Chicago Tailor Rec

[J.Ro]

Hi Chicago-area Gents,


Might anyone know a great tailor in Chicago? I live in lakeview but am willing to travel for the right tailor.


I am thinking of trying De LOIUCE on North ave in Wicker Park. They make custom clothes so I imagine they are good tailors. They seem to have pretty decent prices on custom suits/shirts.

[redbeardedmike]

I asked this about a month ago. For what it's worth, I wound up taking my tux to The Tailor Shop after reading up on a number of tailors. I pick it up on Wednesday and can report back on the work and the price.

[ninja138]

Well, it kinda depends on what you want to do. If it's something complicated like a tux or shortening from the shoulder, I would say Eric at The Tailor Shop or Maria at Golden Needle. If it is something simpler like taking in the sides of a suit jacket and you want to save cash, Nick at Oak Street Tailors or Duru's in the Loop.


If it's something like hemming trousers, your local dry cleaner should be adequate or you can stop by Greener Cleaner's Wicker Park location. I have the fortune of going to a church full of Korean dry cleaning owners and seamstresses.


De Louice is actually made-to-measure that farm the work out to Korea. I have no experience and have only heard a couple of mixed reviews, so try at your own risk.

[zephyr151]

Okay, so if want to get a couple of shirts "slim-fitted" and nip/tuck a blazer, I should go to Oak Street Tailors or Duru's?


How much would that run me?

[ninja138]

Where do you live? Might be a closer option for you if you are in the burbs or Far North Side.


For the shirts, if all you want is to taper them, any of the better dry cleaner/alterations places can dart the shirt for you. If you want to take in the shirts from the sides and up the sleeves though, then I would take them along with the blazer to a mid-level tailor like Duru's or Oak Street Tailors. Taking in the waist of the blazer at Duru's will cost $40-45; I don't remember Oak Street Tailors (I'll have to dig up the receipt), but I think it was around that ballpark of a figure.


If this is your first time altering clothes, you may want to consider giving one shirt to one tailor and the other to a different tailor and compare the customer service, price, speed, fit, etc. I personally tried about 15 different tailors before settling on two.

[redbeardedmike]

So I picked up my tux from The Tailor Shop today. I was very pleased with the work. Basically he took in the sides quite a bit. This is a John W. Nordstrom tux which is a more classic fit rather than slim fit. I also bought it before I knew how a custom/proper fitting jacket should feel. There were some problem areas to begin with: the arm holes are not particularly high and it's a little too wide in the chest and the shoulders. Eric looked at it and assessed that the best way to improve the fit without making it a "big" (read: expensive) job, was to take it in a bunch at the waist. It fits a good deal better now. It cost $70, which I gather is a little on the high end for this work, but I wanted to take it to someone who knew what they were doing.


I had been considering getting it tailored for an upcoming event and then in the medium-term, looking to replace the tux with a better fitting one. After tailoring, I definitely think it is something I can live with and look good in - so I might be less likely to replace it in the near future. So that should speak to the quality of the work that Eric did.


I have a blazer and a sportcoat where I need to have the waist taken in. These are for lower cost items, so I might try another, cheaper tailor to see if I think the work is up to snuff.

[redbeardedmike]

Oh, and I took a non-slim fitting tux shirt to the local dry cleaner/alterations place. The woman there took in the shirt from the sides and shortened the sleeve a half an inch for $15. It fits much better. I guess I'll see how the work holds up.

[redbeardedmike]

Tailor report 2.0. I went to Oak Street Tailor for some work (they are now relocated to 1159 N. State while Oak Street is being torn up - not sure if the move is permanent).


I thought they did a good job on all the garments, but seemed a little expensive compared to what I've read elsewhere. Oak Street/Loop Chicago just might be higher-priced than other markets. Again, good work though.


Lengthening sleeves on a suit jacket - $45

Hem suit pants and take in the waist, seat, and thigh - $85

Shorten sleeves on 2 dress shirts from the cuff (should be noted they properly moved the gauntlet/placket) - $35/each


I thought the shirt sleeves and jacket sleeves were pretty routine operations. I'm still searching for a lower-price point for these more common alterations. For more complicated things, both Oak Steet Tailor and The Tailor Shop have served me well.

[tom_mchugh]

Ledezma tailors, best tailor in town. He just moved to a new spot on Erie.

[JLee1469]

Any suggestions for tailors in the west suburbs (Naperville/Oak Brook area)? I've managed to get most clothing to fit fairly well OTR being 5'6, 130 lbs, slim build but am considering the next level of shortening sleeves, hemming, and bringing in the waist on a few blazers to have perfect fitting pieces.

[j.r.]

I live in lakeview - Southport corridor - and I really like Nuri's in North Center (on Lincoln Ave). They are a cranky and old couple and the shop is a mess and there is a dog running around, but when I explained how I wanted my suit to fit (and needed it within 5 days) he made it happen and even made some improvisations that he felt needed to be made (collar lower, removed excess fabric between the shoulders)

quick turn around and pretty cheap. For arm slimming and taking in the sides, I walk 4 houses down to my dry cleaner and she does a fine job. she even slimmed a blazer for me. Maybe I'm not picky enough...? but so far, so good