I bought a cheap suit with the intention of making it look good through tailoring, but I don’t know how to actually get that done. The local stores don’t have websites and haven’t picked up when I called, should I just walk in with the suit? Do I need an appointment? Also, how much should I expect to pay? (California)

I live a fair drive from the local alternation/tailor shops (rural life), so I figured I’d try to ask before making the drive out just to make a fool of myself.

  • @orangeNgreenEnglish
    70•9 months ago

    Generally you just walk in with your suit, and don’t need an appointment. You put on the suit while you’re there, they’ll draw some lines and place some pins. Then you leave the suit there for a couple weeks while they do their thing.

    Can cost anywhere from about $20 to $100+ I’d say depending on the amount/type of alterations you need and whether the tailor is particularly expensive.

      • @OhmsLawn
        16•9 months ago

        I always call my tailor first, just to be polite. Sometimes he’s really stretched thin. If you’re in SF, Taraval Tailor is a really good shop.

      • gordonEnglish
        13•9 months ago

        Seconding the above, I want to say I paid $60 in a pretty average city.

        The store I went to is called Jos-a-bank, feel free to look them up but any higher end men’s fine clothing store should have a tailor on site at all times.

        There are also dedicated tailor shops you can try looking for one of those.

        I don’t think places like dillards or Macy’s will do alterations but I could be wrong.

        Worst case the place you go may tell you something like “he only works Tuesdays and Saturdays” or something like that, so you may want to keep trying to get them on the phone, but I’ve not been told that before.

        • ThePowerOfGeekEnglish
          16•9 months ago

          Where I live there are a few little mom-and-pop dry cleaning businesses that do clothing alterations for a reasonable price.

        • @solrize
          6•9 months ago

          I thought Jos A. Bank (stylized spelling of Joseph A. Bank) closed down a number of years ago. I remember getting some decent stuff on sale or closeout there very cheap. I was a bit sad to see it go. Maybe it’s still around under new ownership or something though.

          The hole in the wall dry cleaning place across from me does alterations fwiw. You could look for places like that near you and ask.