Weird Wednesday: The Genius Tailor from Queens, NY

When I got married last year, my dress was a mess. Somehow too big and too small at the same time, and made of endless layers of tulle with a complicated lace back, I knew I needed only the best tailor to work on it without destroying it.

I found her in a tiny storefront in Auburn, Michigan, the building an afterthought next to a more modern strip that contained an insurance agency. There wasn’t even a proper changing room, just an open space with some jury rigged curtains for privacy. But she was a miracle worker.

If you’ve ever found a really great tailor or seamstress or anything in that vein, this won’t be surprising for you - they’re often in places just like I described. So it’s fitting that this week’s Weird Wednesday post is about a man referred to as the Genius Tailor, who operates out of a basement in Queens.

Bilal Egilmez set up shop in 1981 after moving from Turkey, and was told no one would ever come to his business, since it was only accessible via a short metal staircase under the stoop.

Decades later, he’s still there, and he’s still working magic.

Click the link above for more information on making it work, even in a basement.