Question about sleeve buttons

[LexLoci]

Hello all,

I took a new suit to a local tailor here who I've never used to have buttons sewn on the sleeve as working button holes. The suit is shown below.

The guy was going to charge me $60 a sleeve, is this normal? At any rate, I took it to another "highly" rated tailor, and they were going to charge me $50 for both sleeves, but when she saw the coat and measured where I wanted my cuff, she said there wasn't enough fabric to make holes and suggested that she just sew the buttons on the sleeve....Needless to say I left.

Does anyone know if $60 a sleeve is normal? Also, was the second tailor correct that there isn't enough area to sew the buttons.

Thanks

 

[zjpj83]

Sounds high. Standard is about $10 a buttonhole (or $40 a sleeve).

 

[lawyerdad]

Yes, I'd say $10-15 per sleeve [edit - I mean per hole, not sleeve] is normal, depending on the city, etc. Sounds like maybe you also wanted the sleeve length altered? If so, the price might have been a little high, but not crazy.
When you're talking about functional buttonholes, it's not really a question of sewing on the buttons so much as a question of cutting the holes. I have no idea how you evaluate how much material is needed to be able to do this.

 

[texas_jack]

$10 a hole in my town.

 

[zjpj83]

Originally Posted by lawyerdad

Yes, I'd say $10-15 per sleeve is normal, depending on the city, etc. Sounds like maybe you also wanted the sleeve length altered? If so, the price might have been a little high, but not crazy.
When you're talking about functional buttonholes, it's not really a question of sewing on the buttons so much as a question of cutting the holes. I have no idea how you evaluate how much material is needed to be able to do this.
ah yes, shortening the sleeves will obviously add cost beyond the $10 a hole.

 

[LexLoci]

Just to put it all in perspective, the total to have the pants hemmed, the sleeves shortened the waist taken in 1" and add belt loops and buttons was $180.00. That in my book is high.

 

[NoVaguy]

Originally Posted by LexLoci

Just to put it all in perspective, the total to have the pants hemmed, the sleeves shortened the waist taken in 1" and add belt loops and buttons was $180.00. That in my book is high.

add belt loops? are there no belt loops?

it sounds slightly high, but it really depends on the tailor. good tailors charge more, and deservedly so. if this is a good tailor, with a history of good work, then it might be reasonable.

 

[martan]

My experience is that a fine tailor will match the stitching of the sleeve buttonholes with the other buttonholes on the jacket. For instance, Oxxford has a distinctive buttonhole. A really good tailor will mimic this, but will probably charge more than what I've seen listed above.

 

[Ludlow]

Am I to understand that the suit has nonworking buttonholes currently, and you are asking the tailor to cut open each sleeve, finish the edges, cut and finish buttonholes, and then attach buttons without making the sleeves any narrower than they are currently? Depending upon the construction of the suit, that might be a more difficult task than you believe.

Have you considered adding side adjusters instead of belt loops? It makes for a cleaner look. But perhaps I'm just too much of an Anglophile.

 

[lawyerdad]

I'm no expert, but adding belt loops to a suit that lacks them sounds fairly labor-intensive (like hand-cutting buttonholes).
If you figure that: (1) you're paying $100 to have the sleeves shortened, working buttonholes added on each sleeve and the buttons sown, and the waist taken in an inch; and (2) you're paying $80 to have the pants hemmed and belt loops added (with the bulk of that cost presumably attributable to the belt loops) that doesn't sound completely crazy. Maybe you could get a better deal somewhere else, but seems to me you're at least in the right ballpark.