorge, height of vents, pocket flaps) will work better on a jacket that's already cut for a shorter man. Ensure there's enough cloth to lengthen the sleeves if you go that route. If you're not adding gauntlet cuffs, ensure the cloth isn't faded at the cuff as that will show when you lengthen the sleeves. If you're already short, disregard this one.
3) Nip the waist. Take in the sides a little to create a "new" waist and give the jacket better shape. jackets are cut to tuck in and flare out again. On a Saxon jacket this usually happens closer to the hips than on a kilt jacket.
4) Stay away from the corner. Avoid corners on your cutaway. A three button jacket helps with this but converted jackets often have an obvious corner where the cutaway starts rather than a smooth line like kilt jackets.
5) Attack the wack low flap. As MacLowlife mentioned, move your pocket flaps up so the bottom of them just covers your pocket slit. Pockets that are too close to the hem of your jacket are a dead giveaway. Patch pockets, while easier to deal with, don't look right.
6) Stag party. As MacLowlife mentioned, change the buttons. Factor the cost of new buttons into your math.
7) Give three piece a chance. Finally, if you can start with a tweed 3 pc suit, you'll end up with a matching waistcoat and lots of extra material from the trousers for making gauntlet cuffs, epaulettes etc...

If you can do this yourself and are a very patient shopper, you can save a lot of money. Wait for the right candidate for conversion.