The Dappered Tailoring and Alterations Price Guide
Originally Published 11/19/2011
Above photo credit: This Guy
Leeda is my tailor’s name. She’s the best. Incredibly nice, does amazing work, and most importantly knows how a suit, a blazer, and a button up shirt should fit not just any guy, but me. I found her after I bought a suit at a department store, the salesperson pinned me up, and subsequently the suit was then ruined by the store’s off site tailoring service. It’s a scenario that a lot of us have lived through. I wore it three times, retired it, and now it’s a $400 pinstriped pocket square holder.
You need a tailor that is your tailor. Someone who knows what you like, what you can’t stand, and can replicate that same look after they perfect it on (hopefully) the first garment you bring to them. A department store salesperson can’t do that. But Leeda can for me. As a ballpark guide, here’s what she charges:
Taper suit jacket waist – $20
Take in suit jacket sleeves – $20
Shorten suit jacket sleeves – $15
Shorten suit jacket length – $30-$40
Take in pant waist – $17.50
Hem pant legs – $10.50
Take in shirt – $15 – $30
Total cost of my usual suit tailoring bill: Pant waist, hem, & jacket waist tapering = $40 – $60
Your location and the type of tailor you go to will alter (no pun intended) the pricing structure. My tailor mentioned this right away when I told her what I was up to. She works out of her house for a limited group of clients who are glad to work around her schedule. She’s got an eastern European accent, a friendly dog named Blesque (or Blesk? I don’t know what it means) and she’s not afraid to offer a gentle suggestion when warranted.
Ask your friends. Especially those that are women. I found Leeda through one of my wife’s former co-workers.
Even “slim fit” off the rack suits like the J. Crew Ludlow should make a trip to your tailor. Get pinned up for the hell of it. You just never know…
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Thanks for the guide lines. I need to find a tailor and this should help me out. Anymore suggestions would be appreciated.
Very helpful! Just ordered my first suit online (usual place has in-house tailor that does ok – and is “free”). I’ll be shopping for a tailor next week. This’ll help.
Also, most unfortunate spelling of “waist” ever. 😉
I’m pretty set on this one. My mom is a tailor and doesn amazing work for me… for free! She’s worked in the shops and had her own for a while and really knows how clothes should fit.
I wish there was some sort of Tailor finder network that can be set up. I don’t know who to go to in my area!
PS: Do you think Dappered will ever have a forum?
@Jeff G: Ooooh. Unfortunate is a great way to describe “pant waste” vs. “pant waist.” 🙂 Great catch. Fixed!
anybody in the Boston, MA area know a pretty good tailor that doesnt charge astronomical prices. Somewhere in the ballpark of what Joe is stating? i found a good one but i refuse to pay 100+ bucks for taking in the sides and shortening the arms…
@ Tarun, i concur, we need a forum Joe…AskAndy and style forum are a bit on the OCD pyscho, that are WAY TOOO into themselves…some guys are really nice though…but the vast majority on both sites…no comment lol
Do you have any suggestions on how to find a good tailor?
@Kyle I hope you at least get her a bottle of wine. 😉 I will never use an in-store tailor again. After Men’s Warehouse somehow took a suit that fit pretty well right off the rack and turned it into the worst suit I have.
In the absence of a Dappered forum (Joe??), Yelp has proved quite helpful for locating local services. Even Google search reviews are pretty decent. Of course there’s no substitute for an actual field test. You’re going to need the sides taken in on that Old Navy blazer anyway. Might as well take the plunge with a new tailor on something that won’t break the bank (or the heart) if things go awry.
Very close to my tailor’s prices, with some slight variations. For instance its 25 to shorten sleeves for me, but the rest are pretty spot on (never seen $30 for her to bring a shirt in though).
Great article Joe. I tell friends all the time that they need to do more than just hem the pants when buying a suit off the rack. I will throw out a few options in Chicago area that I’ve gone to. (Full disclosure, I do NOT work for any of them.) Gold Coast area: Oak Street Tailors is a little on the pricey side but they do incredible work. In Lakeview: Sew Special Custom Tailors has never let me down, great work and priced reasonably. They have a few locations. Way up in Evanston there is A-1 Tailor. The gentleman there used to be a suitmaker and really knows how one should fit, does good work, and is priced slightly on the higher side.
$5 to get measured at mine. Which I don’t mind since I didn’t have any clothing to get tailored that day.
Anyone know of a good, reasonably priced tailor in the DC area? I took two suits to a bespoke suit maker near georgetown in August, and he charged me $400 to hem two pairs of paints, take in the sides, and shorten the sleeves on two jackets! By your tailor’s prices Joe, that should have cost around $90…
So after that shock of an experience I took a blue blazer to another tailor downtown. I had the sides taken in and the sleeves shortened and was charge $105!
