Kira M.
Yelp
Don't get me wrong, my drycleaner in the Bronx is excellent: All of my silks (and by silks, I mean polyesters) are returned minus blemishes. But when it comes to tailoring, I kind of want to rip my hair out a little. She's attentive, listening patiently to my requests. And she executes the job accordingly, but the garments always come back looking... off.
Now, at one point, I went through a 50s-dress-purchasing phase. The fabrics are decent; the cuts form-appropriate, but they are just a little too long, too modest. In some cases, verging on frumpy. But there was no way in hell that I was handing them over to my French Drycleaner that's actually Korean. That would equal instant death for my (potentially) pretty things. So I maybe wore them once and then left them to languish and collect dust in my closet.
Enter Emily G. and Aileen L., waxing excited about a tailor in the LES who's diligent without cleaning out your wallet (My drycleaner charged $25 to sew a button back onto a trench coat. P.S. She sewed it incorrectly - I now have a dysfunctional left pocket.) Seems awfully far to travel for a tailor, doesn't it? (I live in Washington Heights.) Yes, but what's life without a little adventure? Thus, I became acquainted with Andrea and her wonder team.
Before making the trip, at home, I took some shoddy measurements, thinking I would just arrive and tell her how much to lop off. You know, minimize the fuss on business premises. But Andrea urged me to try every article on so that we could evaluate it together, properly. With every item, she gently proffered honest and sage advice when prompted.
The garments did take a while to be transformed (~1.5 weeks), but I'm sure that if I were in a rush, they would have done their best to accommodate me. Most importantly, I was extremely pleased with the results. The dresses were cut exactly according to my specifications. I walked out feeling like I had gained a sizeable new chunk of wardrobe (minus the buyer's remorse). Now, I just have to resist getting sucked into a tailoring binge...