Suit Alterations in Los Angeles
Mr James alters and repairs suits, tuxedos, jackets and trousers at 221 Culver Blvd, Playa del Rey. The work is charged at $80 an hour and usually takes a week. We will alter garments we did not make.
We are a bespoke house first. The same people who fit a $1,795 suit cut from its own pattern will fit yours, and they will tell you plainly whether a garment is worth altering before any money is spent on it.
What can be altered
Most of what bothers a man about a suit can be put right.
- Trouser length. The hem, and with it the break on the shoe.
- Trouser waist and seat. Taken in or let out, within what the seam allowance permits.
- Trouser leg. Tapered from the knee, which changes the whole line of a suit.
- Jacket waist. Taken in so the jacket follows the body instead of hanging from the shoulder.
- Sleeve length. Shortened or lengthened so that a little shirt cuff shows.
- Sleeve width. Slimmed where a sleeve is cut too full.
What cannot
Two faults are built into the cut of a jacket and cannot really be altered out: the width of the shoulder and the balance of the collar. If the shoulder seam sits beyond your own shoulder, or the collar stands away from the back of your neck, a tailor can disguise it and cannot cure it. Jacket length can be changed only a little before the pockets and buttons look out of place.
This is why we look at a garment on you before agreeing to anything. If it cannot be improved enough to be worth the money, we will say so rather than take it. Our guide to how a suit should fit shows the checks you can make in a mirror before you come in.
Repairs
We reweave moth holes and replace worn linings. For a good jacket that has aged, a new lining is very often the right answer, and far less than the cost of replacing it. The habits that keep a suit out of the alterations room in the first place are set out in how to care for a bespoke suit.
Before a wedding or an event
Alterations usually take a week. If you have a date to meet, say so when you book and we will tell you honestly whether it can be met. Bring the shoes you intend to wear and a shirt whose collar you like, so that trouser length and sleeve length are set against the real thing.
When altering is the wrong answer
Sometimes the honest advice is that a suit will never be right. When that is the case, a bespoke two-piece starts at $1,795, full canvas, with unlimited fittings and a year of complimentary alterations included. The difference between altering a stock pattern and drawing one for you is explained in tailored, made-to-measure or bespoke, and the prices are on the cost page.
Questions we are often asked
How much do suit alterations cost in Los Angeles?
Here they are charged by the time they take, at $80 an hour.
How long do alterations take?
Usually one week.
Do you alter suits you did not make?
Yes, from any maker.
Can a tailor fix shoulders that are too wide?
Rarely well. Shoulder width and collar balance are the two faults that cannot really be altered out. Sleeve length, the waist, and the trouser waist, seat, taper and hem can all be changed.
Do you repair moth holes and worn linings?
Yes. We reweave moth holes and replace linings.
What should I bring?
The shoes you will wear with the suit, and a shirt whose collar you like.
Where we are
221 Culver Blvd, Playa del Rey, CA 90293. Monday to Sunday by appointment, roughly nine until six, with forty-eight hours' notice. Free parking front and back.
Book an appointment, or telephone 310-503-3592 and we will find a time. You can also write to mrjames@bespokemrjames.com.
More: everything we make and what it costs · the tailor in Playa del Rey · bespoke suits.