We’re delighted to introduce you to Maria Gonzalez, Flair’s professional tailor in Redondo Beach. Maria has been tailoring clothes for as long as she can remember, at least 25 years or more. For the past three years, she’s been taking care of our customers at Flair Cleaners. Maria learned her profession in Mexico where she attended a professional tailoring school.
In an average week, Maria will tailor up to 125 different garments. Depending on the complexity, each piece can take between one and two hours to complete. Beaded garments, for example, take much longer. To shorten a beaded dress, she must first take off the beading by hand, shorten the dress, and then re-apply beads by hand as needed.
Redondo Beach Tailor Tips
Maria couldn’t pick one item she loves more than others to tailor. She said she likes everything as every garment has a story. Her greatest pleasure is in helping people look and feel good in their clothes – when they are happy, she is happy! While pants and jackets are the most common pieces she tailors, Maria has done a little bit of everything, including wedding dresses, alterations for weight loss, up-cycling clothes to change their appearance, and even costumes.
As for advice to customers, Maria has two tips:
- Always clean your clothes before bringing them for tailoring, even if they are new. If you forget, Flair will take care of it.
- Leave alterations to the experts. The hardest thing to do is to try to fix a garment that someone has tried to alter unsuccessfully. Sometimes it is impossible to fix.
On busy weeks, Maria may take a moment at the end, look at all the pieces she’s completed, and feel a great sense of accomplishment. It’s no wonder, from what we’ve heard, there she has never had a disappointed customer.
Be sure to say hello to Maria on you next visit to Flair Cleaners Redondo Beach – she’s in daily except Sundays! And, if you have a garment that needs a quick fix or a complete re-design, Maria will be happy to help!
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