Good tailor in Vancouver?

I had a ton of alteration work done at Minichiello's, with very mixed results. The sleeve's on four shirts are now so short they are unwearable, and I had to argue with him ad nauseum about hem length and the slim silouette of my pants. It was so painful I will not return. On the other hand, he did a very nice job of shortening the sleeve length on a few jackets by taking them up from the shoulder.

AVOID Modernize as they botched a beautiful pair of Borrelli pants when they let out the waist.

Why has no one mentioned Blair Shapera? http://www.blairshapera.com/ He does mostly court apparel but offers bespoke suits in the $2000+ range as well as MTM for around $700. Pretty impressive client list - most of the Vancouver Canucks, Steve Nash, the Global TV anchor, so on and so forth. I haven't had a suit made there but I did have my court apparel done there, which was outstanding.

I'm interested in buying a first suit, but living in Vancouver doesn't really leave my many choices. I'm current a 19 year old student so I don't think I should invest in a really expensive bespoke suit just yet, just something simple to start off with. Any suggestions as to where I should look?

Ok, I was hoping to try and jump into this thread for an update and ask some questions as well.
Recently i had a friend try her hand at making me a handmade suit. While I appreciated her effforts, her newness to the craft showed in a few areas.

First i took it in to

Tip Top Tailors
work\t+1-604-684-8021
http://www.tiptop.ca
700 West Pender Street

They did some adjustments to it, but there are some problems with the shoulders which they did not want to touch.

After doing some reading on this forum, i decided to take it into

Oakridge Tailors
+1-604-325-0545
5534 Cambie St

Nice enough, but they took one look at the shoulders and said they were not comfortable doing that kind of work, as they had had bad experiences in the past.

Ideally, i'd like to find someone in Vancouver that is up to the task and am between

Johnny's European Tailors
+1-604-734-4748
3258 Broadway W

after a write up i read "Charming owner Ioan Petrescu can take apart any old suit or dress and make it look brand new again."

or

European Custom Tailors
+1-604-684-8777
842 Thurlow St
Suite 201

"Classically trained in Italy, Tony Arletto (although semi-retired) can still handle the most arduous of tailoring (his right-hand man Tony Tran does the rest)."

I'm wondering what the thoughts on this forum are and if you have a recommendation of where I should go.

Furthermore, i was hoping to get some recent feedback on a few other places that i stumbled upon in my research

Albert's Tailor Alterations http://www.albertstailor.com
Blair Shapera Custom Clothing Ltd http://www.blairshapera.com/
David Wilkes Bespoke http://www.davidthetailor.com/
Pino Mancuso - Master Tailor http://www.bespokesuitbypino.com


Has anyone used these tailors that would like to comment on the work?
I'd prefer maybe an idea of price $-$$$$ to workmanship 1-10
and maybe an idea of what you would consider the best use of their services would be.
MTM/bespoke suit, shirts, alterations, etc.

I'm looking to do a major update to my wardrobe and it would be nice to work with people that are trusted and recommended.

Anxiously awaiting your responses.

Is it worth it to go to Oakridge Tailors to hem a pair of jeans and chinos? I live in Surrey.

^ Probably not.

Hi,

I have an old but rarely worn fabulous black silk suit, Men Go Silk made in Hong Kong and still very comfortable and flash looking.

The jacket is fine after having the sleeves altered. The pants are extremely detailed, pleats, patch pockets with brass (hidden) buttons, discrete cellphone pocket and the fabric is incredible if challenging to press.

My problem is the waist is about 4 inches too small for the waist I now carry around with me. As the pants are lined and seam concealed, I'm confident they could not be 'let out' sufficiently. One solution might be to have them copied by a tailor who excels at this, OR perhaps find one who could place an insert at the waist.. as the seat is not a problem.

I love these pants and have given up dreaming I may someday travel to Hong Kong to have this suit 'knocked off'... I'll be in Vancouver for a couple of weeks soon, and would like to visit some tailors who might not be offended if asked to suggest a solution to this problem and who would have proficiency in this area.

Can anyone suggest a short list of the 'most likely' candidates I should take this job to/?

Many thanks

Jay from San Jose.

Has anyone found a tailor in the Lower Mainland that can do:

1) Triple stitching (like on chambray workshirts, basically just 3 parallel lines of stitching)

2) Chain stitching (denim hems)

I've called Alberts Tailors, Oakridge Tailors and Modernize but no luck.

I have to get these Peacoat tailored and was wondering on prices?



Looks like I'll have to:
-shorten and taper the sleeves
-suppress the waist
-take the chest in slightly.

Anyone know how much it's going to cost me?
I'm hoping under $100?

I'm probably going to go to Oakridge Tailors as I've heard good things.

I would ballpark $20 to shorten the sleeves, $20 to taper them. (those were the costs to have a shirt done)

$45-60 for waist suppression, I think I was quoted at some point.

Not sure about the chest though. Also, if it's lined, it could be more expensive.

Originally Posted by bjan

Click to expand...

I would ballpark $20 to shorten the sleeves, $20 to taper them. (those were the costs to have a shirt done)

$45-60 for waist suppression, I think I was quoted at some point.

Not sure about the chest though. Also, if it's lined, it could be more expensive.

Good to know, yeah it's going to be pricey.

If they say the shoulders are too big, I'll have to resell it.

Has anyone tried Tai Pan Tailor Co. 104-1595 West Broadway? I noticed that they carry Zegna fabrics and have some very nice looking jackets in the window.

Hi,

I have a bunch of OTR stuff that needs tailoring... sport jackets, dress shirts, jeans, etc. My build is the problem, I am 5'11" 185lb, lean and muscular.

The lapels of my sport jackets flare out because of the muscle in my chest, shirts need tapering because my waist is relatively small, I have a felt jacket that needs to be hourglassed a little more, and jeans don't fit OTR at all because my thighs are too big! Of course I need the usual hemming etc.

Who can get this right at a fair price? I live downtown, work near commercial. I'm working with stuff mostly aquired at the outlets in seattle - kenneth cole, hugo, tommy, etc. Not terrifically expensive but it's the nicest stuff I own so I wouldn't want it messed up.

I am in the course of having a bespoke garment made by Jonathan Quearney. He is based in London and visits North America twice each year. Here is an associated thread:


http://www.styleforum.net/showthread...=181593&page=2


His blog (http://www.jonathanquearney.com/weblog/index.html) shows that he will be in Vancouver on December 2. He does MTM (custom) or bespoke for those interested.

As someone who just recently relocated to the Lower Mainland from Toronto, and lost his go-to-guy for alterations, I've been looking for someone. But most importantly - I need someone who can do button holes. The first couple of pages mentioned someone in Burnaby with a machine (I don't mind machined button holes) - does anyone have any contact info for this guy? Thanks!