Roland’s Custom Tailors

I needed a gown altered that was made out of a very difficult fabric for a black tie gala and (of course!) I waited much too long to have it tailored. Roland’s to the rescue with great work, fast! I read some of the negative reviews on Unilocal before taking my dress to Roland’s. The positive reviews outweighed the negatives for me, obviously, and I have to say I’m baffled by the negatives now that I’ve experienced the place. «The old Asian guy» referred to is the owner and he’s a master tailor. He is a custom suit maker. While I was waiting, 4 gentlemen came in to pick-​up suits and I assure you, they can buy their clothes anywhere. The respect they showed «the old Asian guy“and their clothes said it all.

I took three pairs of pants here to have them hemmed. The Asian gentleman referred to in the other reviews asked me to try them on, which I did. I left very specific directions, which he agreed to. When I went to pick up the pants three days later, he had disregarded my request but charged me the full price. I will not continue going to Roland’s Tailors.

I was searching for the number of Roland’s on the web and saw the prior review. I did not want his review to be the only reference to this shop that I have used for many years.
I also understand the perspective of the prior reviewer, and I can imagine my son might have the same perspective (he also would not care whether his suit was altered by the dry cleaner or a tailor). There is a difference, and while I would go to the dry cleaner to have minor alternations, I would not trust them with an expensive suit.
My guess is that the gentleman he refers to was the Asian man who is there most of the time. He is not pretentious at all, and I would be very surprised if he made any kind of negative comment on a suit from Banana Republic (which is fine by me). Maybe it was a misunderstanding. I would not rely on him for fashion advice, but he knows what he is doing and asks the right questions (e.g, «do you want working buttons on the suit sleeves?»). I have brought him $ 3,000 sport coats, suits, minks, tuxedos, etc. And, I have seen national broadcast journalists and other familiar faces in the shop.
It is not fancy (no Italian accent) and it is probably a little more expensive than the dry cleaner, but he is a professional, and it is convenient if you live in McLean. I recommend the shop.

I cannot in good conscience recommend this place to anyone. While I’m sure the man I encountered working in this tailor shop was not the actual «Roland» himself, who claims to have 25 years of experience in the DC area, he was still the only one working so this review is based on my assessment that he is probably one of just a few employees there and thereby a fair representation of the business.
I had just purchased a great new suit at Tyson’s and was looking to have it fitted quickly, so I went to the closest tailor I could find near my house. I stopped in to see this guy and he quickly told me to go into the room and change into it. I decided the pants fit just fine, but I wanted to coat brought in a little as I like mine to fit tighter and show off the chest a bit. He chalked and pinned me up without saying much at all, besides a snide remark about where I bought the suit (Banana Republic). After getting redressed I went to drop the suit off and he had written me a ticket for the pants (which I had told him I didn’t need tailored) and the jacket for a total of $ 80. I told him again I didn’t need anything done to the pants, and he responded «Oh ok, it’s $ 80 for the jacket…$ 40 for the sides and $ 40 for the arms.»
I couldn’t believe he was trying to pull this over on me, especially when I’m already dressed in a suit, which had obviously been tailored before. It’s not like it was Toys R’ Us «My First Suit» day or something. I told him he must be crazy, and the dry cleaner down the street had quoted me $ 35 for the whole suit. He said «Ahaha, dry cleaners… this is custom work!»
Really? Custom work at a tailor shop? NO $#!& Sherlock. I picked up my clothes and promptly walked out, regretting that I had lost 20 minutes of my life. The only reason this is a 2 star instead of a 1 is I can’t speak for the man’s actual tailoring ability, and he seemed to have some nice «custom made» pieces for sale in the store as well. Also he had a really cool cast-​iron Yoda statue I wasn’t able to get a picture of, if only he had learned to «do» and not «try.»