Hemline damage
Also: fallen hem · worn hem · hem wear
Hemline damage is wear along a garment's bottom edge — dropped stitches, unraveling, dragging scuffs, or a fallen hem hanging loose. Common on long jeans, coats, and dresses that brush the ground, it reads as both a structural and cosmetic flaw and pulls the grade toward the Good and Fair tiers.
How to detect it
- Run the whole hem through your fingers, feeling for loose or dropped stitches
- Check the back hem of long jeans for dragging scuffs and abrasion
- Look for a section of hem hanging down where the stitching has released
Grade impact
Hemline damage spans Structural Integrity (25%) and Cosmetic Appearance (20%). Light scuffing at the back hem keeps an item near Very Good (7); a fallen hem or frayed, shredded edge drops it to Good (6) or Fair (5).
Fixability
Usually repairable. A tailor can re-hem a dropped or worn edge, and fusible hem tape is a quick fix; a re-hem may slightly shorten the garment and should be disclosed as an alteration.
How to disclose it
Describe the hem state ('back hem scuffed from dragging, one section dropped'). Hems are easy to skip when photographing, so a dedicated hem shot heads off the 'didn't see that' complaint.
Hemline damage — frequently asked
- Is a dropped hem an easy fix?
- Usually yes. A tailor can restitch a dropped or worn hem, and fusible hem tape works as a fast home fix. A re-hem can shorten the garment slightly, so measure afterward and disclose it as an alteration when the length changes.
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