Through the years our customers have asked us to alter clothing that we did not make. Items that they may have purchased while traveling, or something they could not resist in a store window. We always were willing to undertake these projects as an accommodation to our valued customers.( Many custom tailors will not alter garments they have not made.) In much the same way that “casual Friday dress” opened the door down the slippery slide to “dress-down everyday”, what started as purely an accommodation to our own customers slowly expanded. Customers would bring in friends or associates who needed a little assist. We looked at it as a way to introduce ourselves to people who were not familiar with what we do- make clothing. The word began to spread and we found ourselves doing more “outside” work. The spread was then augmented when we began listing ourselves in the Yellow Pages under “alterations”. Today, hidden away as we are on the 5th floor at 11 East 44th Street, individuals looking for repairs and alterations are a significant source of new customers. Some individuals buy things at seasons end sales that need major reconstruction. ( “I really liked this pattern so I bought it even though it is 2 sizes too big. I got such a good buy that you can recut it and I will still come out ahead”). They are willing to pay more in alterations than they paid for the garment.  What one is paying for in alterations is time and skill. If a garment has to be taken apart it becomes quite costly. I call those projects “Lose-Lose” situations. From the customers point of view he is paying a lot of money for an alteration, and from our point of view, we can’t charge enough to really make it worth while . We often must do the alterations in steps- do a basted fitting before we can finish. To that you add the fact that when you recut something it will never be as right as something that was the correct size to begin with! Fortunaely most of the alterations are not in that catagory. There is also a win- win side. Some very pretty young ladies come in with slacks and skirts to be altered. This makes us smile.