Dyer’s Custom Tailoring

I’ve taken a number of clothes here to get tailored over the past 2 years, from chinos to suits. I have been extremely happy with every single tailoring job they have done. Not once have I had to ask for further modifications or changes.
In addition to the quality of tailoring, the pricing here is very fair, and they always get things done in a timely manner. This is the only place I take things to get tailored in Durham, and I would recommend it to anyone.

Mr. Dyer did exactly what I asked him to and what he said he’d do. I asked him to alter shoulders of a coat I had recently bought. I liked the overall design and the material of it, but the shoulders were too big that the sleeves were dangling down on my upper biceps. When I came in for fitting, he measured where my shoulders end with pins and told me that it would take about 4 – 5 days to adjust the shoulders. I asked if the process could be expedited because I was off to New York in 3 days, and he said he’d try. voila! he got me a coat that fits me perfectly at $ 30 in 2 days! I’m definitely coming back here.

It looks like Mr. Dyer has gotten some bad reviews here because of his customer service. I think that’s a totally fair criticism. For better or for worse, his expertise is in tailoring, not in running a business. From what I can tell, it’s more or less a one man operation here (I think his partner helps out at the register sometimes). I’ve had a couple of incidents myself when there was confusion about what date the garment would be ready by or not getting a call when it was finished. Nothing major, though. He may seem a bit disorganized sometimes, but he is never rude or anything.
His work is the best I’ve found in this area. I once brought in a made-​to-​measure suit from a major MTM company for some adjustments. I actually thought it fit pretty well coming in, but he did a great job of patiently explaining to me why the fit was actually pretty subpar. He showed me the alterations he wanted to make, and I was very impressed by how much better the fit was afterwards. I’ve never had a tailor actually take the time to explain his thought process to me in this much detail, and I really appreciated it. His passion and knowledge really showed through.
Because of his attention to detail, Mr. Dyer is admittedly not the fastest tailor, and his prices may be a little higher than what you’d expect. For something quick and dirty like a simple hem, I would actually suggest going elsewhere. But for a more expensive article of clothing that requires care and quality craftsmanship, I wouldn’t go anywhere else. You don’t want to rush or cheap out on items like that.

Mr. Dyer is the only tailor I trust in the RDU area. I’ve used several other tailors who were unable to properly fit my garments, but Mr. Dyer gets it right every time. I’ve even trusted him with some of my custom made dance costumes from Europe (some of which cost several thousands of dollars) and he’s done an excellent job of altering them. I’ve never been disappointed. Keep in mind he can be rather slow, but as long as you give him a couple weeks you shouldn’t have a problem.

Mr. Dyer knows how a man’s suit should fit. I remember the first time I visited his shop some years ago he pointed out where my suit did not fit properly. I was surprised because I thought I knew something about how a suit should fit. Since then Mr. Dyer has tailored other clothing for me and I have found his work to be excellent. I recommend him highly.

This little shop is wonderful. Mr. Dyer is friendly, helpful, and fast. In the last 6 months I’ve had 3 dresses altered (both taken in and hemmed) — one of which was a bridesmaid dress. I’ve also had sleeves taken up and a jacket repaired. The pricing is fair and he is able to work quickly! I’m so relieved to have found a reliable tailor in Durham.

My body shape’s not super friendly for clothes. Mr. Dyer makes them friendly, for cheap. I’ve tried half a dozen other places in the triangle, this place is the best and the cheapest.

I needed a pair of pants repaired; Mr. Dyer (I assume) fixed them while I waited. Price was extremely reasonable. Many of my friends in the area use his shop and have had positive experiences. These people do honest, high quality work.

Mr. Dyer was very helpful as I was having an off-​the rack suit tailored for my wedding. I am not particularly knowledgeable about fine clothing, so feel free to take this with a grain of salt. I brought in a number of suits and Mr. Dyer gave his opinion of the fit of each one until we settled on the one that fit me best and would require the fewest alterations. It was very nice to have a trustworthy independent voice (rather than the salesperson at the clothing stores). The work was generally very high quality. There was one instance where the sleeves did not end up quite right, but to be fair, my arms hang down at different lengths. He resolved the problem within an hour or two.

