THEY DO MAKE THEM LIKE THEY USED TO

THEY DO MAKE THEM LIKE THEY USED TO

Every now and then you really appreciate local merchants. I have been buying online for years for both convenience and for price and over the years surprisingly I have been able to purchase my woolen slacks from TravelSmith and Lands End. Both provided fine fabric combined with tailoring so that I could order online and voila it appears at my door several days later and I don't have the hassle of going to Syms or Macy's or Maxx's or any other place where I would have to purchase and then get the clothes tailored. And even if I could save big schkatols at Syms or Maxx's you can't get tailoring at the latter and Syms is a downer experience.

So here I am with wonderful gabardines and worsteds (maybe 10 pair of slacks) and I have lost about 2-3 waist sizes. Quelle bummer! We're talking about $700 of clothes, so what to do? Because one of the reasons I did not buy great fabrics off the racks was the typical rip off price at the local tailor which would amount to the price of the slacks themselves.

So here I find Steve...yeah Steve about 10 blocks away from me from an online site that says, "great, great price, professional tailoring, great customer service etc..." which makes me skeptical but I don't want to waste all that money invested in slacks because I may be destitute but I'll be damned if I'll look like a schlub!

Bring in Steve Mysirlidis. Ten years off the boat, maybe? Accent so thick the only thing I understand is the OK hand gesture and the reassurance that the job will be "A OK perfect" with full waist tailoring, leg tapering and bringing in the seat, shortening the legs AND he'll have it tomorrow. And then the price. Only $45. (ordinarily not bad for rebuilding a pair of pants) but I'm not so rich now so I hem (he hems, too I know) I haw, he drops the price to $35, I snort a bit and volunteer that I have a total of nine pair to do. His eyebrows go up, his wife smells Christmas Bonus money for the grandkids and we spit in the palms and strike a deal.

And what work he does! Better than the original pants! And I think, had I not received my B.A. in dickering in Mexico who would have thunk that I would have essentially nine pair of new pants for the new year? Not cheap, but not as expensive as new pants and much less hassle. And now I truly have a personal tailor who I can trust. Wow. Where has Steve been all my disheveled life? Well, probably back in Athens I guess. But I'm sure glad that he found his way to Norwalk for Christmas 2010. Another Christmas miracle happens.


© res 12/21/10