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Tailor - Washington, DC

scnupe7

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Originally Posted by summej2
It's never cheap, but then I usally take in only major alterations on good-quality items.

Adding additional waist suppression on a jacket, collar alteration (lowering), waist alteration (taking in), and cuffs on a suit and an additional hem on a pair of trousers set me back ~$250 recently.


But in my experience, the work is always very good.
 

amerikajinda

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Originally Posted by summej2
It's never cheap, but then I usally take in only major alterations on good-quality items. Adding additional waist suppression on a jacket, collar alteration (lowering), waist alteration (taking in), and cuffs on a suit and an additional hem on a pair of trousers set me back ~$250 recently.
Thanks for the info... (kind of reminds me of a story from my younger days -- I bought a suit for maybe $15 at a thrift shop when I was in college -- and I didn't know anything about fit back then or even brand names, so I just bought it because I liked the fabric and color, and I took it to a "hole in the wall" tailor shop that had about 5 or so Korean women working in the back... and the suit needed some major work done to it in order to fit me but I was shocked when they told me it would be about $120 to do all the work! And shocker, they wanted me to pay up front... so, not wanting to look like a chump after they'd already taken all the measurements, I had to run out to the ATM so that I could pay them in cash... which I did... but I learned my lesson -- when buying used clothing, at least try to get something in your size that will only require sleeve shortening or perhaps cuffs... lightweight stuff that might be $10 or $20... IIRC, they had to re-sew the shoulders or something on that suit... to make it fit... thanks for reading this far.)
 

Sartorially Challenged

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I must thank the good folks on this forum for sending me to Field's. I have taken probably 10 or so suits there since, and the results have been great.

Yes, I think Field's is a little more expensive than other tailors, but the quality of the work is superb and the customer service is excellent.

Frankly, I am grateful that Field's offers alteration service as it is a bespoke tailor.

On the downside, it does not work on shirts. I wish it did.
 

rdawson808

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Originally Posted by texas_jack
Field is probably the best. I use London Tailor in Bethesda, Md on Wisconsin.

I just picked up stuff from London Tailor yesterday. I dropped off two suits and two pairs of odd trousers.

I am very UNhappy.

The jackets of both suits look very good. However, the trousers on one suit were not shortened nearly enough. Nor were they let out like I requested.

On both pairs of odd trousers it appears they merely cuffed them without shortening them at all. Both pool around my feet.

After spending more than $300 with them, the least they could do is actually complete all of the work. I am so pissed off I can barely speak. And I don't know what to do about it. All I can do is go back and say "You didn't do this correctly, fix it." Then what other than not giving him my business? Now I have to search out another tailor. Plus I have to wait more than a week more to be able to wear one of the suits and both pairs of trousers. PISSED.

bob
 

Ambulance Chaser

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Originally Posted by rdawson808
I just picked up stuff from London Tailor yesterday. I dropped off two suits and two pairs of odd trousers.

I am very UNhappy.

The jackets of both suits look very good. However, the trousers on one suit were not shortened nearly enough. Nor were they let out like I requested.

On both pairs of odd trousers it appears they merely cuffed them without shortening them at all. Both pool around my feet.

After spending more than $300 with them, the least they could do is actually complete all of the work. I am so pissed off I can barely speak. And I don't know what to do about it. All I can do is go back and say "You didn't do this correctly, fix it." Then what other than not giving him my business? Now I have to search out another tailor. Plus I have to wait more than a week more to be able to wear one of the suits and both pairs of trousers. PISSED.

bob

Did you try on the altered items and determine they were to your satisfaction before paying? That is always good policy with a tailor.
 

JeffC

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Originally Posted by Ambulance Chaser
Did you try on the altered items and determine they were to your satisfaction before paying? That is always good policy with a tailor.

I always try on for fit, but I've missed some details in the quality of the work when I do this. Like the suit I picked up a few weeks ago. I should have known given that it's wedding/intern season here in DC. My tailor obviously rushed this job, as I noticed a few problems with his usually good work.

The sleeve buttons weren't aligned.
frown.gif
Good thing I didn't get surgeon's cuffs.
 

texas_jack

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Originally Posted by rdawson808
I just picked up stuff from London Tailor yesterday. I dropped off two suits and two pairs of odd trousers.

I am very UNhappy.

The jackets of both suits look very good. However, the trousers on one suit were not shortened nearly enough. Nor were they let out like I requested.

On both pairs of odd trousers it appears they merely cuffed them without shortening them at all. Both pool around my feet.

After spending more than $300 with them, the least they could do is actually complete all of the work. I am so pissed off I can barely speak. And I don't know what to do about it. All I can do is go back and say "You didn't do this correctly, fix it." Then what other than not giving him my business? Now I have to search out another tailor. Plus I have to wait more than a week more to be able to wear one of the suits and both pairs of trousers. PISSED.

bob

Sorry to hear that. They always insist that I try on the stuff I bring in before I pay. I would take it back.
 

Sartorially Challenged

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The nice thing with William Field is that he will re-do something at no charge if it is not to one's satisfaction. I've never been disappointed, but I have had a few situations where I accepted the result and later found, once I began to wear the suits, that I needed a slightly different size waist or longer hem. William Field always re-did the alterations to my complete satisfaction without hesitation.

In the long run, I've found that, notwithstanding his possibly slightly higher prices, I ended up saving money compared to those tailors whose work had to be re-done/fixed at additional cost.

As he is a bespoke tailor and seems to do good business with the bespoke service, I am grateful that he offers the alteration service.
 

drljva

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Originally Posted by Sartorially Challenged
I must thank the good folks on this forum for sending me to Field's. I have taken probably 10 or so suits there since, and the results have been great.

Yes, I think Field's is a little more expensive than other tailors, but the quality of the work is superb and the customer service is excellent.

Frankly, I am grateful that Field's offers alteration service as it is a bespoke tailor.

On the downside, it does not work on shirts. I wish it did.


You certainly get what you pay for at Field's. Even now that I don't actually live in DC, I still take things to him when I'm in town... And yes, the "shirt thing" has always annoyed me, albeit not seriously (when it was just him and his dad, I understood the rationale; now that William has more folks working for him, I'm less convinced that there's a sound economic argument for it...).
 

rdawson808

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Good comments and thoughts all around.

I did try on one jacket--and it looks fantastic, really improved--but I was running errands and in a rush. That's my fault.

Regarding not paying until you're satisfied: this is the second tailor that I've been to (my last in Annapolis was a great tailor) who demanded payment up front. I won't do this again. On a related note, both of these tailors also just jot down what needs to be done (in Korean) and then give you a total with no delineation of what costs what. I'm going to demand this too from now on.

I haven't taken anything back yet simply because I haven't had the time. I would do it this Sat but, well, I can't. I already have work that needs to be done on the house. Maybe if there is time afterwards. And this is my greatest annoyance--It'll be an extra two weeks before I can wear these items.

The one suit that seems fine actually needs a slight change in the trousers too. They just need shortened a little more. That's fine. Like JeffC says, sometimes you just need to wear it for real (go to work, out for a day) to see what little things need changind.

Hopefully I can do it Fri or Sat.

b
 

Sartorially Challenged

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On a related note, both of these tailors also just jot down what needs to be done (in Korean) and then give you a total with no delineation of what costs what. I'm going to demand this too from now on
I am fairly detail oriented and usually demand an exact breakdown of prices from most merchants, but I do not insist on it with William Field, as I see no reason to do so. In fact, I do not even ask for a total cost. I simply pay the bill when the work is completed.

I suppose there is a degree of trust when two gentlemen conduct business.
smile.gif
 

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