comptoir des cotonniers Trench coat alteration

[Spidergirl8]

I bought a comptoir des cotonniers trench coat online. It just arrived and it is lovely. I am a 12 and bought that size. However it feels a little tight across the back.
I'm not sure if the 14 will be too big and I don't want pay the postage back to France to try it out etc! Does anyone know if they have a bit of give or if it's quite a straightforward thing for a tailor to alter?

You could always try the size 42 on in on of their shops? Even if they don't have the size out on the rail, they usually have far more in the stockroom and can bring them up for you. Then you'd know if worth sending back. In my experience their coats tend to feel a bit tight across the shoulders but obviously depends on the style. They don't have a user-friendly returns policy online do they.

Thanks trader- have you found that their coats are tight on shoulders even when sized up?

PS- there are no stores in Scotland unfortunately :(

Much easier to make it smaller than larger, especially with modern clothes which tend to have mean seam allowances.

I don't imagine it would give - the only thing that is likely to give in anon stretchy fabric like a trench is the seams, which isn't ideal!

There are so many great trench coats out there. Do you love it that much to get it altered? I have two from Gryphon which I have had for years the fit is perfect and still look good. Got them in the sale and they were good value.

The Outnet usually have a good selection of designer trench coats.

Not easy to alter: I used to be a home seamstress and have made lots of jackets. Shoulder area and sleeve fit are tricky to get right. Despite the postage, bite the bullet and send it back! You will never really enjoy wearing a trench that will feel too tight and that will be far more expensive than the return postage. A coat too large is far easier to alter by just adding a layer of clothes underneath or by adding shoulder pads. When men buy jackets and coats they focus on shoulder area fit (no back creases or tightness) because that's the most difficult and expensive detail to fix.

I'm an avid online shopper but a coat is not something you should buy online - I've made far too many coat shopping mistakes online. All the coats that I really love I have purchased in brick&mortar stores by trying on lots and lots. And I almost invariably size up one size for cool-weather coats.

Thanks for tips, I'm still in two minds. It fits everywhere fine, with the exception of the shoulder if I move a lot. It is fine open, just fastened. It is a perfect colour, length and was down to £85. My max budget is £100. It would cost approx £30 to send back :(

I emailed them today to ask whether they would consider helping me with this as a goodwill gesture, but I'm not holding my breath. I based the request on the fact that the dimensions are actually smaller than the size quoted online, although on slightly!

I've tried several of their coats on - one was too tight on the shoulders at 42 so I found a 44 in one of their shops (NB usually I'm a 12-14). The 44 still felt tight but was far too big on the chest. The shop assistant said she often finds them tight on the shoulders. In the end I bought a 42 in a parka style which looked good in the shop but when I got it home, I decided it could go one size smaller (my daughter and husband both thought this one looked good), but I wasn't quite happy so the shop swopped it for a 40 which fits perfectly. In the parka style neither the 42 or the 40 felt too tight round the shoulders. Before I bought the jackets from the shop I emailed the online people and they confirmed that I'd have to pay to return anything back, even though I pointed out that this would stop me from ordering online from them! Best of luck anyway, hope you sort it all out. :)