Well, I'm going to try and be mature about this. Just a word of warning to anybody having alterations to an expensive bit of clothing.
I used a Style Forum recommended tailor in London to:
a.) Lengthen the sleeves on my £1000+ suit
b.) Take up some shirt sleeves that were swamping my hands on a £140 shirt.
The first time I bought the suit (it's a beautiful item), the shop let the sleeves down by using some iron on glue stuff. They also failed to let the inside lining down. The company headquarters were truly superb about it though, and a replacement jacket was shipped over from Italy. I swore that I wouldn't touch the cuffs again, until I found a recommended tailor.
So, last week I went to this new tailor in London. He barely had the time to talk to me though. When I suggested that it would be better to put the shirt on, he seemed to be not that concerned. I put this down to his eagle eye and years of experience. Then, without taking a step backwards, two swift chalk marks were made on the suit sleeves. Later, I pointed out that he'd pinned the shirt sleeves so high that there was no way I'd be showing cuff. His reply, was that he'd take the shirt measurement from the suit cuff itself.
When I came to pick it up: the shirt sleeves were too short for it ever to be worn as double cuff. I politely stated that I would NOT be paying for his ruining it. Yet he seemed put out by this . First he claimed that it was OK, until it was obvious that it he'd chopped too much fabric. Then he claimed that in 40 years of tailoring, he'd NEVER ruined a shirt. Lastly, he said that he could turn the shirt into a single cuff type. He seemed genuinely perplexed that I wouldn't settle for this option.
The jacket was no better. The top cuff button hadn't been moved to the sleeve edge. He said that on fine suit material, he couldn't risk doing such a thing. This hadn't been mentioned at the initial meeting. However, the biggest disappointment was his use of the 'fold-it-over-and-glue-it' strip of material, to fasten the cuff edges. I only discovered this later that night.
But enough negativity. As of today, I've found myself a tailor, known for producing quality bespoke suits. I arranged an appointment, and a fair amount of time was spent carefully explaining, what could and couldn't be done. The sleeves will be properly sorted out, and working buttonholes added. The buttons will also be replaced with higher quality ones. Unfortunately, he wasn't willing to remove the sticky fabric stuff , but did point out that they only ever sew the ends of their sleeves.
I know that my jacket is now in the right hands. I walked out feeling much happier about everything. If all goes well, I'd be happy to show pics and praise the firm.
I realize that some would suggest legal action. However:
* I have a scrappy piece of paper as a receipt. Even I can't read what it says.
* There is no evidence of what the suit or shirt looked like before.
* Many alteration tailors do glue suit sleeves.
* Just not worth the hassle, if only for the shirt.
Lear
I used a Style Forum recommended tailor in London to:
a.) Lengthen the sleeves on my £1000+ suit
b.) Take up some shirt sleeves that were swamping my hands on a £140 shirt.
The first time I bought the suit (it's a beautiful item), the shop let the sleeves down by using some iron on glue stuff. They also failed to let the inside lining down. The company headquarters were truly superb about it though, and a replacement jacket was shipped over from Italy. I swore that I wouldn't touch the cuffs again, until I found a recommended tailor.
So, last week I went to this new tailor in London. He barely had the time to talk to me though. When I suggested that it would be better to put the shirt on, he seemed to be not that concerned. I put this down to his eagle eye and years of experience. Then, without taking a step backwards, two swift chalk marks were made on the suit sleeves. Later, I pointed out that he'd pinned the shirt sleeves so high that there was no way I'd be showing cuff. His reply, was that he'd take the shirt measurement from the suit cuff itself.
When I came to pick it up: the shirt sleeves were too short for it ever to be worn as double cuff. I politely stated that I would NOT be paying for his ruining it. Yet he seemed put out by this . First he claimed that it was OK, until it was obvious that it he'd chopped too much fabric. Then he claimed that in 40 years of tailoring, he'd NEVER ruined a shirt. Lastly, he said that he could turn the shirt into a single cuff type. He seemed genuinely perplexed that I wouldn't settle for this option.
The jacket was no better. The top cuff button hadn't been moved to the sleeve edge. He said that on fine suit material, he couldn't risk doing such a thing. This hadn't been mentioned at the initial meeting. However, the biggest disappointment was his use of the 'fold-it-over-and-glue-it' strip of material, to fasten the cuff edges. I only discovered this later that night.
But enough negativity. As of today, I've found myself a tailor, known for producing quality bespoke suits. I arranged an appointment, and a fair amount of time was spent carefully explaining, what could and couldn't be done. The sleeves will be properly sorted out, and working buttonholes added. The buttons will also be replaced with higher quality ones. Unfortunately, he wasn't willing to remove the sticky fabric stuff , but did point out that they only ever sew the ends of their sleeves.
I know that my jacket is now in the right hands. I walked out feeling much happier about everything. If all goes well, I'd be happy to show pics and praise the firm.
I realize that some would suggest legal action. However:
* I have a scrappy piece of paper as a receipt. Even I can't read what it says.
* There is no evidence of what the suit or shirt looked like before.
* Many alteration tailors do glue suit sleeves.
* Just not worth the hassle, if only for the shirt.
Lear
