A Decent Tailor in Philadelphia?

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Domenico Maglio
7153 Frankford Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19135
Phone - 215-331-6757
Fax - 215-331-7815
Email - [email protected]
Tom Lettieri
610-733-5480
1919 south Bancroft ST
this is south Phila.

Thanks for the suggestion. Will these guys be able to give me the slim, modern fit I am looking for? I imagine they are probably pretty old school.

 

[musicguy]

Not sure that the Centofanti store has really closed. I know that he hadn't been in the shop for a while before he passed away. Have you tried calling them?

Also, the former Centofanti apprentice, Joseph Genuardi, has started building a clientelle. If I were still in Philly I'd definitely try him first. Nothing like supporting new local tailors. The number I have for him, as of last year, is 412-600-1486.

I would say stay clear of Ernesto Tailors off of South Street. Every job I've had done by them have been a huge disappointment, especially slimming of sleeves which turned out terribly. They also treated me poorly every time I came in. Seems like they only want clients for their custom service, which, from what I've seen, is incredibly conservative.

As for do we think that the tailor will be able to slim a tuxedo for you, this is an entirely different issue. Please post a new thread about this with pictures of the tuxedo and brand.

 

[unclesam099]

If you're in the suburbs, you could try Englund's Apparel in Malvern. The guy there, Dave, is a fitter for MTM stuff. He has a really good eye for what you have and listens to what you want so that you get it (while it is still appropriate). Let me know if you go there, he knows me pretty well. It's right next to the SEPTA station, too, so transport isn't an issue.

I was at the Centofanti shop in Feb or March, it's definitely still there.

 

[SirGrotius]

Good to have this thread floating around. If you're in the "other" Philadelphia suburbs, that is, Bucks County, I've finally found a good tailor. I recommend Dino DiMucci. He works out of Frank DeRito's shop in Newtown. It's small scale, but the guy gets it and while on the conservative side (like most tailors), he understands that I want the jacket shortened so it covers my butt not reaches the end of my fingers, etc. He also takes the time to explain the process and why he does things a certain way to achieve the smoothest, most natural look. Prices are decent if on the high side if you're looking for something more extensive.

 

[philosophe]

Just an FYI for posters in this thread re the two high-end dry cleaners in Philly, Carriage Trade and Gem Cleaners. Boyd's uses Carriage Trade. I swear by Gem. It is worth every penny.

 

[jekv12]



Originally Posted by Ag229487

^^ Sounds interesting Anybody know of a good tailor in the Suburban Wilmington area, or West Chester?
I'm blanking on his name, but my father uses a tailor in Newtown square (at the intersection of West Chester Pike and 252) who is very, very good. He's an older Italian guy who used to dress Frank Sinatra, and some of the other Jersey boys, but still has a good idea for contemporary cuts. My father get a lot of MTM stuff from him, and I've gotten a few things altered there. Not cheap, but very high quality work.

That's D&B Tailors. Gabe (Gabriele) D'Annunzio. I've used him for alternations and repairs on suits and overcoats - very good, no complaints. A colleague who is a real clothes guy and a stickler for detail has used him for making up suits for a few years now, and doesn't go anywhere else.

 

[benmd]



I would say stay clear of Ernesto Tailors off of South Street. Every job I've had done by them have been a huge disappointment, especially slimming of sleeves which turned out terribly. They also treated me poorly every time I came in. Seems like they only want clients for their custom service, which, from what I've seen, is incredibly conservative.

After reading this I just had to concur and to say stay way from Ernesto's "custom" service as well.

I went in to Ernesto's (on 4th Street near South Street in Philadelphia) and dropped several thousands dollars on a suit and shirts and both turned out horribly. While Ernesto sometimes markets itself as "Ernesto's Custom Clothier", it's not custom by any stretch of the imagination. It's made-to-measure at best. They only took 3 measurements for the suit pants (which I thought was odd), and then, surprise, at the first fitting, nothing fit. The clothes literally looked like they had been made for someone else.

