PERFECTLY SUITED/ When clothes off rack don't fit, it's time to see a

Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), May 28, 2002 by Dru Wilson

Sometimes, people just can't find what they want on clothing store racks, although the choices seem endless.

Maybe they've got a size 10 waist and size 14 hips. Maybe they want that three-piece suit in blue, but it comes only in black. Maybe they want a wedding dress unlike any other, or an 1895 cavalry uniform for a historical re-enactment.

Whatever the reason, they can get exactly what they want from a seamstress or tailor. The pros can create just about anything, from a simple pair of pants for the less-than-perfectly proportioned body to a custom-fit designer original, often at a cost far less than a Dior or Armani.

"I say that I work for real people, because everyone doesn't have a perfect body," says Myrna Smith, owner of Myrna's Tailor Shop in Cimarron Hills.

Bride-to-be Rhonda Hopper and one of her bridesmaids, Marissa Lloyd, went to Smith recently because they couldn't find the color, style or sizes they wanted in bridesmaids dresses. A bridal shop referred them to Smith.

"I love it," Lloyd said as she modeled a strapless sky-blue gown that fit her to a T.

Generations ago, custom-made clothing was about the only option available. Almost every family had someone who could sew and would make their clothing, linens and curtains. Or they'd turn to a neighborhood tailor or seamstress for help. But with the Industrial Revolution came mass production, and by World War II, fewer and fewer people were wearing custom-made garments.

Smith, who was born in the Philippines, says it is still more common in foreign countries for people to use tailors. Instead of a department store on every corner, there is a tailor shop, she says.

In the United States, however, the bread and butter for most modern tailors is in alterations, not custom clothing, which can be more costly than buying off the rack for most people, Smith says. Still, it's the only way to go for people who have a hard time finding clothing that fits properly or those who need something special.

Most of her custom work is women's dresses for special occasions, evening or ballroom gowns, and wedding and bridesmaid dresses, she says. It costs about the same to make those from scratch in a pattern and color the client likes as to buy something off the rack and pay to have it altered, she says.

On her rack, in fact, are two bridesmaids dresses that someone bought for $130 at a local store, then brought in to have altered at additional cost.

"I could probably have made them for half that," says Smith. A basic gown costs $65 to $85 in labor, plus the price of materials and embellishments like beadwork.

Some people turn to custom clothing because they want something besides the faddish fashions that fill store racks, says Maureen Ross, who owns Designing Advantage on the west side.

"Most want good, classic, clean lines," Ross says. "Tailoring isn't about what I like. It's about what the customer wants."

Her pickiest customers are a men who can't find what they want in any store. They are re-enactors who wear authentic military uniforms from the Revolutionary War to World War II. One of her most recent projects was a 1902 cavalry dress uniform with a black tunic jacket and blue riding pants for Jeff Maahs, a member of the U.S. Cavalry Association, a group that re-enacts cavalry history from 1841 to World War II. Ross has been tailoring uniforms for Maahs for about five years.

He values Ross' skills and willingness to produce authentic replicas from just a picture out of a military archive or history book, he says.

"Most people don't want to make patterns. The unique thing about Maureen is she makes them. She can take a picture or a photograph and make it," he says.

Though both women love the garment-making process, in the end, they say, the reward is in the finished product.

"I love to finish a gown and see people's faces when they try it on for the first time," Smith says.

Sometimes the hardest part of the job is finding a way to tactfully tell clients that the color or style they picked isn't right for them.

"I never know whether to be brutally honest or not," Smith says. "It may look good on a hanger, but when they put it on, it's wrong for their body shape. I don't want to do something and then they are not happy with it. If they spend that much money, they want it to fit right and look good."