If you are serious about upping your wardrobe, then the tailor has to be your best friend. Now, granted, most menswear stores have staff that will pin you and mark you for alterations. They will be the ones who interact with the tailor on your behalf. But if the tailors shop is on-site, you should make it a habit to poke your head in each time you pick up your items and personally thank them. They are the equivalent of a barber, it is a relationship you will want to invest in if you are to be making frequent stops at their shop. In addition to thanking them, there are a few things you can do to further develop your relationship with them so that neither of you are stressed in the weeks surrounding your alterations. While I reference salesmen and consultants in this article, a lot of times the tailor can be substituted in as well.
One of the worst experiences in the life of a salesman is having a customer come into the store on the day they were promised their suit would be altered and ready to go, only to find that it isn’t ready. Why? There is nothing that feels worse than failing one of your clients. Now, while most of the time it is embarrassing for the salesman, we can still avoid causing major issues for the customer. However, it does cause a minor inconvenience if they have to make a second trip, or wait a few minutes for the tailor to rush it. In more extreme cases, it causes undue stress on the customer if they are in a rush to get to a special event such as a wedding, dance, interview, or other occasion. So here are a few things you can do to avoid causing undue stress on you and all parties involved.
Additionally, there are many concerns many customers have about alterations. Questions such as; how long do alterations take? Are alterations included in the price of the suit? How much do alterations cost? Why do alterations cost so much? Do I have to pay for alterations up front? What if I can’t wait for my alterations? What if I don’t like the alterations after they have been completed? The advice I am about to share will hopefully answer all of these and any other question you may have about alterations before you go in to purchase your suit.
THE TAILORS TIMETABLE
The Early Bird
Most suit shops have a queue of customers’ suits ready to be altered. Some businesses will be days outs, some will be weeks. The majority will typically fall between 1-3 weeks. As long as you are within that time frame, you should be okay. However, to be safe and to avoid getting on the bad side with your salesman or tailor, I always recommend the prime time to buy the suit is a month and a half before you need it. That gives up to three weeks for alterations, and a comfortable buffer for you to return and fine tune an adjustment if needs be.
If you don’t have that 1-3 weeks, don’t worry. You may have to pay a rush fee, but you can still get it done. Usually, rush fees for basic alterations can be anywhere between $15-25, and advanced will be $30-50. This fee is to compensate for your item jumping the queue in front of the hundreds of other alterations that are in need of tailoring. It also serves as a deterrent for those who “just want it as soon as possible,” so that we have room for those who truly stand in need of a rush.
One exception I can think of is for funerals. At both places I have worked I have lobbied for the right to waive any rush fee so as not to put undue stress on those who are already having a hard time with things that are completely out of their control.
Here is a list of suggested times to get fitted for your suit:
- Wedding (Groom): 6-8 weeks prior to wedding
- Wedding (Bridal Party): 5-6 weeks prior to wedding
- Wedding (Guest): 3-4 weeks prior to wedding
- Quincenera: 5-6 weeks prior to event
- High School Dance: 2-3 weeks prior to event
However, I can’t tell you how many times I have had a customer come in at the last moment. I can, however, tell you about the most extreme experience I have witnessed of this phenomenon.
It was a Saturday afternoon, in my first summer as a menswear salesman. A bride and groom came in, and as was my custom, I asked my basic questions to get us started on the sale. What’s the occasion, what colors or styles are you looking for, and then I sized the groom up and we began picking out his suit. The one thing I forgot to ask, and which I have never neglected to ask since, was “when is the wedding?”
We continued throughout the sale, we got him sized, and eventually landed on a beautiful solid black all wool Calvin Klein. When he emerged from the dressing room after having taken the measurements for his hem and waist, I began filling out his alteration ticket. After gathering all of his contact information, I asked the question I should have earlier. “When is the wedding?”
“Seven,” the bride said.
“September 7th?” I asked, (we were halfway through August).
“No,” she said. “7pm.”