If I don’t find a decently priced tailor in the area soon, I am going to go crazy and/or broke.
I’d also love a tailor recommendation in the Minneapolis area if anyone knows of a good one. Thanks!
@HM If you don’t mind making the trip to Worcester, I had a suit tailored at Perfect Fit Tailoring recently. He took in the jacket waist, shortened the sleeves, hemmed the pants, and took in some material in the seat of the pants all for $75. He does a great job and is pretty close to the train station. I’d call ahead if you want it done while you wait though.
I paid $160 in DC today for jacket waist taper, sleeve lengthening, pant waist taper and leg hem. Seems like DC isn’t doing this on the cheap. What gives?
What does it mean to take in “Take in suit jacket sleeves”. Is that when the sleeves are too big circumference wise and they make em narrower?
No more complaints from me……I took two suits in Columbus OH to tailor today. $75 for both. Pants with lining hem, sleeves shortend KITTY
Paul, Senate Cleaners in SW DC on M Street SW charges $65 to take the jacket in (in 3 places) and alter the sleeves. They do a good job as well. I’ve taken both my winter coats, a suit and several blazers there.
Open to ideas for Indianapolis. Have gone to a few places in Broad Ripple, but don’t yet feel as though those are “mine” just yet…
I’m in Columbus too; could you recommend any tailors to me? I’ve had trouble looking on yelp and such (lack of reviews) in Columbus.
I found mine using Yelp.
I recently lost 30 pounds so I had my jackets taken in (tapered). Shoulders are still too big, should I bother having them taken in or forget about it. If I have the tailoring done how much should I invest.
Bill, shoulders? Forget it. It can cost as much as a $100 or more for that job & it still probably won’t fit right. I guess if it was an expensive suit ($1000+) and the idea of never wearing it again makes you sad, you can gamble. If the suit originally cost you $200-300, you’re better off saving the $100+ tailoring, putting it up on eBay and using that money to go towards a new suit. Or just wear it as is. Ninety-five percent of guys out there don’t know how shoulders are supposed to fit/look anyway. So you have the option to grin & bare it until you’re able to purchase a new suit.
Butch, thanks for the advice, I think you are right. I am going to grin and bare it.
If you are in the Silicon Valley and want an old-school Italian tailor, I recommend Giovanni Vitarelli in Santa Clara. His prices are about the same as mentioned in this article.
In full agreement with Butch. It’s major surgery that most tailors really don’t want to do because results are a gamble at best. Shoulders gotta fit off the rack (gonna quote myself as a source here, does that make me a complete ego maniac?) – http://dappered.com/2011/02/the-suit-fit-priority-guide/ Anyway, congrats on the 30lb drop! Well worth the cost of some new suits/jackets.
Joe ,thankyou for your concurring opinion. you are right I feel much better at 194lbs vs. 227lbs,clothes look and fit better too.
If you’re near Alamogordo, NM, check out Michelle’s Custom Clothing. When I lived there in 2008, I discovered the best tailor I’ve met. She works out of her home and listens to what you want. Even better, she offers suggestions, even to the point of saying that something isn’t worth the expense. Unlike with most small town tailors where you have to say “I want a 7-inch dart exactly here” before they will do anything, Michelle will listen to the effect you want and suggest a way to get it. In other words, she knows her business well enough that you don’t have to know more than she does to get a decent alteration. It is hard to find a tailor like that.
Thank you Thank you Thank you. Yelp reviews rarely reveal pricing and tailors HATE telling you how much they charge over the phone.
I have already been to Manuel’s Custom Tailoring and Perfect Fit in the Silicon Valley. Manuel is good and nice but the rest of his staff working there are not friendly. He also doesn’t offer suggestions to me. Prices are decent.
Kim from Perfect Fit is wonderfully nice, but she actually charges a little more and last time I took my J.Crew ludlow chino blazer there, it just doesn’t fit right. I see a lot of dresses on her rack and I think she might be better for women’s clothing. Not sure. Too scared to return. Nice lady, though.
Anyways, thanks for at least a hint at Giovanni Vitarelli’s prices. I am checking him out later this week. Crossing my fingers that he is my new tailor.
Gio has been my go-to tailor for a year now. He’s done everything for me from suits, overcoats, to almost all of my collared shirts in my closet. My favorite piece is the job he did on my J. Crew 18-wale corduroy sportcoat that I wear every day. Tell him “Cortes” sent you!
