Burlington Expert Tailoring: A Lifetime of Experience Around the World

A new tailoring shop, Burlington Expert Tailoring, recently opened at 264 Cambridge St. It's owned by Mor Sene, who has over 20 years experience as a tailor and who has great knowledge of the clothing styles of Africa, Paris and the United States.

Sene is from Senegal, Africa. His father was a tailor and he is following his lead in his love of tailoring. It is typical for students in Senegal to attend a technical highschool, majoring in the field of their choice. Sene won a scholarship to go to school in Paris to study tailoring. He lived there for 20 years while learning and growing with the French culture.  

In 1988, Sene came to the United States. His first job in the U.S. as a tailor was working for Luigi Mauro's tailor shop in Burlington. 

“I started in Burlington and am ending up in Burlington,” Sene said. 

After leaving Luigi's, he worked for Filenes for 12 years at various malls around Massachusetts and New Hampshire, finally ending up at the . Since Sene always wanted to have his own business he decided to open Burlington Expert Tailoring. His customers motivated him to do it, he said, telling him that a good tailor is hard to find. 

Getting to know the customer is very important in making an suit or outfit to their fit and taste. Sene emphasized the need to be personal and connect with customers to find and match their needs.

Sene also works part time at The Andover Shop in Cambridge. It's a learning experience and an opportunity to work with master tailor Charlie Davidson, owner of the Andover Shop in Harvard Square. Davidson is a dedicated tailor himself, in business since 1948. The Andover Shop has done suits for JFK, many Harvard dignitaries and the great jazz musician, Miles Davis. It's a treat as well as an education to meet with many different people and discuss their needs in clothing, says Sene.

Davis happens to be a jazz favorite of Sene. He loves jazz, the Newport Jazz Festival being a highlight of the year. His quote from his brochure -”Tailoring is what I do but fine clothes and jazz are my life”. 

Special projects are not a problem for Sene. He did a suit for Professor Gates when he had a hip replacement. His measurements were needed and Sene went to his home to get them. Someone with a particular body type, hunchback for example, has to have their clothing specially made so it hangs off the body smoothly. Knowing how the body is built is important in constructing clothing for it. Sene has studied anatomy, and is expert pattern maker as well as tailor. He explains that he learned as part of his training how to created sized clothing and the proportions involved in making them. A custom made suit or dress is made with that person's body specifications in mind.

At Burlington Expert Tailoring, Sene offers the usual alterations and can custom make a suit or bridal gown for a customer. He specializes in the original hem for jeans. This is a method of hemming and using the original hem and reattaching it so as to not lose the style of the jean. Sene is knowledgeable on various types of suit pant styles and jacket styles. It's important for him to give the customer what they want. Comfort, fit and style are what puts a smile the face of the customer and tells Sene that he's done a good job.

 “If I die and go to heaven and am given a choice of careers for my next life on Earth, I would choose tailoring”, said Sene.