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Asking a lot from your tailor

musicguy

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Here's my story:

I had three pairs of pants to alter.
Two pairs were perfect but one was much too short. Also, the opening seemed a bit large for my liking so I had them fix the length (the tailor estimated the amount to lengthen it) and taper the legs. It cost extra to taper the legs, obviously, and I paid it in advance.

I went today to pick up the pants and the pants were still too short for my liking. I compared them with the pants I was wearing that I feel have the perfect break. He tailor seemed reluctant to work on them again, but after a short bit of talking he agreed to lengthen the pants another 1/2 inch.

TLDR: I had the tailor work on the pants three times to get the fit correctly.

Is that above and beyond what I should ask for? Or are you as picky as me? I plan to take more work to this tailor since I like the work they've done.
 

bmf895

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I don't think you're being picky. When you taper pants, it tends to shorten them a tiny bit. Your tailor should know and compensate for this. It sounds like he didn't.
 

ferguscan

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I don't even bother expecting SF-style OCD attention from my alterations guy. I just ask for 32.5" inseam on very tapered trousers, and 32" inseam on the rest. No confusion that way.
 

JayJay

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I don't think it's too picky to get the items altered the way you want.
 

Mr.K

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That is not asking alot. When someone is paid to do a job that requires their expertise, then they should do what is paid for. I have had to have garments adjusted a couple times to get a perfect fit in my eyes and my tailor has never had an issue.
 

mystillwater

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Originally Posted by SpooPoker
Tip well this time, and it wont happen again the next.

interesting... i've never tipped a tailor... is that a standard procedure?
 

ter1413

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Definitely not too picky...Get it done correctly. A good tailor can be just as important as a good doctor!
 

Don Carlos

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Time for a new tailor, IMO.

If he can't get it right in several attempts on the same garment, he either doesn't listen to you or isn't good enough for the job. This isn't bespoke tailoring we're talking about; it's alterations. Now, I'd make an exception if you have an incredibly difficult pair of legs to tailor for. But other than that, this shouldn't be too hard of a job.
 

Martin Stall

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Originally Posted by mystillwater
interesting... i've never tipped a tailor... is that a standard procedure?

Yes! Yes, please!
smile.gif
 

musicguy

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Originally Posted by Arrogant Bastard
Time for a new tailor, IMO.

If he can't get it right in several attempts on the same garment, he either doesn't listen to you or isn't good enough for the job. This isn't bespoke tailoring we're talking about; it's alterations. Now, I'd make an exception if you have an incredibly difficult pair of legs to tailor for. But other than that, this shouldn't be too hard of a job.


Yeah, you have a good point. Unfortunately, I've been to 4 of the best (recommended) tailors in town and they've all messed up some of my jobs. I'm not hard to deal with. Crazy stuff...

RE: Tipping, that is interesting. The tailor is more expensive than others, so I wasn't planning on tipping. What do you tip?
 

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