Something Old, Something New With Rippert's Tailoring

Kathy Rippert may be new to Ridge Avenue, but she's hardly new to Roxborough. After 20 years in her tailoring shop at 646 Roxborough Ave., Rippert decided to move on up... to Ridge Avenue.

Since Sept. 1, Rippert's Custom Men's and Women's Tailoring has settled in to its new digs at 7039 Ridge Ave.—across from Ivy Ridge Shopping Center in Andorra.

With her new bay window, larger work, storage and display space, and convenient parking lot, Rippert is starting the decade off in style.

"I love it. Who wouldn't love it? Everything is so nice," she said as she led a long-time customer through the new shop's four rooms (nearly quadrupling the size of her old store).

Customers who were used to her old shop will still receive the same Rippert personal treatment—she's the only employee—but they'll get a more comfortable atmosphere. A sun-lit lobby with magazines leads into her clothes storage area (which her father-in-law built two decades before). Her new workroom bursts with sewing machines, cabinets and family photos adorning the walls. 

The cherry on the new shop: an actual dressing room.

"Before, we had to hang a sheet up for brides to try on outfits. Now, we have our own room," she said.

The new shop still offers custom tailoring, alterations, dressmaking, preservation, and dry-cleaning, among other amenities.

Rippert had toyed with the idea of moving for a while, and thought she'd capitalize on a floundering real estate market to get a new space. Although she now resides in Flourtown with her husband, Rippert grew up in Roxborough, attended local parochial and public schools and went to then-Philadelphia Textile College. Rippert is also a Roxborough Lioness.

So when choosing a new place, she knew she couldn't go far.

"My customers are here. I quizzed them before I left and asked if they would follow me. They'd said they would, but not if you go too far," she said.

Closed for only two days, Rippert said 10 customers offered to help her move, a gesture she greatly appreciated. In her two weeks in Andorra, Rippert said she's received countless gift baskets and floral bouquets—another basket arrived during our interview.

Her move itself reflects the many changes she said her industry has undergone. Since she started, her clientele has shifted from mostly men to both professional men and women. Weddings, proms and special occasions draw a majority of her business, but lawyers and those involved in finance still use her services.

The burgeoning digital world has shifted her world, too.

"The Internet is really what's changed me. Ninety percent of our new customers come from the Internet," she said.

In response, Rippert's debuted its new website and Facebook page recently, as well.

Although busy (she's currently working on six wedding dresses), Rippert said she's overjoed in her new place.

"Everyone that comes in here is for a happy occasion: weddings, proms, a new job, losing weight—I can't express how nice everyone is," she said.

The mother of three and grandmother to six couldn't be prouder of her newest baby—the new shop in Andorra.