Unless you’re super rich and can afford bespoke clothing for everything you wear, I’m convinced that it’s important to have a dependable tailor. Pablo at Stanton Tailor is mine – he’s not only my trusted tailor but also my friend.
His shop, Stanton Tailor, is just around the corner from our office. I found out about it when searching for a place to get my jeans repaired. As I dug around online for a place to entrust them to, I found more than a few denim aficionados recommending a small spot in the Lower East Side. I stopped by and hit it off with Pablo immediately; the proof, however, was in the pudding. I came back the following week to find them expertly and unintrusively repaired. He walked me through his process for fixing them and promised to make any adjustments I needed. I’ve since brought all my hem, alteration and repair jobs to him.
Pablo’s been working at his current location since 1981, when he immigrated to the US from the Dominican Republic (he told me he’s been in the business since the age of 11). He originally worked under a different owner, but took the shop over in 1991.
One of the things that I always found interesting about Stanton Tailor is how incredibly busy they are. On any given day, the security gate will be down (usually Mondays) even though they’re officially open and are clearly working inside. Pablo says that they get really backed up from the volume of clothes that are brought in on the weekends, so they occasionally have to lower the gate and refuse any extra work in order to get caught up. When asked why they don’t move to a larger space and expand the business, he says that part of the advantage of keeping his operation small is the quality control. Pablo presses every finished piece himself and can thus catch any mistakes before they get back to the customer.
I asked Pablo why he loves his job so much. He tells me that he enjoys running a business that serves the neighborhood and allows him to build relationships with people – nothing makes him happer than seeing someone smile when he gets back something that fits the way it should.
Thanks Pablo.
[...] JKISSI : As some of you may know we were on the journey for the best tailor we could find. We discussed previously on how a good tailor on your side was an necessity to anyone especially if you find yourself divulged in “fashion”. If you guys remember Trav posted the first edition of this when tailoring his A.P.C Petite Standards to his liking. I found myself needing a tailor after I purchased a vintage Levis jean jacket . The color of the jacket was perfect, but some of you may know I have others so I decided to turn this one into a vest. The decision of chopping off the sleeves only brought to mind of going to a good tailor. Staton Tailor Shop recommended once by Andrew Chen, he even blogged about it on 3sixteen’s blog. [...]