4 Philly Pros Who Will Save Your Favorite Fashion Staples
Who to call to fix your fashion blunders. | iStock.
Philly is stacked with pros who can fix almost anything, whether you’ve spilled red wine on your wedding gown or scuffed your Italian leather shoes beyond recognition. Here are four experts we rely on for stains, rips, alterations, and leather repair. Trust us: They’re the best. (Your closet will thank you.)
The Blunder: A particularly tricky stain.
The Fix: Carriage Trade Cleaners // Feasterville
The experts at Carriage Trade Cleaners can remove just about any stain (it’s where we take our most delicate, expensive pieces). Anything without a label is assessed by a cleaning technician—think of this person as a stain-whisperer—who has over 30 years of experience. All clothes are individually net-bagged, and most items get pressed by hand. Carriage Trade also offers include leather and fur cleaning, bridal gown preservation, and Ugg cleaning, plus complimentary pick-up and drop-off throughout the tristate area.
The Blunder: Dull, faded, dingy leather shoes and bags
The Fix: ToBox Shoes // Rittenhouse
This Center City menswear destination provides major TLC to even the most beat-up leather. The refurbishing process takes about two weeks, and ranges from $50 to upwards of $150 for large bags, depending on the starting condition. Want to change the color of your leather shoes? No problem. They’ll remove the original finish on the leather and refinish with a new coat of paint. Co-owner Tung To also offers minor repair services through local cobblers, outsourcing bigger projects to trusted contacts in New York City and Virginia. Pro tip: The boutique offers in-house shoe-shining ($6-$10) for men and women. It’s the best shoe-shine you’ll get in Philly.
The Blunder: Ill-fitting clothing, from vintage to wedding dresses to menswear.
The Fix: The Tailory // Old City
While owner and lead designer Sarah Teixeira specializes in women’s wedding gown restyling and menswear alterations, her team of expert tailors also tackle more complex clothing customization (like our editor’s 1970’s dress evolution). The company provides couture-level alterations including neckline changes, sleeve removal, skirt re-shaping and decorative additions, and they also sometimes do small, custom projects for bridal clients, like toppers, boleros and hairpieces.
The Blunder: Broken jewelry or an earring that’s lost its mate.
The Fix: Halloween // Washington Square West
Owner Henri David, something of a legend in the local jewelry scene (he’s designed jewelry for Elton John!), can fix absolutely anything. He’s got a team of six jewelers—which includes a pearl-stringer and enamelist—who can fix, polish and recreate anything (lost an antique earring? Go to him to create a matching one).Insider tip: There’s no sign on the door and no website, so you’ll have to do things the old-fashioned way and ring the doorbell.
