Smiths BlackTie & Tailoring

I don’t normally review businesses on Unilocal.This is my first review, and I get so infuriated and heartbroken every time I think about our experience renting and buying tuxes at this place, and how rude the owner Bob treated my husband, 7 groomsmen, and how he insulted my father!
The first visit was all friendly (now that I think back, I see how fake, cunning, and dishonest Bob was). I told Bob my father lives in South America, and he wouldn’t be in the country until two weeks before the wedding. Bob said it wouldn’t be a problem, and it would be around $ 125 to rent and less than $ 300 to buy.
My dad wanted everything at my wedding to be perfect, so he made a special weekend trip up here a month before the wedding just to try on tux. We went to see Bob, and his price to buy suddenly changed to $ 600-​$ 700. We reminded him what he told us during the first visit. He then changed his mind and gave us the «best offer», $ 420 to buy. After measuring my dad, he then handed us the bill that said $ 570. I was so frustrated and questioned him why. He said it was because the $ 570 has the label. I told him we did not ask for it, and he finally adjusted the price to $ 420.
We came in to pick up my dad’s tux two days before the wedding, and what he gave my dad was NOT the style he paid for! Bob said the style he wanted did not come in the material he wanted — mind you NOBODY even informed us about it for the entire month, and this was two days before the wedding. We didn’t really have any other option at this point. The tux needs some adjustment, and the tailor was not able to finish adjusting it that day so we left.
Besides my father buying it from here, my husband and his 7 groomsmen also rented from this place. All of them went to pick up theirs the day before the wedding as told, and 7 of the tuxes need alternations. It took over 2 hours for them to work on it, and my dad was still not fixed right, and he had to go back the day of the wedding to pick it up!
Several groomsmen told me how rude, insulting he treated my father when I was not there (who does not speak much English).
Bob is DISHONEST, TRECHEROUS, EXTREMELY RUDE, INSULTING, and LOW CLASS. If you do not want to share the same distressing experience, STAY AWAY!!!

The best service, quality suit selection and last minute accodations.
Thank you for making my son’s prom memorable.

I can only speak from my experience of shopping there once with the help of one sales associate. He had an attitude for sure. I initially started off stating I was only in to browse for a suit for a work event. From the start I knew he wasn’t going to let me shop on my own. So he assisted me and had me try on a suit. When I tried it on — the pants were too long by about 8 inches. I know this is procedure because they usually require tailoring. However, I have been places they’ll at least pin it up for you to get a better visual as you try it on. He then asked me «so, what do you think.» I said it seemed good but it was hard to get a feel for how the pants would fit. His response was «why.» So I explained because they’re about 8 inches too long and completely bunched up. He said well if you buy it we can get the tailor over here to fix that — then he said «so, what do you think. are you ready to buy?» I kindly said no I wasn’t ready to buy today.
This must have made him mad. He looked at me like I had 9 heads and condescendingly proceeded with «hm, may I ask why not?» I told him I never planned on buying and I wanted to shop around first (imagine that! I must be crazy). He responded again with «hmmm. ok then.» Then he promptly told me he could take the suit back for me.
LOL. It was like a car salesman who got mad because I refused to buy. People shop around. No attitude is necessary from a store employee because a shopper is «shopping».

My son has been renting from Black Tie since his Junior Prom in high school. He now is 23 and works as a real estate analyst in Manhattan. He had a wedding to go to and he would have purchased a tux but he works out and, his body is constantly changing so it made more sense to wait to buy one. He decided to go to his «go to tux store» and took the train from New York. Black Tie is now Smith’s Black Tie and and under new management, their service and expertise is even BETTER than the previous owners. The best thing about this place besides their willingness to bend over backward for you and their talent with a needle is the degree they will tailor your tux. Check out other tux rental places including Men’s Wearhouse. The only alterations they will make to the tux is sleeve and pant length and unless your body perfectly matches the size of the suit you can easily end up looking like a yabo/​bumpkin. This place expertly tapers the SIDES of the suit and fits the pants. The result … a custom, polished look. Believe me it makes all the difference in the world. Nobody else does this, ask around. The other guys just want you in and out, it’s an assembly line.

