Others sell ready-made suits, trousers and sports coats that they alter for their customers. That's because, in part, Vandenberg is also a vice president of Guss Woolen LLC, Baltimore, which he says allows him to pass on the savings in the materials he buys to his customers. His father started a tuxedo and dry cleaning business, which Rondinelli continues to oversee. Because most people's need for a tailor goes no further than asking that a coat, pair of trousers or dress be altered, or that a zipper be replaced, that's all the tailors at Alterations Express do. Turnaround time is four days, Rondinelli says, and those who want their alterations the next day, if not the same day, are charged a premium.
People have no problem with that.
Patris, Montevideo and Cappelli's do not charge such a premium, they say. I charge a plain fee, no rush charge. That way I get repeat business. Five to six days is normal turnaround for him. Else King, head seamstress at Cappelli's recalls a rush job for a woman from Texas asked to be a bridesmaid.