Tailors - Lost in Translation?

[TonyThe Tailor]

Originally Posted by NORE

WTF?? Do no alterations tailors speak good English?

I speak decent English with a Southern Drawl

 

[Doc4]

Originally Posted by TonyThe Tailor

I speak decent English with a Southern Drawl

You realise of course which category this puts you in ...

 

[mktitsworth]

Originally Posted by Doc4

You realise of course which category this puts you in ...

Those of us who shall rise again?

 

[Gus]

Stories like this are exactly why I pay a premium to have a top notch guy in San Francisco do all my alterations. But, it took a long time for me to find a good one.

 

[NORE]

Originally Posted by ter1413

zip code??

10031

 

[jamesbond]

I've never heard of a tailor closing the sleeve vents, or 1" inch cuffs. That's crazy!

 

[Holdfast]

This thread makes me so relieved to live in a city with a branch of Ede & Ravenscroft to do my alterations. NORE - what a story. You must have been pulling your hair out in frustration. Hope the other tailors do a better job.

 

[NORE]

Originally Posted by jamesbond

I've never heard of a tailor closing the sleeve vents, or 1" inch cuffs. That's crazy!

I thought I was the only one! The Korean tailor I took it to wears Polo so maybe that'll be the springboard to earn my business. Hopefully.

Originally Posted by Holdfast

This thread makes me so relieved to live in a city with a branch of Ede & Ravenscroft to do my alterations. NORE - what a story. You must have been pulling your hair out in frustration. Hope the other tailors do a better job.

I hope so, too. I really like the suit and got it for a steal, but this fiasco may just put me into retail territory!

 

[MBreinin]

I tell my tailor exactly what I want, and I now insist that for the complicated jobs he do it himself. I don't mind his wife or helper doing stuiff like sleeves/cuffs/waists but for jacket alterations, it has to be him. It works best that way.

Mike

 

[TonyThe Tailor]

Originally Posted by Doc4

You realise of course which category this puts you in ...

Shot at our last year's Oxxford Trunk Show

 

[patrickBOOTH]

Originally Posted by jamesbond

I've never heard of a tailor closing the sleeve vents, or 1" inch cuffs. That's crazy!

It apparently has happened twice this week.

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread...t=tailor+error

 

[The Louche]

Originally Posted by MBreinin

I tell my tailor exactly what I want, and I now insist that for the complicated jobs he do it himself. I don't mind his wife or helper doing stuiff like sleeves/cuffs/waists but for jacket alterations, it has to be him. It works best that way.

Mike

This. Apprentices can destroy even the most mundane jobs. I recently had a jacket come back from an apprentice; he didn't even sew the buttons on correctly, incorrectly placing them so that they didn't line-up with the cuff button holes, and stitching all of the buttons on each respective cuff with one, continuous piece of thread.

 

[NORE]

Good news everyone! I picked up my jacket from the Korean tailor and it is perfect! He redid the sleeves the way they should have been. He even removed the extra fabric the janky tailor used to lengthen the sleeve lining and kept only the original lining! I am overwhelmed and he gets my business from now on until the next such occurrence.

He was $15 more expensive than the other tailor but well worth it. 148th Street & St. Nick for locals.

Thanks!!

 

[GBR]

Originally Posted by NORE

So I have a bit of a rant (you may recall my thread re faulty tape measures - same shop). Anyway, I recently bought a RL Jerome III suit which came with basted sleeves, shoulders & pant hems. I took it to this alterations tailor (he had previously done some RLPL & PRL pants for me, altering the waist and keeping the split waistband intact so I thought all was well).

I dropped the suit off to have the pants hemmed with cuffs, pant waist taken in 1" and the jacket sleeves let out 1". I got the pants back with the waist perfect, 1" cuffs (I thought the industry standard was 1.75") and the jacket sleeves were fully closed (unvented).

I took the jacket back while wearing another Polo jacket and asked if the sleeves could be fixed to have vented sleeves (don't all suit jackets have vented sleeves??). They told me to come back in an hour. I came back and the jacket sleeves were fully open (like they were when unbasted) but with the buttons attached. To make matters worse, they were uneven.

This was a week or so ago. I took the jacket back today with my Bradford jacket to show the difference. I asked if they could make the jacket sleeves like the Bradford ones. The counter guy got mad and said no and to take it to someone else. I asked for my money back and he said' "OK, but we will rip the sleeves open like they were".

I left both coats on the counter and went outside and called my wife (who was nearby due to a parent/teacher conference) to come by and (in Spanish) let the guy know I wasn't trying to insult him, but just trying to get what I asked for. I asked him to bring a jacket they already had in the shop trying to explain that this is how all jackets are. He said this was from the factory and they couldn't do it.

He gave me $20 back and I took it to the Korean tailor down the street to see what he can do. They needed a translator.

WTF?? Do no alterations tailors speak good English?

Write down in detail precisely what you want if there is any suggestion of language or custom issue.

You really are the author of your own misfortune by not so doing and making assumptions.

 

[TRA8324]

I have had such bad experience with most places that I take clothes to be altered that it makes me want to open up my own shop...cater to the SF type clientele. I feel like I could make a killing.