Went to Smith’s to get my formal dress altered and the owner was absolutely wonderful to work with. I had tried several other tailoring shops downtown and they all seemed overpriced and not very interested in helping me. Smith’s was able to do the work in a timely fashion for a reasonable price. They were so friendly and helpful. The end result was beautiful, the fit was perfect and seams were flawless. I had such a great experience that I went back to get my husband’s pants altered. And again, they went out of their way to accommodate our tight deadline and did a fabulous job for a good price. Definitely recommend!

I rented a vest here for a work function. My rental was last minute and I really appreciate the accommodating nature of everyone I dealt with. That said, when I checked out, I was charged for my rental via a «Custom Amount» on Square. I was emailed my receipt and this was the extent of information I had about my purchase. I was not told when to have it back, or even if I was buying or renting the vest.
When it came time to return the vest, I went back to the store and asked «did I buy or rent this?», but no one could answer that simple question. I recognize that some of the blame falls on me for not asking in the first place, but I was in a rush and it slipped my mind since I assumed it was a rental. My fail-​safe as a consumer should be asking the shop, but when they don’t even know, that equals some questionable business practices if you ask me.
Eventually I talked to the man who I believe is the owner and he cleared up the situation (I rented it). The reason for my two-​star review was the seemingly shady business practices involved. My receipt was worthless because it provided no information about my purchase. Then when I had a simple question about the nature of my purchase, no one could answer me. Something stinks…
Make sure you’re getting a fair deal when shopping here

Came into town the night before a wedding very unprepared but was able to get a snazzy tux in under an hour from Smith’s! Super helpful, great work, friendly and in a cool area. Conveniently had a pick up option from my hotel as well which really helped! Overall I would definitely recommend Smith’s Black Tie & Tailoring.

I was in Philly recently for one of a cousin’s wedding. I was already traveling extensively before arriving in Philly and carrying a suit with me would have been a huge pain. Renting was the way to go and these guys were fantastic.
It was super easy to set up everything with them from out of state and pricing was fair. Just send them your measurements and they’ll take care of you. It was super easy to work with them once there too. The suit worked out great and they let you leave it at your hotel (if in the area) for them to pick up. This was very convenient since I left on a Sunday when they were closed.
If ever needed again and in the area, I would definitely use these guys over mens warehouse any day.

THE SOLE TO MY SHOE FELL OFF!
Called for 2 weeks and left 3 – 4 messages both on the machine and with other associates. They all said that they couldn’t help me and only the manager could. He never called me back!
Finally I called and got him on the phone and the best he could offer was a $ 20 refund??? I was walking around the wedding with ONE SHOE ON and he didn’t even seem to care. He said that there was nothing wrong with the suit, so why should he refund it. Terrible experience.

While driving from Boston to a wedding, my boyfriend realized that he forgot his suit. We both couldn’t believe it. Probably something we will laugh about down the road, but in the meantime, what a pain!
We found this Black Tie Formal Wear on google maps and decided to see if we could rent something to return the next day. The woman who helped us was unbelievably accommodating, warm, and helpful.
Immediately upon explaining our situation, she was helping him pick out exactly what he wanted. We got the perfect color, fit, and style within 30 minutes, and then after a few alterations, it was ready to go 30 minutes after that.
She even called local businesses to find a location for us to drop it off the next day (when the store was closed!)
Speedy, friendly, and helpful. We ended up looking like a smashing pair thanks to Black Tie Formal Wear, and I can’t imagine a way that they could have been better.
Thanks!

This was the worst customer service I’ve ever experienced. Men’s warehouse was more helpful than these guys! My fiancé and I walked in and were never greeted. Two gentlemen that were behind the counter continued their conversation as if no one had walked in. I initiated an awkward hello and felt as if I was interrupting something important. After looking around and asking a question about gray tuxes, we were told «gray isn’t in right now». I will never go back or recommend this awful place.

