Tom’s Tailor

Would give Tom’s 10 stars if I could. Always beautiful work, finished on time, very friendly.
But last month, Tom went above and beyond.
My beautiful lambskin jacket had torn. First I took it to a recommended leather specialist in Minneapolis, but she made a mess of it. The stitching looked like Frankenstein’s neck, and the seam tore again within days. So I brought it to Tom for advice. He showed how poorly the leather was patched, and with permanent glue which resisted all means of removal (steam, solvent, etc). Tom then devised a way to cut out the bad repair and sew in an elegant patch with perfectly matching material. It’s gorgeous. And a $ 600 jacket is as good as new, for $ 85.
Always talk to Tom first; he’s an artist.

So I took my horrible looking uniform jacket with some horrible shoulder divot. I could have avoided it by going up a size larger but then the rest of the jacket will fit horribly on me.
Took about 2 weeks to get my altered jacket back. There’s still some divot left but it’s way better than what it was before I walked in here.
I paid close to $ 100 for the alteration. Was it magical? No but then again I brought in an «off the rack» jacket that’s supposed to fit everyone in a size 38.
It went from horrible to presentable so I’m satisfied.

Best tailor in the Twin Cities. I have several tailors closer to where I live, but I always drive to Tom’s every time.

GO HERE FOR YOUR ALTERATIONS!
I was in a desperate situation, and needed some pants shortened asap. I called around and couldn’t find a place who could do the job in time.
I called Tom’s cause I happened to be in St. Paul at that moment.
Good thing I did.
The time between my phone call, the drive from Midway, dropping my pants off and walking out the door with them freshly hemmed was less than an hour. The price was also unbeatable. Seriously. Don’t even bother with anyone else. They are helpful, friendly and masterful. I will be going out of my way to make Tom’s my go to tailor.

Been there once for a very important task and they delivered. Can’t help but feel that one of the products was not as good as the other (same job, 2 items). Oh well. also, the pricing was not clear, so I paid more than I expected. Next time, might check out another place.

Tom’s is my neighborhood tailor. They have done a number of things for me including replacing zippers in winter coats. My mom (rather picky) was in town and wanted the elastic waist in two pairs of velour track pants replaced with draw strings. They did a lovely job at a good price.

I have had over 25 garments altered here. I have always been happy with their work and at a fair price.

Came here because it was recommended.
I had a pass me down Calvin Klein suit that I had re fitted to me. Came in, got measurements and was told that it would be $ 120 to re cut the suit. I agreed since I thought it would be worth that for a full suit.
I picked it up today, the work looks good, although pants ended up tighter than my last fit, but overall good work.
apparently a $ 35 cost was added to do the jacket, it was NEVER mentioned to me before when I came in for measurements and drop it off. They shoved the charge down my throat and would not back off even though I said this was never communicated to me. I ended up paying and leaving unhappy.
I wish they would of been upfront about ALL charges or at least would of walked down the ticket of what the total was going to be, since we had a verbal agreement of $ 120.
Bottom line — I may return, but will feel the need to see all charges written down and clearly explained since clear communication is a challenge here.

I struggled to come up with a rating for this place. They do good work and came highly recommended both on this site and from people I know, but I think they’re becoming victims of their own success.
First, I think they’re too busy. I brought in a wedding dress in to be hemmed and fitted, and each time, I had to wait 20 – 30 minutes to get into a fitting room. Once I got the dress on, they were reluctant to take the kind of work that would take time/​effort (namely, fitting the beaded bodice.) I was told that I shouldn’t worry about the bodice, it would be fine once he sewed straps on. It’s incredibly hot in their store (I don’t think they use A/​C) and I was sweating like a beast, so I agreed just so I could escape (my own stupid fault.)
In the end, it took three months for them to just do the hem. I received it a week before my wedding. While it is true the straps kept the dress from actually falling down, the bodice gaped. Massively. I knew Tom couldn’t do it in the week I had left, so I made a frantic last ditch effort to find someone else.
Furthermore they are not cheap. They do quality work, and they charge for it. My bill still makes me cringe, considering that my dress still needed work even after all I paid.
I will be honest: I wish I hadn’t taken the dress here. They were too busy to do the kind of detailed work I wanted, they took forever so I didn’t have time to find someone else to take in the bodice, and also, frankly, they are way too expensive. HOWEVER, I do still recommend them for a few reasons: 1) they are very cheap/​reasonable/​fast for simple tasks like hemming pants and taking in men’s dress shirts 2) they do do quality work 3) they are very nice.
I highly, highly recommend Laura at StitchLabMN (used to be in Minneapolis, now in St. Paul). She took my frantic call on a Monday night and promised to get the intricately beaded bodice taken in on time. She is very, very reasonably priced and crazy talented to boot, check out her facebook page.

