The (hopefully) definitive thread on NYC tailors

Originally Posted by grimslade

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OT, but since this has been bumped, I finally found an alterations tailor in the burbs to whom I will entrust my suits. The test came with an unlined BL linen blazer I brought him last week to take out the side seams. All the seams were frenched on the inside, and I made a point of pointing that out to him. He did a great job putting it all back together and so won my confidence. No more hauling stuff down to Cardelino or Wilfred for me.

He's a Korean who says he'll make custom suits too, although I doubt I'd go that far.

Never tried Wilfred's given the mixed review he gets here and elsewhere. Cardelino is my overflow place (esp since it is just across the park from my old place of employ). The father is good, son is still learning. I'll only give them simple jobs, just in case it's the son who does the work. Oddly, they have done a consistently good job on tailoring various RTW shirts.

Originally Posted by grimslade

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OT, but since this has been bumped, I finally found an alterations tailor in the burbs to whom I will entrust my suits. The test came with an unlined BL linen blazer I brought him last week to take out the side seams. All the seams were frenched on the inside, and I made a point of pointing that out to him. He did a great job putting it all back together and so won my confidence. No more hauling stuff down to Cardelino or Wilfred for me.

He's a Korean who says he'll make custom suits too, although I doubt I'd go that far.

BTW, are you willing to share the name or will he be the Mystery Alterations Tailor?

I've never had a problem with Wilfred, and while I've had to have Cardelino do a couple of things over, they've always done so without complaint (mismatched sleeve lengths--twice (!)). But the burbs are cheaper and at the moment more convenient. Wilfred's prices are crazy, IMO.

Originally Posted by TC11201

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Never tried Wilfred's given the mixed review he gets here and elsewhere.
Wilfred, mixed reviews? The only mix in the reviews is that people don't like his prices AFAIK

Maybe it was just my impression, but from a few searches here and elsewhere, there appeared to be a sense that Wilfred's has become inconsistent, sometimes great, sometimes not so great and the variances seemed very frustrating to the posters given the prices he charges. I've also spoken with a number of people who know quite a bit about NY tailors who have echoed that sentiment - folks who dissuaded me from using him for alterations, given the prices and the variability. Either way, I don't have any direct experience with him, so it's all second and third hand info and I certainly wouldn't want anyone making a tailoring decision with Wilfred on the basis of my lack of experience with him. Given my experiences with them, I'll stick with LNC and when necessary Cardelino for simpler stuff...comfort in the familiar I suppose...

Discount the hearsay heavily. Wilfred > Cardelino by all accounts. Price is >>> too, which is the real issue

Is LNC >>>> Wilfred?

Originally Posted by davidsj

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Is LNC >>>> Wilfred?

I would wait for someone with experience with both to weigh in. Hadn't even heard about LNC until a few weeks ago

Originally Posted by TC11201

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As I mentioned previously, he has done a few custom sportcoats and pants for me and has done a terrific job each time (his work is broadly comparable too other bespoke items of mine from other tailors (HK and SR) who get lots of positive press on these boards) - as long as you know what you want at a relatively specific level and communicate that, he'll get it done. If not, you'll get a very well made and well fitting garment, but with some drapiness and not huge amts of shape. The workmanship is very good, just don't expect much if any guidance on style choices / preferences.

You should post pictures of these somewhere.

Originally Posted by gdl203

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I would wait for someone with experience with both to weigh in. Hadn't even heard about LNC until a few weeks ago

I can't tell you whether LNC>>>Wilifred, having never used Wilifred, but I can tell you that LNC does an excellent job and from what I can tell based on discussions here, the prices are significantly lower than Wilifred. Without doubt, LNC>>>Cardelino in my experience, and the general consensus seems to be that Cardelino is acceptable to good. Not sure how the transitive property pertains beyond that.

FWIW, LNC has been in business (with a short hiatus when I believe the partners split - one retired) since the late '80s at least and possibly longer - I've been going there since 1997 and in the old shop, they had framed letters to the current proprietor and his former partner from folks like Dinkens and other NYC notables of the late 80s, using LNC's name and address in the letter header.

My guess is that much of anyone's tailor selection is a function of where one works and / or lives in the city - LNC's clientele appears to be heavily weighted towards attorneys, particularly criminal attorneys (I found them thru my wife who is a Manhattan ADA and works across the street - she found them for me based on a rec from a natty colleague who swore by them). Given LNC's location, folks who don't get down to that part of the city often probably wouldn't have much reason to come into contact with them since going to Chinatown from say the UWS or the UES would be a real schlep for something simple like getting pants hemmed.

Hearsay means zero to me so the continuous attempt at bringing Wilfred down through that medium means zero as well. If anyone here has first-hand actual issues with them, I'm all ears. Otherwise I don't think anyone should follow such third-hand advice from some mysterious experts. No offense of course

Originally Posted by gdl203

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Hearsay means zero to me so the continuous attempt at bringing Wilfred down through that medium means zero as well. If anyone here has first-hand actual issues with them, I'm all ears. Otherwise I don't think anyone should follow such third-hand advice. No offense of course

Nobody's trying to bring him down, at least I'm certainly not. It's a piece of info that others looking for a tailor may find helpful - this is a board on which people are entitled to share their opinions after all. I've made it clear that I have never used him so have no direct experience with his work, but have heard these things from people who work in the clothing / tailoring industry in NYC. If you or others think it's hearsay, want to ignore it and are happy with Wilfred, that's your right and, as I wrote previously, you / they should keep patronizing him and sharing your positive experiences. More information and opinions can only be beneficial here. Anyone who spends more than 5 mins reading thru the threads on this board will realize that about the only thing that posters seem to able to agree on is what day it is, so this disagreement is par for the course...

I don't think it's hearsay, it is hearsay. Fits the definition well. Don't get too worked up about that though - everyone likes a good gossip

Hearsay vs educated opinion. tomatoe, tomatoh. largely a matter of individual perspective - in my view, it's an educated opinion since i know the backgrounds of those who have told me this and i heard it from them directly, in your case, it's hearsay since you don't know me or my sources from adam and could very reasonably think that this simply more misinformation given the anonymity of the internet. fair enough in both cases. i'm sure that the fair denizens of this forum can draw their own conclusions from this little back and forth. no offense intended to you or anyone else - just different opinions...

I recently heard from well informed secret sources that bacon doesn't taste so good after all. I thought I'd share in case it could help someone before a weekend of potential brunches. Can't reveal my sources but they are well respected experts in the field