Being Skinned or simply Incompetent?
Many of my friends have complained to me in the past that their tailor couldn’t get the suit right, even after visiting them a few times for alterations. They gave up in the end. So, why is that? Is it because the tailor deliberately refused to cater to customers’ demand; or is it simply incompetent that one should just find another better tailor? It is hard to say, as it varies from case to case.
In some cases, it definitely is possible where the tailor simply couldn’t see what the problem with the suit is and hence, struggle to use the right method to get it altered and get it fixed! If a tailor struggles to see the root cause of the problem, then obviously he’ll struggle to get it right!
A good tailor sees through into the root cause of the issue
A good tailor relies on his experience, skills and training to be able to identify the body shape of a customer and the different physical characteristics. We have invited Jacky Tam of British Tailors to show us his experience in the past, good or bad. Jacky has been working in the tailoring industry since 1985, with over 34 years of experience under his belt. In the above video, Jacky used a ladies suit jacket for illustration purpose, but indeed the skill applies to both men and ladies’ clothing, as it is about the skills and experience of a tailor.
At times, there is a reason some tailors charge more than others, as we are paying for their skills and experience. Hope this will help you avoid pitfalls when trying to find a reliable tailor for your tailor-made clothings.
Standing posture also needs to be catered for
On top of that, Jacky wants to share with us another story that happened in the early days of his career. During the fitting session, as the customer tries on the suit, he started complaining that the two sleeves are not balanced and one is longer than the other, so Jacky took it back and tried to get it altered. After a few attempts, it was already midnight, but they still couldn’t get it right.
As it was late, Jacky’s colleague asked to be released off work. However, Jacky thinks it’s important that his customers’ leave his shop happy, so he continued to try and fix the problem. By 3am, he finally figured out that the root cause of the problem, which was actually to do with his standing posture! Jacky said, “Back then, it was my lack of experience at the first place that I didn’t know, but in fact the customers’ standing posture meant that his left and right arms were not in the right wave length and hence the jacket sleeves appeared uneven on both sides.”
This once again shows that the servicing attitude and experience to identify a solution to issues are both important characteristics of a good tailor!
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