Very sweet spot tucked next to an artesian chocolate store. Many current fashion magazines (guilty pleasure) to flip through while I waited a short time to have some cuffs hand hemmed in the back. The pants were being hemmed for a big deal movie lady and I had to have them ASAP. I was so happy for a $ 12 price and it took no time at all. Highly recommend stopping by Dyer’s for quality service and fashion tips from glossy magazines. I mean, if you are into that kind of thing.

Super nice people! And, I’ve only had good experiences with their tailoring work. They shortened some jeans for me that look great, and when I needed a small alteration to a dress and it wasn’t ready when they said it would be (because one of their machines went down that day), they did it while I waited (for less than 2 minutes) and did it for free. I definitely recommend them!

Can’t stand behind a place that insists on having terrible customer service. I’ve been here twice, once to get some pants brought in and tapered ($ 70 total for four pants) and then again to just have two pants brought in at the waist ($ 24 total). Prices are steep, especially for Durham, but I figure as long as they are doing a good job those prices aren’t particularly outrageous or anything. They did a fine job, nothing special (i.e. I didn’t see any particular attention to detail — e.g. belt straps were sewn back on slightly differently from how they were before) but they did what I needed them to do.
So then comes to the customer service part. The first time, we agreed on a finish date when I dropped the pants off. On that date I came back and was told the pants weren’t ready. No call beforehand letting me know that they couldn’t do it in time and that I shouldn’t come in. I leave and call in the next day, still not ready. It took a full week after the original expected date before they were ready. I figured maybe this was an outlier experience so I didn’t want to dismiss the place.
The second time I went was for a simple waist reduction on the pants. He said it would be ready the next day. I was surprised and asked whether I should just come in or if I should call. He said I could just come in and it’ll be ready but then thought about it and said that he would call me and that I should just wait for the call after all. Next day, no call. Following day, no call. Third day after original expected date, I call in myself and they’re like «oh it’s been ready». I ask if they tried calling — nope, didn’t try, no apology, nothing. I go in to get my pants and when I get home the pants had a belt strap that hadn’t been re-​sewn. I take it back in and they make me wait there for 10 min while they sew the thing back on and murmur some half apology under-​their-​breath and have me on my way.
As the saying goes, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. There won’t be a third time.

10 months later, I went back to Dyers in hopes of getting my money back. The tailor insisted in fixing the dress so I said fine, and I put on the dress and he measured me again. He said he would have it done in 10 minutes and I could just wait. So I did. I tried on the dress and the bottom was still crooked. I was not happy. So he said he just wanted to cut it straight with out measuring it. So over all, he hemmed the dress 3 times making it shorter than I wanted. I was so pissed and over it that I just left. I’m going to a more professional place next time.

Good service level, but the prices are pretty bloated. It normally costs $ 70 – 80 to get a suit altered (tapered, shortening sleeves, hemming pants, etc). Dyer charges $ 100+ for a suit. I was pretty floored by the exorbitant price, and will be looking for a different tailor despite his high quality of work.

This place is awesome! Mr. Dyer just altered a few of my dresses and they came out beautifully. One he even did within 24 hrs bc I needed it for a party. His prices are super reasonable (about $ 25 per dress) and fixed a bunch of hemlines on other things for me for really cheap. He truly is talented and this is such a find in Durham!

Not only is Mr. Dyer talented, he is a fantastic person. He was altering a new dress after I had lost weight and became newly single. This was my «girls night out» debut dress. He made me look extra fantastic, and encouraged me to be happy and do well. Who would ever expect that from their tailor? Well, if you want a genuine person with the talent to really tailor, stop by to see Mr. Dyer.

My wife and I have taken just about every jacket/​suit/​trousers/​dress we have bought in the past five years to Dyer’s. (Even the most high-​end outfits «off the rack» can be significantly improved with tailoring.) We’ve also both had suits, jackets, trousers, and dress shirts from a «looser-​fitting» era taken in for the more tailored, fitted, slim-​legged, skinnier-​arm-​hole, etc, look of this decade. He has probably fine-​tuned at least 100 items of clothing for us over this period. He does exquisite work. Better than any tailor we had in New York, before moving to Durham. I know for a fact that most of the smartest dressers among Duke senior administrators and faculty are Dyer’s clients — because I have bumped into them there!