At the second fitting, the basic dimensions were right within 2-3 inches, but all the details were still off. The width of the jacket sleeves and pant legs were all wrong and fit terribly. The pants were also too tight around the seat and too loose at the waist. Even after the third fitting, the jacket still wasn't wearable, but I just gave up and took it to the alterations guy at the dry cleaner around the corner from my apartment to see if he could sort it out. It turns out the problems weren't just with the measurements, but he said the internal structure of the jacket was very cheaply made and wouldn't last anyway. The jacket was a total loss, but the pants were fixable. I got them back in 72 hours from the corner dry cleaner after Ernesto's had failed to deliver wearable clothes for almost 3 months at that point.

The shirts were a disaster as well. The sleeves were baggy, too long, and there was way too much fabric in the waist of the shirts. They said the shirts would shrink and to have them laundered three times, then bring them back if I needed to. After the laundering, they still didn't fit of course, so I brought in three of the six to be fixed. When I got them back, one of the shirts had arms so narrow I couldn't even get the shirt on, much less wear it. It was completely ruined. The other two were way too tight around the shoulders, and the first day I wore one of them I ripped the sleeve part way off the shirt while getting out of my car.

Needless to say, this was a costly sartorial fiasco. I hope I can help someone else avoid a repeat of this experience.

 

[musicguy]

Woah, sorry to hear you had such a bad experience with Ernesto's. That sucks. They definitely did a bad job with everything I brought them, and had an attitude with it. My sincere condolences. Working with a bad tailor is hell.


Next time, maybe check out Centofanti or the former apprentice. It might be a bit more pricey, I have no idea how much they charge, but I trust that they'll do a good job. They know their stuff. I never got an attitude from them either even though I never used their bespoke service.

 

[QualityFirst]

Sorry to revive again, but wanted to identify the aforementioned tailor in Newtown Square as Gabriele D'Annunzio of D&B Tailors. He did indeed used to dress Sinatra, as well as a host of other Philly-area celebs past and present. He has the signed pictures on his wall. They also have a dry cleaner there, which he apparently opened because back in the day, no one else could clean the custom clothes they made.

I had him do both M2M and alterations when I lived in the area, and the quality of work was superb. They are expensive but have generations of loyal clients. Worth a visit.

 

[obie]

I just stopped by D&B Tailors today in Newtown Square Pa, as I was going through all of my viable options to buy some new suits. In a few weeks he is going to run 2 MTM suits and 2 MTM shirts for 2k, which I may just try. My other options were BB and maybe a host of other possibilities, but with tailoring, may come in about the same price. Figuring the last time I bought a new suit was about 10 years ago (Hammer Time wide pant legs ), I think it may not be a bad idea or cost. His regular semi-bespoke prices were a little to much for my wallet, but did seem very reasonable.

 

[SouthPhillyMan]

A lot of people on this forum recommend centofanti, but I have read that he passed away last year. Is his shop still open and is it still any good? Any other recommendations?[/QUOTE

Wow this is unfortunate. I'm near Ardmore and wanted to check him out. Maybe I'll ride by to check the status of the shop.

 

[Hacking jacket]

I've used 'Eugene's ...
242 S 17th St, Philadelphia
+1 215-923-8081
whilst briefly working in Philly. He is petty good but there are much better tailors in London IMO in quality and turn around time. He said he used cloth from Savile Row, London which I presume is Holland and Sherry (biggest cloth merchant in the area). Hope it helps.

 

[usctrojans31]

http://www.sewrob.com/Home.html

If you're outside of the city/have a car.

 

[nosrep123]

Sorry to revive this thread again, but does anyone have any experience with Master Tailor and Cleaner? I also want to try out Royal Custom Tailor and Alternation. I'm looking to take in the waist of my blazer, suit jacket. Also want to get a button up shirt shortened and slimmer at the waist.

 

[jcorqian]

I'm in the same boat as the previous poster - about to move to Philadelphia for my MBA and am in need of a good tailor there now that I'll be separated from my favorite tailor in NYC. Thanks for any recs. Would also like to hear about Master Tailor and Cleaner as well, if anyone has experience - I live really close to it.