What Makes a Good Tailor?

[Billbeme]

Hello all! In my pursuit for a well-fitted wardrobe I have tried a few different avenues. I taught myself how to alter, went to a dry cleaner alterationist and have now landed at a tailor in a small shop. While my experience have certainly varied, I was wondering if anyone could tell me what makes a tailor good. I was hoping we could generate some attributes to look for before settling into one tailor. I don't know if a few things are excusable. Example: A shirt I just had done has already had a seam come undone. Excusable fluke or sign of a bad tailor. Thanks!

Bill

 

[jst]

if you take the shirt back and he fixes the seam no questions asked - good tailor

if he starts to give you **** and / or tries to charge you for fixing the seam - poor tailor

 

[furo]

I would say best thing you can do is consult others around you who have been using a tailor for years and then pick the best one for the price you can afford.

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

Beyond technical ability, which should be a given, a tailor who makes recommendations on alterations as opposed to asking, "What do you want done?" I don't go to a doctor and tell him what medicine and course of treatment he should prescribe me. A tailor is no different.

 

[a-rock]

^^^ + 10000

Absolutely... you want a tailor to tell you what can and can't be done. Before SF, I had a few suits that were obviously not my size - too big in the shoulders. I ran across several tailors (technically, they're more like alterations ladies that work at dry cleaners) who told me they could alter the shoulders and waist on those particular jackets.

Finally I found one who not only told me the shoulders were unalterable, he also mentioned that I wouldn't be able to get the waist suppression I desired without messing up the double vents.

Obviously he was correct and it was confirming his advice that led me to SF. Or I would have wasted close to $80 per jacket with the bad tailors and still have unwearable jackets.

 

[Billbeme]

I would say best thing you can do is consult others around you who have been using a tailor for years and then pick the best one for the price you can afford.

Price is a big point! Julian's (a store featured in The Sartorialist) here in Chapel Hill offers tailoring but for close to $35/shirt. I'm 22, no way! That aside, this is a good point. I searched SF for tailors in the RDU area to no avail.

Beyond technical ability, which should be a given, a tailor who makes recommendations on alterations as opposed to asking, "What do you want done?" I don't go to a doctor and tell him what medicine and course of treatment he should prescribe me. A tailor is no different.

This is an outstanding point. +1! He defiently offers guidance in such statements as: "If we did 'x' then 'y' wouldn't look right."

Great points my friends! We will see what he says about the seam that has come undone.

 

[Timeless Fashion]

A simple question is how long has this person been a tailor for?

 

[fcuknu]

someone who will do what you tell them... the stereotypical old italian tailor will usually just do what he wants...

 

[Zenny]

Someone who will work with you.

 

[rssmsvc]

If his last name is Despos. <g> In all honesty , I look first for someone

#1: Speaks English. If I can't understand the tailor or he can't understand me no matter how good
they may be it is going to suck.
#2: Great Work that I can see on people I respect
#3: Local to me. Having read the Beaman stories I will never use a traveling tailor
or anybody that I can't hunt down.

 

[upnorth]

Touchy tailors with definite cupping.

 

[MLIW]

Credibility, perhaps previous tales of excellence?

 

[GuidoWongolini]

Originally Posted by pankaj

http://www.mastersmindtechnologies.c...ticscollection
FUK OFF

 

[JayJay]

Originally Posted by Zenny

Someone who will work with you.
Yes. I like tailors who offer great advice, but who also respect my wishes.

 

[Cas Ruffin]

If you ask for what you want and they get it right the first time, then it's a good tailor.