Clifton Charles

I met Clifton through a Gilt Group promotion he did with the spa John Allan’s about five years ago. For the next 3.5 years, I was a regular customer — Clifton was reliable, reasonably prompt and the shirts always fit well. He would even come to my office to measure me and go through patterns. However, in early 2015, things changed drastically. I placed an order with him in March 2015 for four shirts — about $ 500 worth of work. After a couple months, when I hadn’t received my shirts, I began to ask Clifton about them. Clifton was initially responsive, then completely dropped off the map. Ignored dozens of calls, emails and texts — all methods I had used to get in touch with him before. I would occasionally get a response much like other Unilocal reviewers apparently did, one lamenting factory problems and offering me a free sportcoat or pair of slacks as a make-​good for the delay. Finally, I contacted Kalin Moon at Lucky Guy — the lounge/​spa where Clifton had recently leased space. Kalin confirmed that others were having the same issues, and I had had enough. I immediately contacted PayPal and Mastercard (the two methods of payment I used, as I placed my order over two meetings with Clifton). PayPal took one look at Clifton’s account and the other complaints he had already received and immediately refunded my money. MasterCard issued me a conditional credit which was made final after an investigation.
I can’t speculate as to what happened to Clifton, as he was trustworthy and professional for the majority of my time as a client. But the last 6 – 9 months have been a nightmare. As the BBB warns, never pay in full up front.

Anyone thought about sending a 1099 to this guy? Should be easy enough to run a skip trace and issue. I have 0 expectations about collecting, maybe it will be worthwhile to let the Federal Government in on the action?

Just a quick update — it is now September and Clifton still hasn’t delivered the suit or issued me a refund — he still ignores all calls /​emails.
I therefore called my credit card company and started a charge back. They gave me a conditional credit but gave him a chance to respond. He responded saying that he delivered the product on the day it was paid for. So not only did he lie to me about when it would be delivered, but he also lied to my credit card company as the day I paid him was the day I was measured — as far as I am concerned, it is basically impossible to deliver a custom tailored suit on the day a customer is measured. I therefore had to go back and provide proof that he hadn’t deliver the suit and I was happy to include other Unilocal reviews as well as Better Business Bureau’s write up on him which further shows he is a crook.

This company is a Scam. Clifton did not deliver the suits for a wedding and refuses to issue refunds. He is also lying to credit card companies about actually delivering the suits. STAY AWAY!!! This has been a complete nightmare.

CLIFTON CHARLES BERRY IS A LIAR, CROOK, AND SCUMBAG.
DO NOT TRUST HIM OR PAY HIM.
Check out the photo I uploaded of the small claims court judgment I won against him if you need proof beyond his terrible Unilocal reviews.
More proof:
WABC Channel 7 did a story on this deadbeat:

I ordered $ 395 (3 shirts) on 4÷15÷2015. I am disgusted with Charles Clifton and their terrible customer service. I have yet to receive these 3 shirts almost 90 days later. In addition, after 8 emails and 2 phone calls over the span of three weeks they have not even responded.
Where is the integrity? Where is the customer service? My business utilizes a legal & collections company so I am now starting the process of going after him. I have the means to give him legal and collections hell and will do so until he provides the shirts that I ordered or gives me my money back.
I recommend to everyone to stay away from this guy. This is not written by a biased person! This is written by someone who just lost $ 395!

I used to be a regular custom, but I’ve also had a horrific experience lately. I purchased 8 custom shirts during the first week of March, and as July approaches, I cannot get in touch with them. I’ve sent several emails, left several voicemails, tried Twitter and Facebook, and have heard nothing. I’ll be taking this up with an attorney and bringing a claim to court to recover my money. Its been a horrible experience and very disappointing to have taken such a bad turn.

