A Practical Guide to Life at Harvard: Part II – Help, My Pants Don’t Fit!

Far away from the comforts of home, many of us are flabbergasted when confronted with the basic requirements of acting (and looking) like civilized human beings. This guide will serve as a roadmap to navigating the challenges of taking care of yourself in Cambridge.

In the second part of this four-part series, we will be covering everything clothes-related, from tailors to cobblers to dry cleaners, so you can still wear your clothes post-freshman 15.

J. Press
82 Mt. Auburn St.
Filled with preppy, New England-style clothes, J. Press offers a selection of menswear in addition to their sewing and alteration services. If you’re prepared to spend at the very least several hundred dollars on your custom-altered suit, you can walk out of J. Press looking like a true Harvard Man of yesteryear.

Rizzo Tailor
66 Church St.
If the long line of customers willing to pay only with cash (and not the Crimson kind) and visit from Tuesday to Saturday only are any indication, Rizzo is well worth betting your bottom dollar.

Felix Shoe Repair
1304 Mass. Ave.
Felix doesn’t play—he’ll tell you straight up if you have been abusing your shoes. But by the same token, he offers the services and expertise to elongate the life of those expensive crimson leather pumps that you just had to have.

Arrow Dry Cleaners
1134 Mass. Ave.
Offering a veritable buffet of services, Arrow Dry Cleaners does more than get the wine stain out of your Brooks Brothers suit: they also do tailoring and shoe repair.
Bonus Tip: You can look into their drapery service when you decide to refine your dorm décor.

HSA Cleaners
17 Holyoke St. and four other locations
For those who just want a quick and simple dry-clean before going to a House Formal, HSA can get you spiffy without any fuss. It claims to have the most affordable rates in the Square, and you get an additional 10% off on your first laundry or dry cleaning order.