DO NOT USE THIS STORE FOR YOUR WEDDING. If you are a high school student looking for a cheap tux for your prom, get after it. If it’s your wedding day-​stay clear. There were too many issues with this place to list, but I will try:
1. It took 6 months to get an order of pocket squares in, when they finally came in the order was short by one. Instead of ordering more, they cut one square in two, did not share this with me and charged us full price and handed the items over in a bag and ushered me out of the store so that I did not have time to check my order. When I came back to the store, the? manager? was surprised that I was so bothered by this-​three days before my wedding, because despite stopping in the week before, leaving my phone number (as well as already having the phone numbers of each order placed) and calling they weren’t sure how to get in touch with me. Give me a break. Finally as I had to stand over the manager she called in a new order and magically new (though slightly different colors) pocket squares appeared.
2. Of the eight tuxedos ordered, two were correct when it came to sizing and what was included in the package. One groomsman was asked where he was fitted as his sizes were «totally wrong». Ummmm AT THIS STORE. The special tailoring they promised took over an hour for some of the groomsman and this was mainly due to the fact that incorrect sizes had been ordered (again they were all measured at this location). It was also discovered that HALF of the orders had TIES and the other half had BOW TIES (bow ties is what we ordered).
3. When leaving the store one person paid for his son’s tux as well as his own. When his son went to leave he was accosted by a salesperson that he must pay for his tux. When he said it was already paid for, they gave him a hard time.
4. Though selecting a high end brand for tuxedos (the cost was $ 200 per tux with a slight discount even), while standing in line to head into the reception to be announced a button fell off one of the groomsmen’s jackets. It was not buttoned, he was not moving simply standing and speaking to someone and plop there it was on the ground. Thank goodness for the sewing skills of someone at our venue.
Bottom line, the woman working there is sweet but that does not make up for the horrible service and stress days before the most important day of your life.

Friendly people but they let me leave the store with an expensive tux that did not fit well. They altered the hell out of it and I’m stuck with it. You only get married for the first time once! I bought another tux from the Men’s Wearhouse in King of Prussia for $ 200 less. My rep Robert didn’t let me leave with an «ok fitting» tux. I feel cheated. A $ 450 lesson I will never forget. Start early and take your time or it will cost you an arm and a leg.

Very friendly and great customer service. Just moved to the city and discovered I needed a tux asap. They took great care of me and were very understanding about pickup/​dropoff times. I will be sure to use them again.

I needed a tux for orchestra. I walked in and only had to wait a few minutes for a salesperson even though it was the middle of the afternoon on a Saturday and they had a groom party. They were fast and helpful, getting me an appropriate tux for a reasonable price. It felt a little rushed, but I didn’t ever feel as though I wasn’t a priority. He had my adjustments marked quickly and it will be ready in just a few days.

I was very satisfied with our experience. My boyfriend was picking up his Tux for a wedding over the weekend. He had packed on a extra pound or two so when he tried his tux on it needed some adjustments. The guy there was extremely helpful and was more then happy to make any changes nesc. Even cracks a few jokes to keep things fun. I also liked that we were able to leave the tux at our hotel for them to pick up. Very very good customer service and product. My man looked dashing in his gear.

Pretty happy to have discovered this gem. I regret to admit that last year I had become a frequent patron of Men’s Wearhouse on Chestnut Street just because I hadn’t done my homework and knew what to expect at an MW.
However, for one reason or another I ended up here at Black Tie and I’m glad that I did. I was in need of a last minute tux shirt. I came in, was greeted and attended to even though they were completely swamped with a groom party and was able to be in/​out with a tux shirt at an affordable price, in my size within just a few minutes.
This will definitely be my go-​to for formal wear purchases or rentals. The pricing is reasonable as well.

I wish I knew the name of the extremely friendly and helpful girl who helped me. I rented a tux here for a wedding about 6 months ago. I accidentally returned my suit jacket to them instead of the tux jacket when the groom returned the rental. 6 months later they still had my suit jacket and sent it to me in a day. That’s service.

This place is outstanding.

I called Black Tie one day during a visit to Philly because I needed a shirt and pants pressed. The gentleman who answered the phone was very nice and told me they could accomodate me. I took my garmets in and they took care of it immediately, and at no charge because I am from California, I was told. Exceptional.

If you had to, say, pick out a tuxedo for a wedding and don’t care much for comparison shopping if someone at the first place you go to is really nice, then you should go here and ask for David. He comes highly recommended.
You could probably even tell yourself «well, I bet most tuxedo places charge the same anyway» without actually knowing if that’s true or maybe even «brown is probably hard to find».