Tailor in Iowa?

[thunderw21]

I'm looking for a decent tailor in Iowa (or surrounding area) to make a sport coat. Several searches have found very little other than alterationists and dress makers.
I'd rather not go the online route, I want someone I can meet with and who can measure me.

These folks are all that I can find in the immediate area:
http://bestfittailors.weebly.com/index.html

Another, though he seems to be more of an alterationist:
http://www.keostailor.com/Keos_Tailoring/Home.html


The vintage material to be used:

Any other ideas/recommendations?

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Avoid online. You WILL be disappointed.

I would advise a trip to a large urban area. Just suck up the expense of travel to/from Des Moines or wherever as part of the expense of the jacket. Gasoline is still pretty damn cheap in the U.S.

It really is grand to live in a huge city. Never any trouble finding services.

bk

 

[thunderw21]

Avoid online. You WILL be disappointed.

I would advise a trip to a large urban area. Just suck up the expense of travel to/from Des Moines or wherever as part of the expense of the jacket. Gasoline is still pretty damn cheap in the U.S.

It really is grand to live in a huge city. Never any trouble finding services.

bk

Sound advice about online.

I'm thinking of contacting the folks at my first link. Des Moines is only 45 miles away and I go there on a fairly regular basis. I'll keep this thread updated.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Those are the chaps my searches came up with. I would pay a visit with an open mind. There are interesting views out there as to what is required to call oneself a men's tailor. :eusa_doh:

I worry about the lack of "bespoke" and "custom" I was coming across on my Des Moines tailor searches.

bk

 

[Undertow]

Pat Langel Clothiers
515-223-5347
1355 50th St # 200
West Des Moines, IA 50266

Bespoke and custom tailoring. Sorry I didn't see this sooner!

 

[thunderw21]

Pat Langel Clothiers
515-223-5347
1355 50th St # 200
West Des Moines, IA 50266

Bespoke and custom tailoring. Sorry I didn't see this sooner!

Sweet. Have you used them before?

 

[Fletch]

I worry about the lack of "bespoke" and "custom" I was coming across on my Des Moines tailor searches.

Think of Des Moines as a big city with small-town sophistication. lol

Iowa State University has a clothing & textiles curriculum that includes clothing construction classes. I'm thinking someone with working capital on hand (ha!) could hire and teach the students to do tailoring - set up a shop with machines, insurance, billing system, etc., and give them a good part-time gig and maybe a permanent position for the good ones.

There is incentive - there's just enough demand in the Ames area to keep every alteration maker 3 weeks behind.

Who knows, ultimately it could become an online MTO business. You'd need to educate the operators to do techniques that most tailors won't do because they're unfashionable. There's your niche, along with whatever styles you produce.

The kids might actually be willing to learn this stuff - your traditional tailor teaches and advises but will not learn from anyone outside the craft system.

There's also not much of the language barrier that we have with professional tailors in the west. Most of the clothing students are from Iowa farms or towns.