Ardian’s Tailor

I found Ardian through my brother’s recommendation and what a gem he is. I came to him to because I needed a bridesmaid’s dress altered for my best friend’s wedding and after getting the dress back I can tell you two things for sure. He is literally the nicest tailor (or person really) and his workmanship is impeccable.
It took him about 2 and a half weeks and 2 phone calls on my part to have the dress ready but I would willingly wait longer if I had to.
I will definitely go to him again when I have an important garment that needs an expert touch. Highly recommend.

Told me he would have my suit tailored in 10 days. A month later and he still hasn’t touched them. Very disorganized. Do not recommend.

Yes, it takes a little longer, but the quality and value of Ardian’s work cannot be matched downtown. So you need your suit in a week? Go elsewhere. Need a great suit (or dress or pants or _​_​_​_​_​) done right and you don’t have an immediate, pressing need for it? Ardian is your man.

This guy is a little gem. His prices are too low so he’s busy as heck, so don’t come here if in a hurry. Otherwise, two thumbs up.

Best tailor and nicest guy in the area, and prices can’t be better. But if you need your tailoring done by an absolute date… just pay more at some other place.
He is totally delinquent when it comes to getting your tailoring done by a certain date. It takes about two times of «Sorry next time?» and it’ll really suck if you don’t just live nearby. Or pro tip: just call him instead of making the trip.
But Ardian does an absolutely perfect job at a third of the price (only $ 15 to tailor an entire shirt vs $ 45 at other places) and he really is such a nice guy… so I don’t mind swinging by an extra few times or calling before I go. And I’m guessing plenty of other west villagers feel the same way judging by the piles of clothes he’s always under.

I usually don’t get around to writing reviews but my experience with this place was so bad that I felt I had to share it.
The quality of Ardian’s work is not great and what made it especially annoying and deserving of the 1 star rating is that it took him 2 months to finish it (with multiple trips to his place and follow ups). Some of the items that Ardian worked on for so long I ended up having to take to my tailor in DC to have them fixed!
Ardian worked on a few pairs of slacks, suit jacket and a blazer. He did a good job on the slacks but both jackets had to be taken to another place to get fixed. When he finally had the suit jacket ready the first time, it was too tight around the waist. The next time I came back to pick it up I noticed that the back of the jacket had creases and extra material. Ardian tried to tell me both times that it looks fine and I even showed him how the back it supposed to look by putting on the blazer I brought with me as an example. He finally agreed to partially fix it and said the rest was impossible. I ended up taking the jacket to a tailor I usually use when I am in DC and he told me that when he opened up the lining of the jacket to have it fixed, the inside «was a mess» and he even asked me who did this work. During my next visit to DC, I am going to take the jacket in for more work as I later noticed the sleeves were not sewed evenly so it is creating creases on the sleeves as well. With the money I paid Ardian for his work and money I am spending to have all that work fixed, this experience is becoming quite expensive.
Similar to the other reviews, I also had problems getting a hold of Ardian. I quickly realized that he is very unreliable and unorganized so I started emailing and calling him prior to my arrival. For example: I would email him to ask when my things would be ready and set up a pick up time usually a week in advance. Then I would email him the day before our appointment to make sure he is still planning to finish it. Finally, on the day of the appointment I would call or email him to ask if it is in fact ready that day. His response would be «yes, come after 3pm today». I would arrive 4 or 5pm that same day only to find the door locked, him not answering his phone or he would be there and tell me its not ready. He never even offered a discount for the inconvenience.
The worst part about this experience was that Ardian tried to tell me the back of the jacket looks fine just so he doesn’t have to redo it. I can deal with him taking a long time and even taking more time to redo something but giving him money for something that will have to be fixed by another tailor is seriously annoying.
My suggestion, don’t waste your time or money with this guy.

THis tailor never has anything ready. Each time I give him items I call and
ask if they are ready. He says no come in three days. Three days later
I make the trip to him and guess what they aren’t ready. He searches for
them under a pile of clothes. The are wrinkled and I have to come back
again for them. His tiny space is packed with tailoring to be done one on
top of each other like garbage. The place is a complete mess and
if I have something expensive that needs tailoring I would never go to him.

Ardian is truly the best! I found him through a friend of mine who ONLY goes to Ardian for all of his suit and work shirt alterations. I only wish I had gone to him with my wedding dress which was a disaster going elsewhere unfortunately! His studio has a lot of clothes all over but don’t let that put you off — his work is amazing and he has never disappointed. I have gotten all of my work shirts taken in and wow does that make a big difference to have something that looks custom fit to you! He truly is talented and a very kind person. He can take a little bit of time though so as long as you don’t drop off 10 things at once and expect a 2 week turn around time then you are fine! I usually only swing by when i have 1 or 2 items to get done and he handles them within a week or 2.

