City Tailors introduces a new, convenient alterations service where clients pin their own clothes at home using a helpful video tutorial, then send them in for professional mending. Emma Clegg finds out more from Ben Aydin.
The fast-fashion industry entices us with the allure of each new season’s trends, offering low-cost, mass-produced items designed for a quick turnover. However, by constantly buying new clothes in this way, we end up feeding a cycle of overconsumption and waste. As awareness grows around the environmental impact of this model, more people are turning to sustainable alternatives – caring for and maintaining their existing wardrobes, as well as opting for secondhand or vintage pieces that can be reimagined and given new life.
One of the simplest and most effective ways to extend the life of your clothes is through alterations. By adjusting garments to fit better, you can make the most of the items you already own and avoid the need to buy something new. This approach not only helps reduce waste but also supports a more thoughtful, sustainable approach to fashion.
This vision is at the heart of City Tailors, a family-run tailoring business based in Milsom Street, Bath. With over 15 years experience in the industry, the team at City Tailors, headed up by Ben Aydin, is dedicated to ensuring that your clothes fit beautifully, no matter their vintage.
Ben believes we can rethink our approach to fashion by embracing the longevity of well-made garments. “Tailoring allows us to give our existing wardrobe a fresh lease of life, ensuring that items that may have been sitting in the back of our wardrobes can be adjusted to fit us perfectly again.” This not only reduces waste, but promotes a more circular model of fashion, where good clothing is reused, reimagined, and preserved.
Bringing tailoring to your doorstep
Picking up on the growing demand for convenience and accessibility in a post-COVID world, the team at City Tailors has launched a new online alterations service designed to make professional tailoring available to those who’d rather avoid a trip into Bath for fitting.
The concept is simple but effective: City Tailors shows customers at home how to pin their clothes in order to adjust them to fit with a short video on the company’s website. The video will show you how to pin a garment, such as trousers or a dress, so it fits better. Once you’ve made your adjustments, you can simply send the item off for the final alterations, all without needing to visit the store in person.
“We want to raise awareness of how easy it can be to keep your clothes rather than buying new ones and we’d also like this message to reach young people, who may not know that they can keep the same clothes and make them work for them, instead of just discarding them and buying something new,” explains Ben.
Easy DIY pinning
The video is brief yet informative, lasting around a minute, covering the most common alterations like hemming trousers, adjusting skirts or taking in dresses. The aim is to give customers the knowledge to make simple adjustments at home – such as pinning trousers that are too long or a dress that needs to be taken in at the waist – before sending them off to City Tailors for professional alterations.
The videos are designed to help people pin their clothes for simple alterations, and Ben emphasises that for more complex or extensive alterations, such as a jacket or a very tailored garment, a professional touch is necessary. “There’s an art to pinning, and sometimes it takes two people, especially when it’s a more intricate alteration. But many alterations are relatively straightforward, so the videos show how to pin clothes accurately using safety pins before sending a garment in for the final steps.”
For those who need extra guidance, City Tailors also offers the option to book a virtual fitting, where the tailor can observe the garment on the customer via video call. With years of experience, the tailor can offer expert advice on how to achieve the best fit, saving time for those who might have otherwise needed to travel to Bath for a short in-person consultation.
Convenience without compromise
In a world where convenience rules, City Tailors is adapting to modern demands without sacrificing the quality and craftsmanship that the business is known for. “I thought about how I could modernise our very traditional tailoring services to make them more convenient for people, and it became clear that the future of tailoring is about making it accessible to people”, says Ben. “We want to save people time, make the process risk-free, and still provide the same high-quality service we always have.”
Through their new service, City Tailors arranges collection and delivery via couriers, so customers don’t need to worry about dropping their garments off or picking them up. The cost of the alterations remains the same as their standard pricing in-store, with an additional charge for postage and packing.
Sustainability isn’t just about making clothes last longer, but about rethinking the entire fashion cycle. City Tailors sees an opportunity to help people embrace second-hand and pre-loved items, giving them a new life. “Many of our customers are buying garments from places like Vinted or charity shops, and they bring those items to us for alterations. These are often high-quality, hardly worn clothes that just need a little tweaking to fit perfectly,” explains the tailor. “Instead of throwing something out because it doesn’t fit, you can invest a small amount in tailoring and have a wardrobe full of beautiful, sustainable pieces.”
The increase in remote working since Covid has seen clients at City Tailors moving away from formalwear and towards smart-casual, more relaxed clothing, with commissions and alterations typically focusing on blazers, chinos and casual jeans. As trends continue to evolve, City Tailors has been there to meet the needs of its customers, ensuring that their wardrobe staples – whether bought secondhand or brand new – are always the perfect fit.
As the fashion landscape shifts toward more thoughtful consumption and buying habits, City Tailors is leading the way, offering a modern take on traditional tailoring that helps people make sustainable choices while still presenting themselves at their very best.
City Tailors, First Floor, 25 Milsom Street, Bath BA1 1DG; Tel: 01225 920263; citytailors.co.uk; tailorit.co.uk (for alterations)