Tailoring At The Marine Shop
The Marine Shop has measured and tailored for thousands of Marines over the years, as fitting the greatest fighting force with the greatest uniforms is our greatest goal. Ever since Major Harry Elms opened The Marine Shop in 1962, Marines have been coming to us for the best service and the best uniforms.
For decades, the only way to get measured for a uniform was to come into The Marine Shop to be seen by one of our word-class tailors for measurements and fitting, but with advent of the internet a new option was added, online ordering. We’ve released a few videos to aid Marines all over the world with their measurements, but nothing is more accurate or satisfying than being professionally tailored in store.
“Coming to The Marine Shop is an experience. I love my job here for many reasons – but what I love most is the personal aspect of working one on one with our customers, our Marines. We take pride to help ensure their uniform is in perfect condition with the help of the best tailors. Being located at the crossroads of The Marine Corps, you never know who you will run into – seeing these reunions and hearing the stories our customers share is always meaningful and humbling.”
–Maddie McCollum
Nhean Keo, Head Tailor at the Marine Shop, precisely matches a uniform to a Marine.
We’ve always welcomed walk-ins, but unfortunately, there are times when many Marines are queued up in our store to get measured and a professional, accurate measurement can take upwards of thirty minutes or more. With that in mind, we have brought back appointment scheduling for the first time in many years. By using our booking platform, you can save time and cut the line and guarantee that a tailor will see you.
We do currently have a 48-hour notice period, this way we can contact you if something were to happen that would interfere with our appointment period. We also have a few different types of appointments available, which help our staff prepare for your arrival.
- Alterations: If you already own your uniform and need to fit back into it, choose alterations. If your appointment doesn’t fit into the other categories, odds are you need Alterations.
- Evening Dress: Oftentimes when a Captain is promoted to Major a Marine will need to be tailored a new uniform, their Evening (or Mess) Dress uniform.
- General Officer Promotion: When a Marine is promoted to General Officer, they require a full suite of updates to their uniforms.
- Commissioning: When a young person is commissioning into the Marine Corps they face the daunting task of buying all new uniforms with all of the accoutrements that come along with them.
We strive to be there for every Marine we can, and we hope to see you in our store at some point along your Marine Corps journey.
“The Marine Shop has 8 tailors, 2 of which are Master tailors with more than 30 yrs experience. They custom fit every piece to the Marines measurements because they realize the last thing Marines need to be worried about is how their uniform fits. Why use our professional tailors? Because they tailor to perfection. The look on their faces when they step into their uniform is priceless.”
-Karen Crawford-Birden, General Manager