Clifton’s services were highly recommend by a few mutual friends which we have. I went to him to have a custom tuxedo made on 4÷2÷15 for a wedding on May 22^nd). He seemed very knowledgable about the fabrics, what would look good with what, style, and fit. We spent close to two hours choosing fabrics, measuring, and looking at other details to add onto the tuxedo. He told me it would take 4 to 6 weeks and said that it would be done by the time I leave for the wedding. I was so impressed with our initial meeting that I went back to Clifton on 5÷8÷15 to purchase three custom shirts as a gift.
Since 5÷8÷15 my experience with Clifton has been less than exceptional. One would get better customer service at a Wal-​Mart. The tuxedo was not finished in time by the time I left for the wedding (May 22^nd). He promised me he would overnight it, in a hanging box and it would be ready to go. It arrived 1 hour before the wedding smashed into a small box, wrinkled and dirty. Not one element on the tuxedo was what I chose. The fabric was different, buttons were two different colors, the lining with different and it was missing all the other custom elements I had chosen. I made an appointment with him that day to come in on Tuesday to correct the tuxedo. He said he was sorry, and that it would only take 1 week to correct the tuxedo. It is now June 29^th and I have still not received the tuxedo. There is no communication at all, I would either text or call him every day and he would not respond. Finally after posting a negative review on Unilocal he contacted me. I told me he would convert my tuxedo into a suit free of charge that would be completed 26^th and that he would make a brand new tuxedo for me. As well as the first of the three shirts would be done on the 26^th as well. I tried to contact him for a week to confirm and set up a time to pick up my items but he did not respond until Friday 6PM stating that he was just picking up the suit now.
I have really exhausted all means of trying to get what I paid for. On June 29^th I filed a claim with the BBB to see if they could help me either get my money back or get the tuxedo and three shirts to me at the very least. For the most part he has been rather unapologetic and laughed at me the last time we had a phone conversation. He is not only embarrassing himself but his friends who are also customers of him.

Stay away!!!
I purchased a suit & shirt from Clifton in 2013. He did a good job getting my measurements, the suit fit and was delivered on time. I immediately ordered another 5 shirts and bragged to my friends that I had finally found a clothier that offered great quality & great service. The shirts arrived (late) but they all fit pretty well so I didn’t complain.
After having 2 pretty good transactions with Clifton, I figured it was time to order some things I had been wanting. I placed 3 additional orders between December 2013 — March 2014, for 2 trousers, a 2^nd suit, a tuxedo, a topcoat & 5 more shirts. The Tuxedo arrived late but fortunately fit pretty well, the rest was a disaster though… The 2 trousers didn’t arrive for 8 months (the fit was «ok» but not ideal — I’ve had to pay to have both trousers altered). The suit was 11 months late and fit very poorly (cost me $ 250 in alterations to alter the item and it still is not ideal). The top coat and 5 shirts NEVER arrived (I ordered & PAID IN FULL for these items in March of 2014).
In the last 9 months I have tried to contact Clifton 20+ times via email and by phone and he has not returned any of my calls or emails. The last time he communicated with me was in September of 2014 (right before the poorly fitting suit arrived).
Due to the amount of time that has passed I can’t get my money back from my credit card company for the 5 shirts & topcoat that he didn’t deliver, and I still haven’t heard from Cliff even after filing a complaint with the BBB of NY. It appears he ignored the BBB just like he ignores his customers.
The bottom line is this: Clifton does not always fill his purchase orders and has no problem just ignoring his customers after they have paid him. I would never purchase anything else from Clifton ever again under any circumstance and encourage everyone to read other reviews and do their homework before working with Cliff. If I had done my research, I would have never worked with him. This is just one of dozens of bad reviews that this company has received in the past few years.

I wish I could give him 0 stars. He has singlehandedly ruined my wedding. Ordering a custom suit is stressful enough, but add on not having it come in time and then when it finally arrives, a week before your wedding, it isn’t even the right color, fit and missing details.
I can almost guarantee that he made up the order and guessed all the details, it was that bad.
Read the reviews, yes a couple are positive but the bad outweigh the good.
Do NOT purchase a suit from this company/​person.

I cannot speak to the quality of their product because I have yet to receive my order; however the quality of service. My tailoring session was on 4÷11÷2015 and it is now 6÷11÷2015. They had advised that my order would take about 30 – 40 days due to the additional stitching required. It’s now been 60 days.
A follow up card was sent thanking me for my purchase but there was no follow up regarding the status of my order. If you have $ 500 to blow, go do anything else but order shirts from the clothier. The time isn’t worth it even if the product is top-​notch.

