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9tailors: Targeting Boston’s Worst-Dressed, One Fitted Shirt at a Time

Samantha Shih, photo via Boldfacers

Hey Boston, Samantha Shih is onto your bad style habits. She’s been watching you comprise on style and fit in exchange for affordability – the ill-fitting dress shirts, baggy suit pants, tight jackets – and she’s not going to put up with it anymore. While Sam could easily serve as head of Boston’s fashion police, she’s here to help rather than scold. Sam is the founder and CEO of 9tailors, an affordable custom tailor whipping even the most hopeless of Boston’s fashion abusers into shape.

While on a trip to China in 2006, Sam commissioned a tailor to make her clothes, because as she puts it, she’s “quite petite,” and was fed up with buying clothes off the rack that had to be hemmed. Upon returning to Boston, she realized this city didn’t have tailors at an accessible price for young professionals like herself. Looking for a change of career, Sam decided to bring affordable custom tailoring to Boston through 9tailors in 2008.

Starting with men’s dress shirts and eventually expanding to suits and women’s shirts, 9tailors is focused on combining style, affordability and fit. “We’re seeing a lot of men who are just getting interested in clothing,” says Sam. “It’s great for Boston.” Despite starting in the middle of the recession, Sam says business has taken off because there just aren’t other custom tailors in Boston at 9tailors’ price point.

9tailors client, Micah. Photo via Channing Johnson

Sam likens the process at 9tailors to a 6-week version of Build-A-Bear. First, customers speak with a trained style consultant to discuss color preferences, where they are planning to wear the specific item and how often they’re planning on wearing it, etc. At the end of the meeting, the stylist submits an order to the tailors in China. About four to five weeks later, the client is invited in for a fitting to do further alterations, and once completed, the customer is given a 30-day “test drive” period with the garment. “We try to be as customer service friendly as possible, which requires a lot of trust for both parties,” says Sam.

Justin Wan, a buyer for Boston University, has purchased four suits and four shirts from 9tailors and raves about his stylist: “Kathryn Walsh puts together web albums and fabric sets for me. She helps me find the solution for my needs.”

“My favorite shirts are all from 9Tailors!” raves Randall Yee, a local lawyer, who met Sam through his wife who is also in the fashion industry.  “The process of getting the shirts allowed me to be more creative when it comes to my clothes.” Yee adds of using 9Tailors for his wedding party: “Sam made things feel so easy even though she had to work with eight guys of all different sizes, shapes and styles.”

Arthur Kah-Git Wong, a program manager at Akamai Technologies , turned to 9tailors after Sam tweeted him a fashion tip about pant length. “Primarily, I like my clothes to fit and you get none of that experience with off the rack clothing, especially suiting and shirts. My body type does not often jive with ready-to-wear,” he says. After ordering a custom-fit tuxedo shirt, Kah-Git Wong followed up with four dress shirts, taking the opportunity to add personal touches to his clothing. “I love being asked on the street or at a store by strangers where I got my shirt,” he says.

9tailors client, Bryan. Photo via Channing Johnson

 

As the holidays approach, 9tailors has created a holiday gift guide for gentlemen and is also running a shirt giveaway through Monday, December 19. For those of you looking to upgrade your wardrobe, Sam tells me lavender is the new blue, gray suits work with everything and for ladies, blazers are timeless.

In 2012, 9tailors has plans to go national, expanding to other cities, although Sam is keeping the details under wraps for now.  Additionally, the company is rolling out an online shirt builder with 3D images that allows you to actually see how fabric is imposed on certain clothes – talk about revolutionizing the way you shop. “I think it’s going to be a huge success once their website upgrade takes off,” adds Wan.

Personally, I think 9tailors is just what Boston needs. If I had a dollar for every guy on the T that could look 100x better with the right pant length and a better-fitting shirt, well, then I’d be Sam.

from BostInno http://bostinno.com/2011/12/15/9tailors-targeting-bostons-worst-dressed-one-f...