I miss Ardian. He did all of my alterations for me while I was in law school — suits, jeans, dresses, etc. But now I’ve moved to DC, and I cannot find anyone like him here.
Ardian has an eye for style, detail, and proper fit; and he has the skill to execute what you envision needs to be done. He is kind, patient, hard-​working, and generally a wonderful person. I find his prices to be extremely competitive, and others must as well, given the amount of work he has. I’ve mentioned to him that he should charge higher prices, but he hasn’t.
Ardian does an amazing job at a competitive price. You can’t expect a quick turnaround in addition to that. When I needed a suit altered for interviews, I brought it in with plenty of time for him to work on it, communicated my need to have it by a certain date, and he got it done for me in time and did a great job. With things that were not as pressing, I’d call to see if it was done before going in. Ardian always picks up – he’s got the blue tooth device on so he can work while he talks to you.

Ardian is the best. He is a true craftsman and takes great pride in his work. He has reinvented my wardrobe. He displays equal skill with an expensive suit or an old jacket.

Ardian is a nice guy who does excellent work at good prices. The issue is service: things are never finished when promised, and you need to call or visit him repeatedly to get the work done. (Never go in to pick something up without calling first — it’s a waste of time.) As a rule of thumb, I’d say that his work takes two to three times as long as promised, and you’ll need to call at least twice to get it done. On this latest round, he missed the first promised date, and the second, and now the third. Tomorrow is number four, and we’ll see. But it’ll be my last time. He obviously doesn’t need my business.

Few tailors have Ardian’s skill for understanding how clothes should look – and then being able to execute that look with impeccable work.
Don’t be put off by the small, cluttered shop. He knows his stuff. And as long as you call first to confirm that your goods are ready, you’re fine.

I rarely write a poor review, but this place truly merits it. People who go to Ardian will say he’s a fantastic tailor as long as you follow up. I was a first-​time customer and was super excited given that this place is across the street from where I live.
Three weeks ago I dropped off ten items… dresses to be taken in on the sides, a zipper to be replaced and pants to be hemmed. I was told that they’d be ready in two weeks. I called on the Tuesday before the second week to ensure we’d make deadline and he asked for another week. It was still too cold for my dresses, so this wasn’t a major thing. I told him I’d see him next Friday. I called the beginning of the week of the scheduled pickup date to confirm they’d be completed and he said we were on schedule. I called on Friday morning asking if I could stop by Friday afternoon and he told me, no, he wasn’t ready. I said I’d see him first thing Saturday morning. After the gym, I stopped in ready to pick up my things. Not one thing was touched and ready. I told him I needed it ready in two hours and he said it would be…
I got three dresses back, all rushed and super wrinkled. He didn’t even offer to reduce the price as an incentive or apology for his lack of follow through. He was dismissive and quite rude and then tried to overcharge me for one of the dresses that he didn’t even complete.
It is sad, I had high hopes, but Ardian is way over his head. If he has too much on his plate, he shouldn’t take new customers or be honest about what he could do. A man and a business is only as good as his /​its follow through.

Ardian remains a solid and convenient tailor. Most critiques focus on lateness and he’s not super organized, but if you call ahead and stay vigilant he’ll generally get your stuff done when you need it. If you don’t stay in phone touch with him, he can take a while. My suggestion? Make sure you call him the day before your agreed to complete date, and a few hours before you pick your stuff up. It’s a bit of an annoyance, but given the quality and price, I think worth it.
Old Review:
I had Ardian alter a suit and he did a wonderful job. I also had Hong Kong Jack do another suit, and I feel like they both did equivalent work, but Ardian cost much much less.

When it comes to New York tailors, I’m a veteran. I’ve used about twenty over the years and I always go back to Ardian. A dry cleaner’s is fine if you need your sleeve raised, but don’t expect them to taper it correctly or understand the cut. If you want the shoulder raised, or if your garment requires surgery or an aesthetic decision, then your chances of satisfaction are not very good.
Many have commented on Ardian’s scheduling. Here’s the thing: It’s very difficult to survive in New York and rent a shop on a tailor’s wages. Whoever you use will be scrambling to do more jobs than they can handle. The unreliable ones simply ignore half of what they’ve been asked to do. Make no mistake: Their ignoring your difficult requests is deliberate. The best ones, like Ardian, satisfy every request you discuss, no matter how ambitious, but tend to have a scheduling issue. Here’s how to get around it: *Always decode what they say.*
«I’ll have it tomorrow» means «I don’t have it today, so *call* tomorrow.» «I’ll have it ready today» means «I’ll probably have at least one of your items ready today, but *call*.» Never just show up on the day a tailor indicates; always call them first. The only responses that ever guarantee a successful visit are «It’s ready» and «I have it for you now.»
Get into the habit of calling a few times before your first deadline. Why? Because every single customer is trying to jump ahead of you and the tailor’s too busy to keep track of who was really first. If you want your tailor to keep to a schedule, you have to stay on their ass. Calling takes a lot less time than making a stop.
Something else to know: They only get paid when the work is done and you finally show up. When you call them the day before you’re supposed to come, you’re letting them know you actually intend to pay them for their work.