I’d like to give this Zero stars, but the system won’t let me
This one should be avoided at all costs. Just reading the reviews on here tells you all you need to know, It’s so consistent amongst all the reviewers You order, he charges you, you wait and wait and wait for your clothes. All emails and calls will be ignored.
I have no idea how this guy even stays in business or intact if he even still is as all calls and emails regarding missing items I ordered a year (yes one year) ago are ignored. I’m working with my credit card company to dispute whatever he hasn’t fulfilled
Seriously, this is New York City. There must be 50 guys who can offer the same kind of product and at least treat their clients with some respect
This one should be given a wide berth

A crook and a con man. Paid $ 1,200 for a suit (for my boyfriend) in November 2014 and we’re still waiting. He won’t return calls, won’t respond to emails… just keeps asking for more time because he’s sooooo busy.
Horrible customer service and he couldn’t care less. No apologies, nothing.
Stay away from this guy… he spends more time on his FB postings than he does running his business.

Unfortunately, I am compelled to write this review, as I ordered a shirt in November of 2014 and I was told I would receive it in a couple weeks at most. Now, in April of 2015, I still have not received it. Worse than that, I have received no response to multiple emails, or phone call.
It is disappointing because you can tell the materials are well made, and the craftsmanship is there from my fitting. However, the customer service and delivering on the product is not. There is no way I should not have received the shirt by now, and not have received any indication as to why.

The level of service and responsiveness is shockingly poor. The first time I ordered from them the shirt arrived a week late. Each time since its been longer and longer with less and less attention. Calls will not be answered. Emails… maybe if you send 5 you will hear back. It’s a level of service that is just unacceptable. It is one thing to be late with an order and communicate that to your customer. It is another thing to just ignore your customer completely. It is really really frustrating and they just do not seem to care.
As far as the shirts themselves go, they fit. They arrive so late that they are out of season/​style but they fit.
The bad is that the quality of fabric isn’t great. I’ve had button holes and collars start to fall apart after less than a year.
Honestly, there are a lot of companies that will provide this service. Try one of the others. These guys do not get it.

Update… my father-​in-​law has not received the remaining 2 shirts. As you might suspect, Cliff has responded to my requests with his usual «the shirts are on their way» email. I finally told cliff we wanted him we wanted our money but no response. Cliff is either a complete crook or the worst businessman in history — my guess is that it is a combination of both.

I was really hoping this place would work out for me. I ordered a suit back in October that I told him I needed by the first week of December. It was brought to me at the last minute and incomplete. 2 shirts and pair of pants are missing. Cliff has not replied to any of my calls or emails. I’m very disappointed. Stay away from this place!

Ordered with Clifton Charles 3 times over the last 3 or 4 years. The first time was great, the second time required the shirts to be altered, the third time 2 of the 4 shirts i had ordered never arrived (months have gone by since the order was placed). Emails and calls to the owner, Clifton Barry, went unanswered. Proceed with caution if you decide to order from here.

I would strongly recommend against using this company. I placed an order for 2 suits in November of 2013 and after many months of delay I asked for a refund to which my request went unanswered. Despite numerous emails and phone calls Clifton simply did not respond! I ended up having to get my credit card company involved and after 7 months it was finally resolved (by the credit card company issuing a refund not by CliftonCharles). When I spoke with American Express they said they were looking into cutting off CliftonCharles as a vendor because they have received so many refund complaints.
Customer service is a joke and they do not respond to inquiries. There are much better custom clothing companies in New York that have higher quality clothing and are more professional (ie: Alton Lane is a good one).
I found using CliftonCharles an incredibly frustrating experience, I would opt for other options as Clifton certainly doesn’t «measure up»

4.5 Stars
Our wedding planner found Clifton Charles for us for our big day and we loved that Clifton himself was there every step of the way from consultation, measurement, and pick up. The only hiccup we had was timing, though no fault of Clifton’s. The terrible weather delayed shipments and tailors from getting everything done in time. My only gripe was that the delay was never communicated and I was under the assumption that things were fine. To set things right, he included cufflinks and a tie bar! So things worked out in the end and I looked sharp for the wedding!
Also, there was a slight «emergency» washing the shirt before the wedding. It had shrunk a bit and it didn’t fit quite the same as it did in Clifton’s office. Not only did he provide consultation on what to do, he also provided 2 back up shirts just in case. Had this been a large retail chain, I probably would have been hung out to dry.
Clifton is a really nice guy and you can’t get the personal attention you get with him at a larger retailer. Highly recommended!