Q: I have some leather and suede skirts that need altering. Where can I find a specialist?
—Collette Karmily, Manhattan
A: Working with leather and suede is like surgery—you only get one shot. So experience counts double, and the quarter-century-old Village Tailor (125 Sullivan Street; 212-925-9667) fills the bill. Rosie Perez is a frequent patron (Rosie in leather? We can’t imagine!), and neighborhood boutiques D&G, Emporio Armani, and Nicole Miller send their customers here. Taking in a skirt starts at $50 and usually takes up to two weeks—though they’ll do it overnight for a fee, if you simply have to have that Prada number in time for the weekend.
Barneys, Michael Kors, and Versace are biased toward Modern Leather Goods (2 West 32nd Street, fourth floor; 212-279-3263), a 64-year-old business specializing in tailoring, zippers, buttons, and linings. Owner Tony Pecorella says, “Our craftsmen have a minimum of ten years of experience, and that’s the bottom.” Allow ten to fourteen days; hemming starts at $40.
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