Ardian recently did a tux for me. Turned a relatively cheap tux from Macy’s into something that fit like it was made for me.
Yes, he missed his first deadline. And he ain’t cheap.
The end result, nonetheless, was perfection. And that’s because Ardian won’t produce anything else.

Ardian is soooo nice and he clearly loves what he does. So it pains me to write this review. After he did a good job of helping my dress pants fit better, I gave him a jacket to re-​line. He took 6 months, I kid you not, to do the job. Unfortunately I’m going to use a different tailor next time.

It makes me very VERY sad to be writing a bad review for Ardian, who has to be the sweetest guy in the cutest little tailor shop in town.
Ardian did a great job on tailoring a suit for my better half, so I decided to have him alter a dress for me. And not just any dress — my wedding dress. Basically, I wanted him to shorten it to knee length to take it from bridal to cocktail.
The alterations should have been simple — a few layers of silk, with a few layers of tulle on top. Basically, he just needed to cut it evenly above knee level and, voila, happy me with a revamped dress.
However, the alterations proved to be anything but simple…
First, they took FOREVER. Perhaps it was my mistake in saying they were not a rush. But this took over a month and a half. I called weekly, only to be told that I should check in the next week. Eventually, perhaps sensing my growing frustration, Ardian said to come in the next day, that my dress would be ready, and that there was no need to call beforehand. However, when my husband showed up, the dress was not ready.
When I finally received the dress, the work was absolutely terrible — the tulle literally was shredded in parts, and horribly uneven in others. The hem of the silk was totally all over the place. And the dress was hemmed such a way that it was a full 3 inches longer in the back than in the front — not a good look for a poufy cocktail dress that is supposed to hit just above the knee.
Now I am $ 40 out of pocket and have to try to find someone to salvage my dress… any suggestions???
It is sad — I am sure that Ardian is a very good tailor when he has the time. It was clear to me that he has too much business, and that the quality of his work has suffered as a result.

I’m sorry to be the first bad review for Ardian but unfortunately I cannot recommend him based on the service I have received. I dropped a dress off and was told to come back the following week on Wednesday, which I do. For some reason or another, he has forgotten to work on my dress, apologizes profusely and asks for me to return tomorrow first thing when he will be ready. Ok, I understand, these things happen.
I come back the following morning, and AGAIN, my dress is not done, it is obvious he has totally forgotten about it again. This time I’m upset. This is unprofessional, I am going out of my way and taking my time (and subway fare!) to come to him and now I have to come back AGAIN, a third time, just to pick up the dress. This is a dress for my wedding shower which is this weekend, so I cannot just pick it up another time, I need the dress! I’m also working off his timeline originally, this wasn’t a rush order.
So, i go back, a third time, after work as he said «come anytime today until 7pm». Show up at 6:15 and his door is closed, gated and locked and he is not answering his phone. I go straight to voicemail, leave a message and wait for about ten minutes just in case. Then I freak out, at this point I feel like my dress is being held hostage and can’t understand why this man keeps lying to me.
He calls me 7:30am the next day, again he’s sorry of course, he just couldn’t stay in the shop that long, well ummm, why did you tell me you would?! He swears he’ll be there in an hour for me to get the dress. FINALLY he is there, the dress is done. Oh and time to pay me now full price. I don’t think so buddy, full price? He can’t understand why not. How about at least knocking off the $ 12 in subway fare for the past 3 times I came to pick up the dress because you told me it would be ready and waiting. don’t worry mister, I won’t be back!
I find him severely unreliable and unfortunately no matter how good he may be, It’s not worth it!

I think I have a man crush on Ardian. He’s a little man with BIG talent. Hailing from the great country of Albania, Ardian has been plying his trade since the age of 15… first in his home country, then in Italy and finally in New York.
Ardian shoots straight:
Ardian: «Jeremy, you don’t really like those pleats do you?» (he says with a wry smile)
Me: «No… I don’t actually.»
Ardian: «Me neither. Let me take them out for you. You will look better.»
Me: «You are the boss.»
That’s usually how it goes. I come in to get something small done and he makes my garment fit me like it was made for my imperfect body.
Ardian is not cheap; however, in a world gone crazy, it’s good to know one man is looking out for you and making sure you look as hot as possible.