What do you think about pegging the leg? I just bought a navy blue pinstrip, 3 piece, RL suit from Dillards, last seasons…discounted, on sale…= 500 -> 125. The shoulders fit fine, not perfect, 40S. When I asked for the legs to be hemmed to almost no break, the waist to fit almost snug, the waist of the jacket to be taken in, the rise shortened, and the sleeves to be shortened, the tailor looked at me like I was crazy. She actually said, “Are you sure you want this? I don’t think you want these done.”
Then, when I got the suit back from them, I tried it on. The pants had been hemmed with a cuff to a full break, I need a belt to keep my pants in place, the sleeves of the jackets go past my wrist, the waist of the jacket is for someone 50lbs heavier than me. Thankfully she shortened the rise though.
So, I asked another of the gents working there where he takes his suits to get tailored because his was spot on. He suggested a local, I’m going there and wondering how much getting the legs pegged should cost? I’m definitely going to get everything else done, regardless of cost, even if I must do it in sections.
Had pant legs tappered, jacket shortened and jacket sleeves shortened at a place in Chicago for $120. Seemed fairily expensive but he did a good job overall, though he questioned my desire to tapper the pant legs and said my jacket needn’t be taken in any more at the sides.
He came recommended on yelp and google, but I want to find someone who knows what I want: a slim fit perfect fitting suit. Not looking for the old baggy business suit look that, I assume, he was accustomed to.
Hey HM? I too am in the Boston-area–have you found any luck?
Nice post. Unfortunately, my tailor in NYC charges a lot more for this – $25 for bringing in the back part of the shirt, and $50 for anything that involves opening up the sides. Is this normal for NYC?
Would love to find a good, reasonably priced tailor in Baltimore. In a wedding emergency took a jacket to be taken in along the sides (fully lined) and ended up with an $85 bill. Couldn’t believe it, but had no other option at the time. She did a great job but still… can’t afford to go to her again. Suggestions?
Does anyone know if it’s possible to taper the legs of a pair of Dockers “Slim” Khakis'”? They’re not slim enough. How much would it cost to get them tapered to a slim fit in Fairfield, Connecticut?
I don’t think the pricing here is anyway representative of average costs around the US. The tailor closest to me (Long Island, NY) charges $45 per jacket to have the sleeves taken up on my J.Crew Ludlow fit jackets.
Long Island is notorious for being one of the most expensive places in the country. Joe’s numbers are far more representative of what a traditional tailor will probably be charging.
Yes, tapering is absolutely something a tailor can do. That said, the tailor may tell you that they’re only comfortable thinning them a certain amount. Additionally, if there are pleats or anything like that, they may well tell you that it’s not worth it as it will still look off.
EDIT: unsure of pricing in Fairfield. I recommend asking for recommendations on AAAF, StyleForum and Dappered forum. Post it everywhere because you’ll probably get different responses and have different discussions in each place.
Instead of going through all the comments and posting the same advice repeatedly, I’ll just post it once. If you don’t know any tailors in your area there are a few ways to go about finding them.
1) Ask friends in the area who care about how they look.
1a) Post on Facebook asking local friends.
2) Post on Dappered forums, Ask Andy About Clothes forum, and Style Forum. I strongly recommend posting in all three places asking for recommendations: this will generate more responses which can only help you.
3) Google Maps and Yelp: search for tailors in your area and read reviews (I tend to trust these less than the responses generated in methods 1 and 2.
I personally recommend that you call around to the different tailors you find out about and give them a mini interview.
> “How much do you typically charge to ______?” (ask about the things Joe listed in this article).
> “What is your typical turnaround time on _____?”
> “How do you go about seeing clients? Appointment only? Advanced notice (how much)? Stop by whenever?”
Once you’ve narrowed it down, go see the remaining candidates and have them go through their measuring, pinning, whatever process. Let them know ahead of time you’re shopping for a tailor to handle all future alterations and that the garment will be coming with you as it’s part of your shopping procedure. While you’re there, ask for opinions if you want so you can see how they respond.
*** Please note, that while you are putting these tailors through their paces, be sure to start developing a rapport with them. You will want to be very friendly with your tailor. The friendlier you are with them the more they’ll want to do good work for you and the less likely they’ll be to overcharge you or leave a mistake uncorrected. They’ll probably also feel more comfortable making recommendations when they like you.
I’m from Fairfield, CT too and just tried out Nikos Tailoring near the train station. I haven’t received my shirt back yet but the guy seems nice.
He did seem pretty expensive though. I paid $35 to get my shirt taken in/ slimmed down. I kind of balked at the price but figured I’d do this as a trial run and see how it went.