TAILOR IN LA - 2023

[archie824]

Anyone have any recommendation? I'm willing to drive a bit. I bought a tuxedo from S&M, went to a tailor that was reviewed really well on Yelp, and I'm getting a few "what the ****" comments floating around for a $300 alteration. I will be calling that Hemrajani, Enzo Caruto, and High Society tomorrow. I'm just getting some recommended alteration, not a bespoke, so I don't know if they do that. And I'm not trying to break the bank. ($300-400 max)

 

[Mute]

It's hard to give a recommendation within a budget without knowing how much work has to be done on the item. High Society will probably come in quite a bit cheaper than Caruso. My tailor is Bill Cairo Tailoring in San Marino. I've been using him for more than 15 years and trust him with all my tailoring, especially the more complex alterations. However, his work is not cheap but worth it.

 

[mhip]

Anyone have any recommendation? I'm willing to drive a bit. I bought a tuxedo from S&M, went to a tailor that was reviewed really well on Yelp, and I'm getting a few "what the ****" comments floating around for a $300 alteration. I will be calling that Hemrajani, Enzo Caruto, and High Society tomorrow. I'm just getting some recommended alteration, not a bespoke, so I don't know if they do that. And I'm not trying to break the bank. ($300-400 max)

My tailor, who was kind of an icon around here in OC, died quite a few years ago.
Most of his workers went to this place, and I've been using them for alterations ever since, and have no complaints.
Owner is Rajan ( I think I'm spelling it right )

By Design | Custom Tailors

www.bydesigncustom.com

 

[gimpwiz]

It is indeed hard to estimate cost without knowing the work required. OP, I suggest posting both series of photos, of the 38 slim and 38L contemporary. For the folks making recommendations, maybe there's a "barometer" of pricing worth mentioning - like, how much did you pay for sleeves to get shortened, or waist tucked in a bit? Like if one tailor charges $80 for sleeves and another $40, and the work of both comes recommended (and both are capable of doing more difficult things than sleeves and waists), it's worth comparing prices, as a ballpark of total pricey-ness.

 

[tomsocal]

I paid Raj $45 for sleeve shortening last December. Also $105 for sleeves, letting out the sides on a jacket and pants hemming but can’t find the receipt so not sure of the exact breakdown. Get the sushi downstairs while you’re there!

 

[stuffedsuperdud]

My tailor, who was kind of an icon around here in OC, died quite a few years ago.

Your Benna Spatola reference did not go unnoticed, good sir. What an absolute pimp that man was. It's a shame that when he was around, I was a student and could only afford a few minimal alterations on my tiny wardrobe. I always figured there'd be plenty of time later to get myself an old world true bespoke Spatola suit... and the trouble is that we always think we have time until we suddenly don't, right?

OP, after we lost Benny I went to Arsen's in Costa Mesa off the 55. Super nice guy with a great eye for fit and he and his son Shant will get you looking sharp. I noticed several of Benny's people also migrated to Arsen, so hopefully we weren't all wrong. I moved away from OC several years ago though, but hopefully they are as good as I remember.

High Society isn't super known for their alterations but if you must, I'd suggest going on Saturday when Eric is there to size up the fit of your tux and help you dial it in. David is there every day but he doesn't really have the eye that Eric does and is much more interested in fashion than classic tailoring. Mr. Han is their cutter and a master technician, but in my (limited) experience he tended to defer to Eric and David about how exactly to make or adjust something.

 

[mhip]

Your Benna Spatola reference did not go unnoticed

He was a character, always on the make.
Hundreds of polaroids on the wall of him with a Cheshire grin posing with female clients.
At my old job I had a super hot VP, and she was the first one to recommend the place to me.

I've heard really good things about Arsen's as well.
It's close by, but By Design is 1 minute away from one of my offices.
Also to the OP, if you do want to check out Hemrijani, it's about a 2 minute drive from By Design. I just always think of them as a place to have things made, rather than a place to go in for alterations.
Arsen's is about a 15 minute drive from both.
You could hit up all three fairly quickly.

 

[tomsocal]

Another one in the area would be the Nordstrom Rack in-house tailor but not sure if he’s still there. I would not recommend Arsen’s based on one alternation I did with them 10 years ago but they seem to be popular around here.