Simeon’s Fine Tailoring

Can tailor while you wait. I walked in at 5:30 with a pair of pants to be hemmed and was out the door in 15 minutes.
Great place. Cash only.

I became aware of Simeon’s when I bought a new-​off-​the-​rack suit at Keezer’s and was referred to Simeon– I get the impression that Simeon is Keezer’s go-​to referral for alterations. And my alteration needs were many– I am 6’0″ but with the legs of a much taller basketball player, the torso of a 13-​year-​old boy, and the arms of a chimpanzee, so off-​the-​rack clothing basically never fits me, plus the suit pants required hemming. Simeon went about his measurements quietly and efficiently– he’s a man of all business and little talk– and had the suit ready for me at the end of the week. (And yes, the pants and sleeve alterations were good, although it seems that Simeon prefers to hem pants more loosely than us young’uns these days do.) Some months later, my girlfriend also used him to have some new pants shortened in the leg and was happy with the results.
I am not an expert judge of tailors– whenever possible I have my alterations done at the time I purchase the item, which means the alterations are taken care of for me– but in comparison to what I paid to have some sport coats altered at Le Couturier just a block or two on the other side of Mass Ave, Simeon’s prices seemed better, and the quality of the work better as well. However, be warned that he does not take credit cards.

They were able to accommodate me at the last minute. I had a suit that was a bit too big and they finished it in a day. The skirt fits very nicely now and I love it! The sleeve are now the perfect size. Although he couldn’t do the body of the suit due to time constraints and he also didn’t think I needed to fix that part, it still turned out nice. He has a good eye for what needs to be altered and what doesn’t. The price was reasonable, esp for a last minute job. My friends have gotten their suits done for way more. The tailor is also very nice and friendly. Def going to refer my friends here and bring in more stuff for him to alter!

He did an ok job, but he LEFT PINS IN MY DRESS! I put it on and thought the dress was fine, but the first time I sat down a pin went straight into my leg!!! I then searched my dress and found another pin sown into the hem. Will never go again.
DANGEROUS.

I’m a big fan of Simeon’s. He’s a delightful old guy whose work is quick and competent. For everyday alterations and repairs I can’t recommend him enough!

Was recommended by Keezer’s (I bought a suit there)
truly mediocre work. I’m all for supporting local business but I paid $ 15 for a pair of pants to only have the legs shortened a bit… Nothing involving anything else. I could and should have done this myself. Very disappointed. I expected at least that the stitching would be done well!

I’ve brought a bunch of shirts and pants to Simeon. Overall, nice old guy and pretty good work. Not the best tailor by any means, but certainly not the worst. Cost is comparable to the guys downtown.
I have noticed that his work can be a little inconsistent and the quality of his work seems to degrade with the more items you bring in. Only had him botch one shirt on me. Probably not the best tailor to bring something you really care about, like a suit or expensive item or something that needs extensive tailoring. Good for basic tailoring of button down shirts and shortening pants.
Overall, a pretty good option if you don’t feel like going downtown to Best Fit or Jordan the Tailor.

my friend andrew used to refer to an alter ego named ‘golden boy’. golden boy was the person your mom & you really wanted you to be. golden boy called people back on time, showed up to meetings early, golden boy, ate healthily and pretty much just did everything right. when faced with a life decision he would ask himself ‘what would golden boy do?”
i was not channeling golden boy last week. a bridesmaid in a wedding i needed to have my dress shortened. i got the dress in march. the wedding was may 5^th when did i go to get the dress hemmed? oh obviously may 2^nd. right? golden boy would never do that– & neither would his sister.
Enter Simeon. he really wanted to say no. in fact he tried. i was giving him not even 2 full days to hem my complicated chiffoney layered bridesmaid dress. he agreed to do it i praised and thanked him profusely. i told him i would pay anything! to have this dress hemmed.
the was perfectly hemmed & worth every penny. thank you so much. he is the best.

I’ve taken numerous pieces here to get altered (e.g. tuxedo, shirts, pants) and they always come back top notch. Very reasonable pricing, but bring cash bc he doesn’t take credit cards.

Note: have only used their tailoring services.
Very pleased with the work done by Simeon and his wife. Work was done promptly and skillfully. Had a pair of dress pants hemmed, and a dress taken in several inches, and both looked great.
Extra points for being so gracious to the customers. Will be coming back here soon!

I have been going to Simeon for years — like 8 years. My husband goes too. Simeon and his wife Dora have shortened countless pants and jeans, taken in (and let out) dresses and jackets. They did my wedding gown and an amazing silk dress I scored at Filene’s Basement (back in the day when it wasn’t just a gaping hole in Downtown Crossing). They have always done great quality work, and been super friendly and professional. I still go back there even though I moved to Arlington.

