I hate to be the voice of opposition regarding Saint Marc, but the experience was not what others…read moreon Yelp and Kudzu led me to believe.
I'll be getting married in March, and purchased a suit online after trying on a different color at the same retailer. The suit was great, but the pants were a bit baggy through the seat, thigh, and down to the ankle. After reading glowing reviews about his shop, and it being relatively close to Georgia Tech where I'm a grad student, I thought I would trust him with my pants.
The studio is nice, and Saint Marc is a nice guy. No problems there. I brought in a second pair of pants that I already owned and liked the way they fit for him to use as a template for how I wanted him to alter the new pair. Without having me try the first pair on, he simply measure the ankle and the knee of both pairs, and then said it would be $50. I confirmed that he would also slim from the waist down to the knee, then to the ankle, and he assured me that was the only way it could be done, but that my desired measurements were too slim, and that he suggested a little bigger. I told him I didn't want bigger, and so he split the difference (albeit a quarter inch). He told me they would be ready in 2 weeks, cash only.
First off, 2 weeks isn't that fast, and cash only? I don't carry cash frequently, so that was an extra trip to the ATM for me. But they would small prices to pay if the pants looked great....
2 weeks came around, and I was SO excited to see my pants. I went to his shop, tried them on, and they looked basically as if he had hemmed them, nothing more. They were still baggy, they weren't slimmed through the seat and thigh, and they didn't fit. I expressed my dissatisfaction with the job, and he proceeded to tell me that what I wanted done wasn't possible. Sure...you make clothes for a living from scratch, I think it's possible. Then he told me $50 was needed, and sent me on my way. I was not pleased.
Rather than continue to argue with him over what could and couldn't be done to a pair of pants, I called Hong Kong Tailors. Neil was friendly and assured me he could do what I wanted, all of it, for $40, without me even mentioning what had happened at Saint Marc's.
Overall, very displeased with the service at Saint Marc's, although the craftsmanship of what he did do was great.
If you're cool with classic style and want to wear what he wears (50-some year old man), then he will do a great job. If you want something slim, modern, or just want him to listen to you and do what YOU want, I would suggest going somewhere else. By the way, the pants turned out GREAT from Hong Kong Tailors, Neil is friendly and did just what I wanted, and was cheaper. I will be taking my clothes to him from now on, even though it is quite a bit further.
TLDR: Saint Marc does quality work, but won't listen to what you ask for. Don't go here if you desire a more modern cut or alteration.
PS, I've begun to wonder if Saint Marc falsifies reviews. After doing searches on popular style forums, such as askandyaboutclothes.com and styleforum.net, NO ONE mentions Saint Marc in threads about "Quality Atlanta Tailors." People do, however, mention Mario Bosco, Neil at Hong Kong Tailors, and a few others at Sid Mashburn. If Saint Marc had really been in the business for as long as he said he is and is as good as reviews say, then why has no one heard of him?