It was about 4:30, and the tailor had left for the day. She lived an hour away and we couldn’t bring her back. Neither me nor my coworker knew how to sew, so I had to get creative. I switched his suit, putting him in a poly-wool separate from Calvin Klein. We offered several separate suits in our store, but I chose Calvin Klein because it was our only separate suit that came with a finished hem, so we wouldn’t have to do any alterations. We eventually got the bride and groom something that they could make work, however, due to their procrastination, we were unable to provide them with their first choice.
THE COST OF ALTERATIONS
Expect to pay
Just as with every other aspect with alterations, businesses vary on their policy. Some include certain basic alterations in the price of the suit (like a hem or waist alteration). Some charge for every alteration. Some salesmen will size you one size too big, and mark you for every alteration in the book to increase their commission (be wary of this, but most salesmen are not like this. Treat them will trust and respect and they won’t look for ways to rip you off). Very rarely you may come across a company that doesn’t charge for any alterations. Bottom of the line is, expect there to be a price associated with the alterations.
Here is why: every suit is different, and every customer is different. Each customer will have different needs, and it is hard from a business perspective to accurately guess what those needs will be and include the right alteration price in our suit. And so, if we were to include the price of alterations of the suit, the average man who walks in and only needs a hem will end up paying for the twig-like man who needs a six-inch taper through the jacket, a full taper in the leg, a waist reconstruction, lengthening the sleeves, etc. It isn’t fair to the majority of the customers to charge alterations as part of the suits price. For this reason, they are charged separately.
Hems, however, should be included (In my opinion, that is). The majority of all suits in any suit store will have unfinished hems and, even if no material is cut off, will need to be hemmed under. Therefore, the company can expect all customers to need this alteration and it should be assessed as part of the product itself.
How much can I expect to pay in alterations?
Once again, this comes down to what each individual needs, and the tailor doing the alterations. The most basic alterations most everyone needs are hems, waist adjustments, lengthening/shortening jacket sleeve, and tapers. Here is a rough range of alteration prices.
Hems: $0-20
Waists: $15-40
Sleeve: $35-65
Jacket Tapers: $40-90
Leg Tapers: $30-75
Of course, these are only the most frequent alterations I have come across in my time as a salesman, there are many more alterations that I could include, but rarely will you have a need for them. That being said, if you need alterations like the waistband reconstruction, shoulder adjustment, or jacket shortening, you’re probably better off getting a different sized suit and working from there. The goal of every salesman, and every suit customer as well, is to do as little alterations as possible. The less alterations you can manage, the better the natural fit of the suit is, and the less that can go wrong.
Now, that only raises the question, “why are alterations so expensive?” The short answer is that in a world that is growing more and more digital, there are fewer and fewer motor-skill based artisans such as tailors. This creates a demand for their expertise, making it more expensive for companies to bring them on. This then demands that the company raise the prices to justify keeping the tailor employed. I have had varying degrees of relationships with a dozen different menswear owners, and they have all expressed frustration with finding, training, and keeping experienced tailors on their staff. Unfortunately, that just raises the price ticket for the menswear industry, but there is very little menswear companies can do until more people take interest in developing that skillset.
When do I have to pay for my alterations?
The last of the questions I frequently come across is “do I have to pay for my alterations up front?” and “what if I don’t like how the alterations come out?” Short answer is yes, because of the tailor labor shortage, their time is highly valuable and we must ensure that they receive compensation. However, if you are unsatisfied many tailors and suit shops will redo the alterations until you are satisfied, without charging anything additional to the original alteration price. In fact, with many of the more advanced alterations such as tapers, it is expected for an item to need a second adjustment, or “fine tune” as I’ve heard it been called. So do not feel shy of coming back until you have it the way you like! It is for this extended process that I recommended the extra buffer time when coming to purchase the suit originally.
The alterations are the trickiest part of menswear, but it is often worth the hassell. Developing and maintaining a positive relationship with your tailor will guarantee a higher quality of service to you and any referrals you send his way. A suit off the rack should always help you feel good. But it isn’t until the suit is tailored to fit that you unlock the confidence every man deserves.
Disclosure: As an affiliate, the author of this article may receive compensation for any promoted products purchased. I have personally tested the majority of the items, and do not promote any brands or products of which I have not had a reliable amount of experience with and whom I do not stand behind.
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