How To Save Money On Tailors – 5 Inside Tips From The Experts

It can be tough to pick the right tailor. After all, your dress shirts, suits and other bespoke clothing will naturally be amongst your most prized possessions, so it makes sense that ideally you’d only want the very best tailors to attend to them. Now, that’s all very well in theory, but in practical terms, your budget can sometimes pose an obstacle. Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be an obstacle for long! Here are a few simple ways to save money on tailors – without having to compromise on quality!

1. Choose Your Tailor Carefully

This sounds like an elementary step, but that’s just one more reason why it’s worth mentioning! First of all, it’s worth asking yourself what you actually want from your tailor. For example, are you looking for a local tailor, the best tailor or a tailor who specialises – say for example in certain cotton shirting fabrics? You’ll probably find they’re not all necessarily the same thing! As is the case when looking for a shirting fabric supplier, searching for tailors online is a good place to start, but it’s worth asking friends or colleagues too. Don’t forget to take their personal budgets into account when you’re asking them, as some might be willing to spend more than others.

2. Know What You Want (Or At Least What You Want To Achieve)

There’s nothing worse than wandering into a tailor with no idea what you want. Don’t rely on them to tell you – it can be a frustrating experience for them, and it’s likely to leave you with unsatisfactory results. If in doubt, learn the jargon and terminology well before you go in. Do you want to add darts to your shirt? Replace the collar? Shorten the sleeves? You’ll probably find that knowing the answers to these questions saves you a few pounds in the long run, and both you and your tailor a lot of time in the short term.

3. Ask About Costs Early (But Be Prepared For The Answers)

This is a bit of a tricky one. On the one hand, it’s obviously better to ask about the costs up-front as often as you can. It helps you determine your budget early on and means there’s no nasty surprises with the bill – which means you’re unlikely to feel cheated later on. On the other hand, depending on the nature of the alterations it can be tricky to pin tailors down to an exact cost immediately, especially if they’re not sure exactly what the alteration will involve or how long it will take. With that in mind, try and get a rough estimate, and be prepared for it to swing towards the higher end (just in case). It’s also a good idea to request a timeframe, especially if you’ve got a big event coming up. Small alterations will naturally take less time than bigger ones – anything from a few days to up to a month. Getting a timescale down will save you a lot of worrying later about whether it will be done in time!

4. Book Early To Avoid Peak Times

It’s probably not surprising to learn that tailors have particularly demanding times of year, just like anyone else. If you need an alteration done to your bespoke shirt – whether it’s plain white like our Monarch plain white fabric or a checked fabric – you should always try to book your tailor as early as possible. Prom season, for example, can be a busy time for many tailors, as well as big events like New Year’s and during the wedding season. Try to avoid these annual milestones if you want to keep the cost of your alterations as affordable as possible!

5. Build A Relationship With Your Tailor

You’ll probably end up doing this anyway, but it always helps to build a positive relationship with your tailor from the get-go. This isn’t even particularly specific to the tailoring industry; if you’re pleasant to a service-provider, it stands to reason that they’re more likely to provide you with a consistently high-quality service. Not only will they do an excellent job for you in the short term, but in the long term you might even find they’re willing to knock off the finer details of certain costs, too.

And if you’re thinking about investing in some more quality shirting fabrics for your dress shirts, we’re only too happy to provide some excellent examples for you right here at Acorn. You can browse our solid fabrics (available in an array of colours, weights and textures) or take a look at our Marcella fabrics – particularly ideal for dress shirts. Of course, if you ever need any help or advice, don’t hesitate to give us a call on 01282 698 662.