What to Expect at the Tailor

Recently I made my first trip to the tailor, thinking it probably would be cheaper to get some ill-fitting pants (and 1 shirt) altered instead of buying new pairs of pants.

So I have 3 pairs of pants and a dress shirt to the tailor, try everything on let the tailor now what I wanted. When my total was tallied it came to $140! Granted I had a lot of alternations but I was still shocked, I thought I was being hustled.

Here's the Breakdown of the Alternations that I wanted and the cost:

Dress Shirt

Sleeves Narrowed/Tapered - $18

Sleeves Length/Taken up - $12

Pants #1

Waist Taken In - $13

Pants Hemmed/No Break - $12

Pants #2

Waist Taken In - $13

Pants Hemmed/No Break - $12

Pants Narrowed/Tapered - $16

Pants #3

Waist Taken In - $13

Pants Hemmed/No Break - $12

Pants Narrowed/Tapered - $16

Well I ended up getting alternations on Pant#1 (before and after pictures to come) and upon further review the tailor wasn't a hustler.  Using my recent experience, GQ, and other sources I compiled a pay scale with no wide price ranges but an average cost for several common alternations.

Jacket

Sleeves Narrowed $18

Jacket Sides Taken in $26

Shirts

Sides Narrowed/Tapered $16

Sleeves Narrowed $16

Pants

Hem Shortened $11

Pants $15

Waist $14

Turn Around time is about 5 days.

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