This was the only tailor in the whole city willing to tailor my suit in 5 hours. I had procrastinated until the day before my trip to Chicago to get my brand new suit tailored. So, I called every tailor I could find on Unilocal and just about every one of them just laughed in my face. Simeon, was the only one who told me to come over, and hurry.
All in all, he tailored my jacket for $ 50, he fixed the hems of my pants for $ 10 and also made my dress shirt less billowy for $ 15. Maybe I have faint memories of getting my suit tailored in the fashion district of LA for $ 40 in 2 hrs but $ 75 is kinda a lot of money. Especially on a $ 150 Macy’s suit. I was extremely grateful for his speed and last second requests but maybe I shouldn’t have procrastinated.

Expensive for simple work.

Simeon’s is a good tailor with prices that are reasonable for Cambridge. As I am quite petite, I have gone to him to have 12 pairs of pants and three suit jackets hemmed. The work is quick with good quality.
However I have had a few problems here. Once the hem came out of a pair of pants the very next day, which seemed odd to me. Also, beware that he tends to tailor things fairly short. I am sure that this is the «correct» length for pants, but in modern times people like their pants a bit longer, skimming the floor. Make sure you ask for this if you prefer a longer style. I had to take pants back once to make the hem a bit longer, and since they don’t have any computer system or order tracking, he charged me $ 10 each to fix them (Because I couldn’t prove that he had done the tailoring for those particular pants in the first place). Seems like you should give the customer the benefit of the doubt. Finally, they do tend to over-​charge for certain work. I had the hem of a bridesmaid dress (with lining) shortened and it was a shocking $ 75 (half of what I payed for the dress!)
I would certainly continue to go here to have my pants hemmed, but for other garments I might go elsewhere.

Simeon’s is a great local alternative for your dry cleaning and tailoring. A little on each:
Dry-​cleaning. I don’t actually know how to judge this — my clothes are always ready w/​in 48 hours (and sooner if i ask). They’re always clean and they’re always dry. What else is there, really? The prices are the same as nearly everywhere else in Cambridge and they’ve never damaged or lost any of my items.
Simeon’s does a great job of tailoring. I’ve had them do shirts, suits, pants and even jeans. For the latter, I asked him to reattach the original hem, which he was happy to do, along w/​matching thread for my brand new, over-​priced and waaaay too long jeans looked like brand new, over-​priced, perfectly sized jeans w/​in 2 days. Definite plus.

Two thumbs up for Simeon’s! When we moved to Cambridge I had no idea where to go for a tailor. I noticed he was one of the best reviewed tailors/​dry cleaners on Unilocal so I went in a few weeks ago to see if he could tailor a pair of pants that had become way too big. For only $ 20 (! I was paying more like $ 30+ for that in the South End) he tailored my pants beautifully. If you’re a shorty like me, definitely check him out for very affordable, well done alterations. AND, he’s open almost all day on Saturday which is very convenient.
Cash only!

Start: Dirty suit, tear near pocket of suit pants.
Add: $ 16 ($ 11 cleaning, $ 5 repair — pretty reasonable for Cambridge)
Result: Clean suit, fixed pants.
Quick, easy, trustworthy, no hassle. Works for me.

I’ve gotten a couple of items hemmed here before.
Recently, I took in a pair of work pants and a pencil skirt. Simeon said he couldn’t do a whole lot with the skirt in terms of shortening it because of the hem on the bottom. I made a suggestion, which apparently he hadn’t thought of, and he pinned it. Wanted to get some of the fabric removed (it’s a little big at the bottom), but he said he couldn’t do it.
Went back to pick up my clothes – $ 30 FOR TWO ITEMS. Seriously, dude? Probably took you about 10 minutes to sew the bottoms of my pants, and the workmanship was crappy. Single stitched, loosely sewn.
I’ve also had a couple of things dry cleaned here in the past, one of which got completely ruined and washed out. And he wasn’t very apologetic.
The only reason I went back here was because it’s by my apartment. Good thing I’m moving.

So far so good. i haven’t yet picked up the items I’m having Simeon tailor, so my review is as yet incomplete. But I will say that he was incredible accommodating and agreed to hem a dress and 2 pairs of pants within 2 days for me. Picking up tomorrow, and will hopefully come back to complete this review with rave, glowing comments about how his workmanship matches his customer service.
****edited****
Bummer. I had to knock Simeon down to 3 stars because his tailoring wasn’t primo. At all. Had a polyester/​rayon dress hemmed and the hem is puckered. Had two pairs of pants hemmed, and one of them, the hem is uneven. The other is too short, but I guess I can’t blame him for that, as I should have noticed it when he did the measuring.
lad he was so accommodating, and in a pinch I might return, but it’s more likely I’ll be seeking out tailoring elsewhere. Back to the Unilocal drawing board.

I used Unilocal for something useful. That makes a change from using it to chat about bass solos and Alanis Morisette’s irony problems. What Unilocal told me was that there was a good tailor, who also did dry cleaning not too far from me.
Unilocal wasn’t wrong but Simeon wasn’t cheap either, and although I’m very happy with the outcome I don’t think 15 dollars and 4 days to stitch up a simple tear is justified. I mean, the jacket only cost 10 dollars as vintage anyway and my money didn’t cover the torn lining either.
Nice place, nice people and good service — just don’t use them to make up for your own laziness when it comes to some simple stitching.