I went to Tom’s to get a formal dress altered for a wedding. With the 5 star rating I figured I wouldn’t have any problems. The alterations I needed done was shortening the length of the dress and shortening a one shoulder sash-​like strap. It seemed like a pretty easy fix. When I picked up the dress, there were noticeable chalk marks on it that wouldn’t just rub off. The lady gave me attitude when I asked her to clean them off. The sash hung in the back awkwardly and when I asked to have it brought up with the rest of the material I was told that was the way the dress was made. Well I was the only bridesmaid with this problem (out of 7) so I am pretty sure that could have been fixed. The mother of the bride ended up pinning it for the wedding, which was very embarrassing. I also noticed that the dress was about an inch longer than what we agreed on in the fitting. I didn’t being my shoes back with me when I picked up the dress so I didn’t notice this until the day of the wedding. So my whole walk down the aisle I feared tripping on my dress. I’m sure many of the guests thought I didn’t even have alterations done on the dress. Between all of those issues along with spending over $ 100 for 2 very simple alterations, I do not plan on going back. Ever.

Instead of doing a mediocre job, Tom was honest and informed me that he wouldn’t be able to properly fix my dress (due to a lack of excess fabric within the dress that prevented him from «taking out the knees» and «bringing in the hips»). I was a 2^nd time customer (with no alteration knowledge) so he could have easily ripped me off by just fixing the hips, which I thought was the only issue. Looks like the dress is being returned! Thanks for looking out for me, Tom!

Great service and a quick turnaround time. I brought in two pairs of pants. One to be hemmed and another to be tapered and hemmed. They were able to get both done in three days. The only downside is there is only street parking. That can be a little but of a pain on Grand Ave.

I have been going to Tom’s for all of my tailoring needs for over 10 years now, and I will continue to bring my business there.
Tom and his staff consistently deliver the highest quality tailoring services, all at reasonable prices with quick turnaround and excellent customer service. They have even gone above and beyond and successfully tackled some odd jobs for me — for example, even downsizing a pair of shoes that were crafted out of a special neoprene material! I will be taking my wedding dress in for alternations soon — there’s no other shop in town I would trust for this job.
If you’re looking for a tailor in the Twin Cities, Tom’s is hands down the best place to go!

I brought an expensive coat in because the lining was totally ruined in the sleeves. I was told they would just do the sleeves and that they would select a fabric to compliment the rest of the lining. I got the jacket back a week and a half later and the lining looked amazing! My coat is like new! Tom selected a great fabric and did a wonderful job with the seams. I will definitely be returning!

Tom, Tom, TOM. I’d like to hug you (virtually) for giving my wedding dress the star treatment.
I’ve never had to do any serious alterations on a formal dress (let alone a wedding dress), so I took to Unilocal,of course. I saw five-​star reviews on top of five-​star reviews… so I decided to take the chance with Tom’s.
I had the shoulders taken up (because I’m the height of a seventh grader) and changed from a cap sleeve (JV linebacker look, on me) to a classy sleeveless. They also hoped to put in a hook in the back so that my bra won’t show (visible bra clasp is a super elegant bridal look, am I right?), but they realized it would’ve made other areas bunchy so they decided against it. When I came back to pick up the dress 10 days later, they had me try it on and make sure everything was perfect. And it was.
It’s not the most upscale shop, but they do great work and were right on time. I was hoping it would be a little cheaper than it was ($ 100), but I should’ve expected the price to climb because the dress is covered in sequins and they had to hand-​sew them back on so that it looked like they’d never been involved at all. I also had another cocktail dress hemmed for $ 30, so that’s not too shabby.
And now… the poor, gorgeous wedding dress is caged in a closet for the next six months. Except for the times (every day) where I twirl around in it by myself in my room.

I used to silently make fun of the dudes I would see wearing shirts/​suits that looked like balloons with buttons… until I took an honest look in the mirror and realized I wasn’t too far off from that myself.
So off I went to Tom’s Tailors. Literally seconds with a few pins and I could see him transform me into a near Ryan Gosling.
I gave them a call a couple days early as something came up and wanted the suit they were tailoring. No problem, got the suit done early. Put it on… wow…I don’t look like a giant bag of garbage.
Worth
Every
Penny.
Stop looking like wet sacks of $&%@, gentleman. Get tailored.

