By Jean Patteson
The Orlando Sentinel
(MCT)
ORLANDO, Fla.—Spring fashions are sprouting in boutiques all around town. It’s mighty tempting to pluck a few early-blooming styles to add a dash of fresh color to tired winter wardrobes.
But wait. In these strained economic times, is it really prudent to splurge on more clothes, shoes and accessories when your closet (if it’s anything like mine) is already stuffed to capacity? Especially when plenty of those items, long relegated to the back of the closet, need just a stitch, button or clasp to make them good as new?
There is no better time than now, when budgets are tight, to do what you’ve been meaning to do for ages: Hem those too-long pants, re-heel those scuffed-heel shoes, restring that broken necklace, recolor that blah belt, reattach that dangling purse handle.
You don’t even have to do it yourself. There are plenty of tailors, seamstresses, cobblers, jewelers and others handy with a needle, leather punch or dye sponge who are able to do it for you. You can find them listed in the Yellow Pages and on the Web. But the best recommendations come from satisfied customers, so be sure to ask friends, neighbors, co-workers and sales associates for referrals. Many dry cleaners also offer alterations and shoe-repair services, most done off-premises.
And you might want to do it soon. The service-providers contacted for this article all report an uptick in business during the past several months, which may begin to translate into longer turnaround times.
“Many more customers are coming in since September, October. All want to save money,” says Bertha Restrepo of Zuelas Shoe Repair and Clothing Alteration in Orlando, Fla.
Restoration and repairs do cost money, of course—but nowhere near as much as those tempting spring fashions.
CLOTHING
All it takes to make some garments wearable again is for a ripped hem to be restitched or a loose button sewn back on.
“The kind of thing, years ago, your mom would do for you,” says David Sadler of Sadler’s Custom Suits & Shirtmakers and Blue Jay Alterations in Orlando and Winter Park, Fla.
But now, because Mom has better things to do, and you lack the skill, time or motivation, those minor repairs can be done by any seamstress. However, it may take the skills of a tailor to handle major alterations such as shortening shirt sleeves, narrowing jacket shoulders, reshaping collars, remaking skirts and taking in trousers at the waist.
Actually, letting trousers out at the waist is a more common alteration, says Sadler. “Though the customer usually tells us the trousers shrunk at the cleaners.”
There is a limit to what even a skilled tailor can do to re-size a garment if someone has lost more than 20 pounds or gained more than 10 pounds, he says. And a jacket can only be shortened by about an inch before the pockets sit too low.
Also, unless a suit or jacket was really expensive initially and still is in excellent condition, “it probably is more economical to buy a new suit off the rack than take the old one down three sizes,” says Sadler.
Here are approximate costs of seamstress/tailoring services:
Suits: downsize, $130; take in front, $35; shorten sleeves, $35.
Trousers: adjust hem and cuffs, $14; adjust waist, seat, top of legs and length, $55; adjust waist, $14.
Skirts: Adjust waist and length, $35-$40; shorten hem, $14.
Buttons: sew on, $5 minimum.
Reweaving: $65 per square inch.
SHOES, BOOTS
Replacing the soles and heel caps on footwear are the most common repairs, says Bertha Restrepo of Zuelas Shoe Repair and Clothing Alteration in Orlando. Other services include replacing or re-covering broken or scuffed heels, gluing or stitching loose parts back together, and dyeing shoes.
Most shoe-repair shops also rehabilitate purses and belts.
Here are approximate minimum costs of shoe repairs. Cost is per-pair unless otherwise noted. Because of their larger size, boot repairs run at least 25 percent higher than the shoe prices noted here:
For men: replace heel, $16; heel and half-sole, $40; full sole, $45; dye, $20; insoles, $12; glue sole, $6 per shoe.
For women: replace heel caps, $7.50; heel caps and half sole, $26; heel repair, $10 per shoe; glue sole, $4 per shoe; stitching, $5; dye, $16; insole, $10.
Purses, belts, briefcases
All manner of things can go wrong with purses and briefcases over time, especially if they are routinely overloaded, says Nelly Zalt, owner of New Dimensions Fur & Leather in Sanford, Fla.
Handles and straps become detached, zippers jam, snaps and buckles fall off, or the leather, suede or vinyl rips, becomes scuffed or discolored. But that’s no reason to ditch a favorite item.
The various parts can be repaired, replaced and reattached, says Zalt. And the materials can be cleaned, reconditioned or dyed.
The cost varies, depending on the complexity of the repair and the price of any replacement parts. But expect to pay a minimum of $20 for a basic repair such as reattaching a strap or replacing a zipper.
JEWELRY
“People have no idea: They think if a chain breaks, it can’t be repaired. If a ring doesn’t fit, it can’t be re-sized. All jewelry can be repaired, re-sized or restyled,” says Pam Abramson, owner of the P. J. Abramson jewelry store in Winter Park, Fla.
Some customers have their rings re-sized twice a year, she says. “We take them down a size in winter when it’s cool, then up again in the spring when the humidity and temperatures go up.”
When changing the size, the shank of the ring is cut, a small section is removed or inserted, and the shank is soldered closed. Extremely hard stones such as diamonds can withstand the heat of the soldering, but delicate pearls must be removed during the process, she says.
Restringing pearls is another common service. Some customers even have favorite necklaces restrung in different lengths to suit different outfits, she says.
Broken clasps can usually be repaired, unless the spring is broken. In that case, a replacement is required. Clasps are fairly costly because they are complicated to make, says Abramson. A simple clasp for fine jewelry may cost $20, but a clasp in 18-karat gold for a heavy bracelet may run $200 or more.
The refurbishing of antique jewelry is an increasingly popular service, she says. “A lot of baby boomers are inheriting pieces from their mothers. They may want a piece repaired or strengthened, or they may want it restyled and the stones reset.”
The cost is tied to intricacy of the redesign and the time needed to complete the work.
For costume jewelry and inexpensive pieces, repairs and redesign services are available at bead stores, which also stock inexpensive clasps and other supplies.
“We will do the work for you, or you can take a class and learn techniques such as pearl-knotting and wire-working yourself,” says Sonia Dameron, owner of the Bead Bar in Orlando and The Villages in Sumter County, Fla.
A two-hour knotting class costs $35, including faux pearls. A three-hour wire-wrapping class runs three hours and costs $40; materials are extra.
“There is some fear of getting started. Some people anticipate it being more difficult than (it) actually is,” says Dameron. “But I don’t think anyone ever said they were miserable beading. Most enjoy it _ and some get addicted.”
Here are approximate costs of common jewelry-repair services:
Re-size ring: $25-$40.
Restring pearls: $1.50 per inch with knots, far less without knots, but the pearls may be lost if an unknotted strand breaks.
Repair clasp: $15.
Replace clasp: $20-$200.
Redesign: Get estimate after details of work are discussed.
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© 2009, The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.).
Visit the Sentinel on the World Wide Web at http://www.orlandosentinel.com/.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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