Italian Custom Tailors to host fashion show Nov. 30
Pedro Lopez, owner of Italian Custom Tailors, located at 2784 Crain Highway in Waldorf, announced he will host his first fashion show event to introduce the latest in his collection of custom-made men’s attire. The show will take place from 7 p.m. until midnight on Friday, Nov. 30, in the MGM Grand Ballroom at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill.
Lopez is a master tailor who said he was born and raised in Costa Rica, where he learned his craft at an early age and ran a tailoring business of his own.
“When I was 13 years old, I [made] my first pair of pants,” Lopez said. “I went to work at different tailor shops in Costa Rica … when I was 18 years old, I opened my first tailor shop.”
In 2001, Lopez said he left Costa Rica “to have a better future” in the United States. His travels took him to Michigan to be near a friend, where he took classes to learn English, and said he worked several jobs to “keep busy” and help make ends meet.
“I used to work 18 to 20 hours a day, I [slept] four hours, three hours a day,” Lopez said.
Lopez eventually landed a job as a tailor with a large menswear retailer. Looking to escape the region’s cold weather, Lopez said he transferred his position with the company to a existing retail location in Virginia, then later to a new location in Waldorf.
It was during this time when Lopez said he also ran his own Waldorf-based landscaping company, and started Tailor Express Services, a mobile-based business that catered to the tailoring needs of customers on the go.
In the fall of 2016, opportunity knocked once again for Lopez as master tailor with the uniform department at a local resort and casino.
“They called me for the interview and I got the job,” Lopez said. “We had to put together uniforms for all employees for the grand opening on Dec. 8, 2016, and we did it.”
In March of last year, Lopez said he left his job with the resort and casino to become the new owner of Italian Custom Tailors in Waldorf, a shop specializing in alteration services for mens- and womenswear, and custom-made men’s suits and shirts, vests, neckties, bowties and pocket squares. The shop also offers tuxedo rentals and sales for any occasion, men’s suits sold by size and suits made-to-measure, and an assortment of menswear accessories.
Lopez said his fashion show on Nov. 30 will showcase the latest attire in his custom-made menswear collection, and will also feature women’s fashions by guest designers, special guests, live music, vendors, appetizers, cash bars, after party, dancing, raffles and more.
“My dream is to make my fashion show, because it’s my first one,” Lopez said. “I never [had] a fashion show. This is my dream for right now.”
“But, my dream is to continue to be a tailor and grow my business and make clothes, and make my business be successful,” Lopez added.
For more information on Italian Custom Tailors and the upcoming fashion show, or to purchase tickets to the event, go to www.facebook. com/Italian-costum-Tailors-506610669749501 or Eventbrite.