Anyone who loves fashion also probably realizes the important of having a great alterations professional on your site. If you love finding vintage treasures a tailor can help them fit just right, and making even minor alterations to an inexpensive item can make it look completely high-end.
But, as with most things, it can be a challenge to find that tailor or alterations specialist who’s a perfect fit for you. It can come down to a case of trial and error, but here are a few tips to get you started in the search:
- Begin your search by looking online. There are reviews for just about everything these days and that includes tailors so start looking at reviews to get an idea of at least a few people you could try out in your city. If you can’t find online reviews, which may happen if you live in a smaller town, go ahead and ask around to people you know, but beware, what makes a good tailor to one person might not work for you.
- If you find a few options you should give them a call to see what their specialties are. A lot of tailors specialize in one area of fashion so if you find someone with a great reputation in menswear and suits but you’re a woman who wants to have primarily skirts and dresses altered, it’s obviously not going to be a great fit. Just simply asking tailors will give you a good amount of information on their areas of expertise.
- If you’re at a loss for a good service provider, ask the staff at your favorite clothing shop or high-end boutique. Chances are they’ll have at least one good name on-hand, and maybe more depending on how big of a store they happen to be.
- Most fashion professionals recommend you skip the tailor at the drycleaner. Of course some of them may wind up being great, but they tend to not be as skilled or as experienced as someone who focuses only on alterations. Dry-cleaning tailors can be good if you need something simple like a zipper replaced or pants hemmed, but for the more detailed work it’s best to find a specialist.
- When you meet with a tailor, or several tailors during the search process, make sure you’re very clear about what it is that you want, in general and with specific garments. You may find a fantastic tailor but if you’re not clear about your needs and expectations the work isn’t going to be up to par.
- Consider doing a trial run with a few of the contenders. Take something inexpensive in that could be a throwaway item if need-be and let your potential tailor work his or her magic.
- Ask about pricing. It’s important to realize that alterations can be expensive, particularly if it’s a complicated job, so while you want the best work you should be able to weight out whether or not a piece of clothing is going to be worth the cost of alterations.
Do you have a tailor you love? How did you find him or her?