Overnight results are seldom possible, good things take time
Don’t expect to find a good tailor who does clothes alterations or specializes in dress alterations be sitting idle. There is a good chance that there will be a waiting period for the appointment and the clothes alterations themselves may take a couple of days depending on a few factors such as complexity, material, number of clothes, etc
While rush services may be available in emergencies or if you have a good rapport with your tailor, it’s always a good idea to give in your clothes that need alterations a few days ahead of when you need them as basic clothes alterations could take anywhere between a few hours to a few days. It’s wise to try and avoid rush orders altogether.
Not all fabrics are created equal, some will take more time to work on
Certain fabrics are naturally more delicate, and some materials will always take a bit more time and money to alter as well a proficient tailor. It’s never a good idea to rush these clothes alterations or dress alterations, as the material may get damaged.
Ideally, it’s always a good idea to talk to your tailor or seamstress beforehand to ensure that they can work with certain fabrics. Not everyone is equipped to deal with all types of material, so do your research beforehand.
Try and buy the right size clothing, to avoid the need for excessive clothes alterations
Purchasing clothing that is way too big or too small for you is never a good idea. Sometimes alternating these are more trouble than they are worth due to cost or simply being too difficult to alter due to the size difference between you and the clothes.
It may seem like a good idea to buy oversized clothing to alter it sometime later down the line, but as discussed earlier some fabrics and materials are far more difficult to work with and alterations could damage the item altogether.
Are tailors scamming you with high prices? No
It’s easy to understand why you would get suspicious if a tailor was charging you nearly one-third the cost of the piece of clothing for alterations, however contra to belief, they are not scamming you.
Unlike listing prices for clothes, tailors don’t always provide a listed price for clothes alterations. This may seem random and unethical, but there are several reasons for this. Unlike the listed price for an article of clothing that takes into account production and logistics cost, tailors can only provide an estimated cost after seeing the piece of clothing in question.
As mentioned before, certain fabrics are harder to work on and if your clothing incorporates hard-to-work with the material, tailors will be charging a premium due to the high level of skill required.