Any good/affordable tailors in Philadelphia?

[bullfrog]

Hey guys,

Im new to the lounge, and new to the world of great looking, great fitting suits. I was wondering if any of you knew of any good and affordable tailors in or around Philadelphia? Thanks for the help!

 

[Baron Kurtz]

What is "affordable" (this is of course a purely subjective thing.)

You can expect to pay a minimum of $1000 for a bespoke suit in the US (this was the cheapest i found, not that i could afford it). This seems about a fair price to me.

bk

 

[bullfrog]

I couldn't afford $1,000 either. what are good alternatives to bespoke? am i dreaming to think that I could find a great fitting MTM/tailored suit for under, say $400?

 

[pennyseranade]

Bullfrog,

Are you looking for a tailor to make custom clothing or for alterations? I know there used to be a great place in Glenside that my husband used for alterations, but I don't know if the do custom work. They are Prince tailors on Limekiln Pike. Give them a call, they were very nice when we used to do business with them.

Good luck.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I couldn't afford $1,000 either. what are good alternatives to bespoke? am i dreaming to think that I could find a great fitting MTM/tailored suit for under, say $400?

You can certainly get one for that price, but probably not in PA. My experiences with online (i.e. Thai) tailors have been entirely positive - though i have since "gone vintage" - but the results seem to be distinctly mixed for different customers. I have my own theories as to why this is the case, but not for here. And probably not for anywhere on the FLounge.

bk

 

[RockBottom]

I couldn't afford $1,000 either. what are good alternatives to bespoke? am i dreaming to think that I could find a great fitting MTM/tailored suit for under, say $400?

I'd be surprised if you could find anything reasonable for under $1500. Think of the dozens of hours of labor that goes into a hand made suit. These days, a middle range, off the rack suit made somewhere like Mexico or Jordan is $600-800. I don't think you can European or American made off the rack for under $1200.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Well, i know for a fact that the tailor in my home town will do a bespoke 3 piece tweed for about $1000 (500 GBP). This is about what i was quoted in Indianapolis for the same job.

I know someone had trousers made in London for about 200 GBP per pair, so it would seem that 500 GBP for a suit would not be absurd for the rest of the UK too.

bk

 

[CharlestonBows]

To be honest, I don't know of anyone (domestically; US, that is) that can make a true made-to-measure garment (differences are for another thread) of any real quality in the US for under $900 or so. For true, individual bespoke, you're looking at probably twice that, and that's just to get you started.

Not saying there aren't exceptions -- there are to every rule. And to be honest, you have to consider fabric as a really important determinative factor in cost.

However, there are some really good off-the-peg suits that a good tailor or seamstress can make work, and can be had for very reasonable cost.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I was going to turn the discussion to fabric cost if specifics were requested. I suspect fully that the $1000 or so i was quoted in Indianapois was for a purely man-made fabric suit. Not a fibre of animal hair anywhere near it.

bk

 

[John K Stetson]

Perhaps some possibilities

Some of the clothing manufacturers have MTM programs. You will need to go through a retail men's store for the likes of, say, Hart, Shaffner, & Marx. That will be more than $400, though so don't even think about any high-end label MTM program at, say, Boyd's. The HSM program has been expanded since the last time I went that way (8 years ago ?) and will now allow adding a ticket pocket, adjustments for dropped shoulders, etc. You're looking at $800-900.

I have used D&B tailors in Newtown Square only for alterations. Gabe also does bespoke, and the website talks about MTM. A colleague is very pleased with his bespoke, though I don't know anyone who has tried his MTM, nor what the cost is.

In the city, theres Ernesto's on 5th street, between Bainbridge and South (this is my 4th or 5th post about this area in the last two days...). I haven't used them, they will make a suit up from scratch, but I don't think all the work is done in house.

I've heard good things about Ventresca in Doylestown - again, no personal experience.

There are others in the city and the 'burbs but they are true bespoke.

 

[Ying Ko]

I don't know if this helps, but last week there was NPR sepgment about a ninety-year-old tailor in Philadelphia. He had taken on an apprentice.

I don't know if this guy is any good, but if he's been in business for fifty years he can't be that bad.

Interesting stuff on the segment. Fabric is cut in the basement of the shop using rusty old shears, whereas mass production suits have their fabrics cut with band saws. Band saws!! And the customer patterns---on cardboard, no less---are hung from overhead pipes in the basemnt of the shop.

Both the tailor and the apprentice were considered rarities in the custom tailoring trade in that there are few tailors willing to teach what they know and there are few apprentices willing to stick it out for the long haul.

As more of the older tailors retire, die, or both, more and more tailoring knowledge is lost. How do we get the old tailors to start writing down what they know? Or, at the very least, be more willing to share what they know with a new generation of would-be tailors?

 

[Orgetorix]

Here's the story about the new apprentice of Joe Centofanti, a well-regarded bespoke tailor in Philly: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17859903

 

[John K Stetson]

I thought it would be Centofanti!

I've visited the shop a few times but kept missing Mr. Centofanti. He is well regarded among his peers nationwide. Another bespoke shop further out from Philadelphia is Capelli. The founder passed away some years ago, but his son, John, gave up his accounting career to run the shop (I don't know if John actually does much tailoring - there are other tailors in basement of the shop).

 

[Cherry_Bombb]

The president of the tailors association in Philadelphia is Nilah Petschault: www.nilah.com

She does EVERYTHING. She started in menswear (suits, tuxes, shirts) and does womens formal wear as well. She has an affinity for vintage as well. She's located 15 minutes outside of Philadelphia in Drexel Hill, Pa.

 

[Sylvester D]

Rocky Tarrelli on South Broad Street. I believe somewhere on the 1600 block of S Broad