I really hate to give this place 1 star because I honestly don’t know the quality of their work. However, I am giving them 1 star based on their professionalism. I had a really great dress for my engagement party that I needed altered due to my awkward shape. I took my dress in uncertain whether this particular dress could be altered. I asked Mr. Dyer whether it was even possible for this dress to be altered and he told me that he could let about an inch out. I then asked if it could be ready by the date that I needed it by… Yes, I know that I was asking A LOT for it to be ready by this date, but Mr. Dyer said that he could have it ready. I went out of town and needed to have my finacee pick up the dress on the day that it was due. When he got there 15 minutes before closing, they hadn’t even looked at my dress. When they actually started to look at the dress, it was discovered that it was not possible to let out one side and hence it was not possible to give me the inch that I needed.
It is infuriating to me that they did not even bother to look at my dress until they were practically ready to close for the day when they assured me that it would be ready… I know that if my fiancée hadn’t been there to pick it up on that day, it wouldn’t have been ready at all. Moreover, if they had bothered to look at the dress prior to 15 minutes before closing, they could have called me to tell me that it actually wasn’t possible to do what they thought they could do. But, I got no phone call and was left having to find a new dress for my engagement party on Black Friday… let me tell you how fun that was!

Finding a good tailor is tough. With no lack of tailors in the area, it’s less an issue of finding one and more finding one that is reliable, quick (without sacrificing quality), and affordable. After seeing lots of great reviews on Dyers, I was surprised that such a highly-​rated tailor was right under my noise in «my neck of the woods» in Durham.
So without hesitation, I wanted to check out Dyers to have two pairs of jeans hemmed. Mr. Dyer was very welcoming and helpful. There was only one other customer in the store, who seemed to be casually hanging out and talking about alterations. Turns out he was a long time customer, which was really reassuring. I’ve never been to a tailors where people just hang out and talk, tells me that Mr. Dyer is doing a good job keeping customers happy and bringing them back time after time.
Mr. Dyer was really helpful in discussing the length of the altered hem, and after some quick markings, he asked when I needed them completed. Without any immediate need, he said he would give me a call to let me know when he could complete them. To my (happy) surprise he called me in 2 days (dropped them off on a Tuesday after 5pm and received a call on Thursday morning that they were completed). The cost of the hem was $ 12, but not bad considering it was perfectly done and completed under 48 hours! My only, very minor, complaint is the changing rooms are small, but not a big deal at all. Check-​out was super easy, looks like he just recently acquired a square (iphone credit card charger) so no paper trail and you’re out in a flash. If you’re looking for a reliable tailor in Durham, check out Dyers!

Hooray! I’ve found a new tailor I can trust, that no longer requires driving into Chapel Hill for! The shop was b-​u-​s-​y when I arrived: two folks trying on clothes, two others waiting in the lobby. But Mr. Dyer has furnished the waiting room with colorful magazines and books about Antigua (his hometown). He also stepped out to apologize for the wait, and keep us apprised.
There’s a great 3-​way mirror, and a step-​up, once you’re modeling your clothes. I brought in a skirt and a pair of pants, that both needed to be taken in, as well as a new pair of jeans that needed hemming. He turned everything around in just 5 days, and for ~$ 50, giving a courtesy call to let me know when the items were ready for pick-​up. Two of my three items were perfectly pressed (the third oddly doesn’t look like it got ironed; I brought it in pretty wrinkly to begin with, so it may just need another good go). I also forgot to mention, when dropping my clothes off, that I prefer to salvage the original hem on jeans. When I received them, they were tucked up and under, creating a new hem. So I’ll be sure to bring it up next time. All that said, each of my items was very professionally tailored — and everything fits like a glove now. To top it off, Mr. Dyer’s genuine warmth just makes this shop the kind of place you want to bring your business to!