In-Store Tailors vs. Independent "Old-School" Tailors?

do you have a good "old school tailor??"

There are good in store tailors and bad out of store tailors.

You don't say what sort of work you're getting done. Simple things can be done by almost anybody. If you need something complex is when you need to start looking for higher skill levels.

Since you live in Boston (like myself), I suggest you get your suit tailored by Tad at J. Press in Harvard square. I get all my stuff tailored by him and he has relatively quick turnaround times -- relative to the one you posted of two weeks. Prices are fair, if a bit on the higher side since he does fantastic work.

I know he will do a good job but I cannot say the same for a BB tailor.

With all the alterations you mentioned above, expect to spend around.. I wanna say, $100+? I can't say for sure, but that's a guess.

If you don't have a tailor you trust, always use the in store tailor. If they mess up, BB will get you a new suit. If you want some alterations fixed they'll take care of it. However if you use an outside tailor and they mess up, it's up to you and the tailor to fix things.

Usually if a tailor can identify what needs fixing with the suit they'd know how to do the work. Regardless you have no risk with the in store tailor so I'm not sure what you are afraid of.

Actually, he brings up a good point. It might be in your best interests to stick with the BB tailor since it does provide some sort of insurance, if you will.

Funny! My go-to tailor is Tony at J Press in New Haven. Fantastic guy!

Go with the in-store tailor for the following reasons:

1. Cost. At Brooks Brothers and other major stores, the tailoring is a "cost" service versus a "for profit" service. An outside tailor will charge you more than twice the price since he must figure-in overhead and profit. Generally, the in-store tailoring will cost less. Incidentally, some of the services that you mention are included in the cost of the garment, such as hemming the pants and finishing the sleeves. In comparison, an outside tailor will have to charge for each and every service. He has to.

2. Outside tailoring can be unduly expensive. I used to go to an "old school" master tailor who would invariably show why he had to take-apart the garment. There was no such thing as a cheap job with him. You might end-up with a "master", and you could end-up spending $200+. With this type of tailor you would have to weigh whether it was worthwhile spending $200+. Incidentally, the old school tailor might be able to improve upon the RTW garment, but you have to be prepared to pay.

3. Generally, the stores have good tailors. This would be so for a major store, such as Brooks. I am basing this upon my experience in New York. See if your local Brooks can do a major job, such as a re-cut or relining of a coat. That should indicate whether they have skilled tailors in the shop.

4. For the foregoing reasons I always go with the in-store tailors at Brooks, Bergdorf, Saks, Paul Stuart , Oxxford, and Barneys. The in-house tailors will get it done very well and economically.

5. Don't be paranoid. Go with the judgment of the salesman and tailor. They want you to look good!

Good luck.

Great comparison. I'm looking forward to seeing how the suit looks when it is done.

 

And that is one of the best BB stopres I've seen there. Right up there with the one in Las Vegas.

In-store tailors at retail shops can be pretty good. Brooks Brothers has a name for quality, but I've never used their tailors so I wouldn't know. I will say that the worst in-house tailor job I experienced was back in the mid-90's at Nordstorms. Unfortunately, the sales guy talked me into a a suit that was way too big and then the tailor did a horrible job on the jacket and the pant leg hems were so poorly sewn, they started to become unstitched after a couple weeks of wear. I mean, how can anyone screw up a pant leg hem?

Anyway, I've got two personal tailors now. One is an Eastern European gentlenan who runs a small mom and pop shop that employs two or three other tailors. The other one is an Italian gentleman who runs another mom and pop shop with his wife. Both tailors used to make custom made suits for customers but stopped doing it several years ago because they felt it just wasn't worth it considering the time, effort, increasing costs, and slump in demand for custom made clothing.

I don't do in store tailoring anymore. All of my suits need more than just the simplist alterations, so I go to either the Eastern European guy or the Italian, both of whom are older than god, and I pay them what they ask. For about $120 to $140 this is what they do:

1. Pant waist is taken in from a 30" or 29" and reduced to about a 26".
2. Pant legs are slimmed and tapered if needed, and the length is increased by about an extra 1" or so and hemmed.
3. Jacket is taken in, given waist suppression, and the collar is removed to clean up extra material at the back.
4. Jacket sleeves are increased about an inch or so.
5. For a three piece, the vest is taken in.
6. Anything else that I ask them to do within reason.......however, I never shorten jackets and I never ever fuss with shoulders unless its just to remove some extra padding which doesn't really occur often at all.

If I decide I'm not completely happy with something, like the break on the pants, the back of the jacket or the sleeve length, I'm allowed ot bring the suit back for them to work on at no extra charge. However, if my OCD starts to get the best of me, then these guys will prevent me from ruining the suit by explaining to me why I shouldn't do X on the jacket or Y on the pants....etc...

In any case, I prefer to pay the premium to my tailors because I end up with better quality results. In a retail store, you can't choose who will be working on your suit and there is very little personal interaction with all but the sales guy and he or she won't know much about tailoring a suit or how it should fit.

The main problem I have with retail store tailors isn't the tailors themselves, its the sales guys. The tailors are seldom in control and sometimes its the sales guys that do the measuring. Always be cautious when a sales person shows up in front of you with a measuring tape....walk out immediately. Make sure that the in-house tailor measures you and is allowed to talk with you before and after the suit is altered.