Dressmaker?

Bredabe

I need to find a dressmaker-pref in the city-to make a formal suit for me(ladies), who can cut a pattern and give advice on what shape/fabric/shopping. BUT not cost the earth.

Any ideas where I can find such a creature?

Neyite

I can recommend someone in Galway city - Olga's but what you are asking them to do is going to be expensive so breaks your 'not cost the earth' stipulation.

Enough material to make a suit and in a suiting fabric will likely cost you upwards of €60 at least if you buy it in a fabric shop in Ireland. Using a cheaper or inferior fabric to save on costs will leave you with a cheap looking suit, even if it's well made.

Then measuring you up, pattern adjustment, cutting, sewing, fitting, and finishing will take time and not come cheap either I'm sorry to say.

It would be by far the cheaper option to buy a good suit in one of the shops such as Next or Debenhams and get the dressmaker to alter it to your shape.

It used to be that people could save money by making clothes themselves but these days it actually costs far more than what you'd spend in a shop on the dress or suit. I have got great fabrics online much cheaper so that's where I prefer to shop, but if it's a one-off purchase where it might turn out to be not right for this project and you don't sew as a hobby, then it could be a risk as they don't accept returns of fabrics cut off the bolt. With me I know that if its not what I want for my particular project, I'll use it for something down the line so it's not money wasted, you know?

It's worth asking Olgas what their rates would be.