They did OK. They have a quick turnaround time and are very nice and accommodating. Unfortunately, they close early. This means, when I had my clothes done I had to rush to pick them up. When I dropped off the clothes, the older gentleman measured me. He didn't ask me any questions about how I like my sleeves or anything else, but I assumed he knew what he was doing, since they got great reviews.
After having my measurements taken, I stayed and spoke with the older couple. My grandmother is a seamstress and my great grandfather was a tailor, and I come from an Italian family. After chatting, I realized that Enzo is the son, and he was on his honeymoon. This made me nervous, but it's an old establishment. I thought I'd be OK.
That wasn't the case. As I said, I didn't get a chance to try my clothes on when I retrieved them. I live about an hour away from New Haven, where I work. At any rate, they seemed as though they wanted to close. When I tried on the clothes at home, I found that the sleeve lengths were too long. You should be able to see an eighth to a quarter of an inch of shirt peeking from your jacket sleeve. My sleeves rested on the base of my thumb.
In addition, I had two pairs of suit pants taken in an inch. Well, whoever did the adjustment--and I'm fairly sure it wasn't a tailor--didn't make sure that the waste seam and the seam stretching from the waste band to the crotch were aligned. The pants looked a hot mess when I wore them. The material pulled weirdly between the side pockets and the back pockets, making a crease of material protrude.
I didn't have a chance to bring the suits back. I know I should have, but it's difficult to get there before they close. And, honestly, when you pay $200 to have two suit jackets and a blazer's sleeves hemmed, four pairs of slacks hemmed (not cuffed), and two wastes adjusted, which sounds like a lot of work, but really isn't (they turned it around in 2 days), you expect quality work. I planned to go back, but I wanted my grandma to look at the slacks first.
The jackets were fine, but not right, so they're a non-issue. I guess I should have been clear about what I wanted, but a good tailor should know about making the sleeves visible.
When my grandma saw the pants, she said they made mistakes sewing the seams I mentioned above. She's a seamstress; she works on dresses, and she said anyone would have seen the problem. My grandma, whose 92, said she'd fix the slacks, which was easier than bringing them back to Valentino's.
I think they're nice folks, but they're not going to ask the important questions, and you shouldn't assume they understand conventions.or trends (They told me you're not supposed to cuff plain front pants, which I know you generally don't, but they've started doing it in GQ. I thought I might do a pair, but they convinced me not to. I think they didn't want to do it for some reason.). Maybe Enzo is different, but whoever did my clothes didn't do them correctly. And this maddening because I paid $22 for each task that was done. I've had my pants cuffed at other places that did just as well and they only charged $14 at the most.
I know this is long, but I believe this should be helpful. I''m not saying not to use the place. You just have to make sure you're a bold person, ready to give instruction. Honestly, I want someone to ask me those questions about my garments. I want a place that stands behind their work and won't let a customer leave without making sure the work was done to the customer's satisfaction. I'd happily pay the premium for the expected service that comes with it, but I'd just as soon bring my clothes to any dry cleaner for less money. Valentino's didn't prove themselves to me. read more