So, as a 6 ft 2 in woman, I am always in a bit of a predicament when purchasing business clothing. As I’m about to start my 3^rd year of law school, I finally had to break down and buy real suits (got by on ¾ professional separates until now) as I’m interning in a Cty. Prosecutor’s office this summer.
I can’t walk into any store in MN and buy a women’s suit that fits in a way that can even be tailored; the sleeves are ALWAYS too short and I have a 35 in inseam barefoot. I’m heavier in the middle than on the hips and thighs which is odd for a woman (hence all women’s plus size pants look like English riding pants on me) and are NEVER long enough, even in the tall style.
What to do? Buying Men’s suits old school style and get them tailored seems to be the solution.
So I spend $ 800 and get 2 suits, plenty of leg, plenty of sleeve, but also so much jacket that I look, of course, like a woman in a man’s suit. The store tailor was not helpful, with a limited scope of what he could do (both, I suspect, in skill level and machinery-​wise). He seemed unwilling to do anything more to the jacket than take up the sleeve! When I picked the suits up, I drove home in tears thinking I just bought two suits and spent almost a grand and was never going to wear them because the jackets make me look like a linebacker!
Enter Tom. He has tailored MANY pairs of pants and dresses for me, as not only am I tall, but I have lost over 100 lbs and didn’t want to just throw out everything I own.
I walked into the shop saying «HELP!» and by the time he was done JUST WITH THE PINNING up, and explaining to me how women’s jackets are different, I could see how amazing the jacket was going to look, like a women’s tailored suit just for me.
It was pretty expensive however the work on the jacket was extensive, having to cut out and rework both shoulders, taper the sleeves and the back and I had him add an additional button. Regardless, I looked like a million bucks in Tom’s reworked suit and would pay it again and again to feel that good looking in court! :)
He’s a clothes magician, no doubt!

Dude. Get tailored.
Bought a suit for the office, or a wedding? Get it tailored. Not happy with your billowing, muffin-​topped dress shirts? Get ‘em tailored.
Most people walk around completely oblivious as to how sloppy they look. GET TAILORED, already! It is transformative to have clothes that fit well, even casual stuff.
People notice. Even if they don’t know.
Getting tailored? Go to Tom’s. You’ll get expert attention, quality service, and a considerable improvement in the value of your clothing (not to mention self-​esteem).
Cheap $ 40 dollar shirt + $ 20 tailoring = $ 60 shirt that looks as good as, or better than, a $ 200 shirt.
Even when things don’t pan out, it’s still a valuable experience. I just got back from Tom’s Tailor, having brought 3 items for tailoring. One pair of pants was good to go. The other (exact same brand & labeled size) couldn’t be altered. Tom broke the news firmly & gently. He also patiently showed me that the jacket COULD be let out a bit, but that it would be effectively ruined in the process. He even took part of the seam out to show me why, then sewed it back for me. Damn, he was right.
He turned down close to $ 80 in sales, just to avoid having me be even slightly underwhelmed with the end result. That’s how you get loyal customers.
Buy your stuff wherever, ignore their free tailoring option, then take it all to Tom’s.

The modern man doesn’t not find himself in need of a tailor very often, but perhaps he should. I recently required a new suite for a wedding I was going to be attending. So, I pulled one of those deals where you buy a suite that doesn’t quite fit anywhere except for the shoulders because it was by far the best looking suite on sale.
This is where Tom does his magic. I took the suite into him the following week and he went about his work. He took in the sides and took out the sleeves as well as released my butt cheeks from the death grip the pants put them in. Now the suite looks like it was made for me and is quite comfortable. All this was done for less than one hundred dollars which allowed me to salvage a suite I saved some $ 250 on.
As for his quality, I cannot see any evidence of alteration on the suite anywhere. The suite looks like it was made just as I got it back from him. Additionally, I have a lot of confidence that he knows how to take measurements and then apply them to the garment. I can’t tell you how many compliments I get when I where this suite now.
As for garments other than suites, if you have an odd body-​type– I have a tall and lanky one – you may find that tailoring is really something that can come in use on a regular basis. Much of what makes a garment look «expensive» vs. «cheap» these days is fitment. What tailoring like Toms allows you to do is buy what you want at a reasonable price and make it work without breaking the bank

So, my problem with pants is this: I have big hips and a very narrow waist. I can never like, just go to the store and try a pair of jeans and have them fit. They’ll always be falling off because the waist is too loose or look ridiculous because they’re too tight on my thighs.
I had been putting off looking for a good tailor in the TC because it’s so hard to transition to a new one when you move (you know… like a hairdresser). But I brought in some pants to Tom’s to get taken in, and he did a FANTASTIC job. When I came to pick them up, I couldn’t even tell where they had been taken in. And they now fit perfectly.
Also, when I came to pick up my pants, I showed Tom my son’s jacket and asked if he could replace the zipper (it’s been sticking). He explained that the whole zipper didn’t need to be replaced – just a little piece – and whisked it away and fixed it on the spot for only a few dollars. Considering that I was willing to pay to have the whole zipper replaced, and that the shop was very busy at the time, I was really impressed.
We’ll definitely be back. A+++.