The business that has carried his name, Ricardo's Tailoring and Mens Wear, since 1979 on El Camino Real in Sunnyvale has seen many changes. Since suits began selling off the rack in the mid-1900s, the number of craftsmen like Torres has dwindled, and those who do remain find their clientele and their craft has altered.

"I learned from the old people," Torres says. He was 9 years old when he began learning the tailor's trade, but he had started working much younger, doing manual labor at age 6. Despite the child labor, he says, "It was fun in those days."

Torres' years as a tailor have seen many changes in trends and many ups and downs in the economy. His grown son, Ed, joins Torres in the shop occasionally but doesn't plan to follow in his father's footsteps. He marvels at his father's attitude toward the profession. "My father is still enjoying the work. And he puts in long hours. It's a difficult job because it's hard on the eyes and fingers," Ed says. "But my father arrives early and stays late. He gets real satisfaction from doing the job right."

The sense of pride and accomplishment from turning raw material into something that people, regardless of their shape or size, are proud to wear is still with Torres, even though the demand for tailor-made suits has fallen.

His clientele has changed with men's wear becoming more casual.

"Businesspeople still buy suits, especially professional women who follow the latest styles," he says. "The women are supporting me today. Ladies like to dress up, and they are always shopping."

Torres says one woman brought in more than 50 different items for alteration over a 10-year period. By comparison, her husband had brought in seven suits for fitting.

"Men don't feel the need to dress up, even on the job. Many young people from 20 to 45 just don't ever dress up, or seem to care. The only time they wear a suit now is at weddings and funerals—if then," Torre says.

"Even lawyers go to work more casually now," he says.

In fact, according to the NPD Group—a Port Washington, New York­based market information firm—sales in men's tailored clothing dropped 3 percent from 43.2 million units in the year ending in August 2002 to 41.9 million units as of August 2003. And according to the NPD, one in five men say they wear dress shirts to work "more often" this year compared to last year. But only one in six men (16 percent) say they wear business suits or suit separates to work.

Work doesn't seem to be the place where the young crowd wears suits these days. There seems to be a reverse trend going on.

Forbes magazine recently reported that "Design houses like Gucci, Prada, Yves Saint-Laurent and others are coming out with suits that are definitely more appropriate for nightclubs than the boardroom. The idea is to appeal to younger customers who rebel at the thought of wearing a necktie, let alone a day job, but still have the money to spend for a $1,500 suit."

The trend, Forbes suggests, is that men are casual at work but more formal for recreation.

But in addition to being affected by the "dressed-down workplace," Torres' business is weathering another swing in the business cycle.

"It's hard right now, but little by little, the economy seems to be getting better. I've been through three or four of these recessions before, but this has been the worst. And our area seems to be the hardest hit," he says.

But, in spite of changing fashions and economic slowdowns, Torres has a steady stream of customers. Many are longtime patrons bringing clothes in for alterations when a waistline changes.

Larry Langston, a Sunnyvale resident since 1958, says he has been a "regular customer since [Torres] first opened on El Camino Real because I like to dress well."

Langston sees Torres as more than someone who makes clothing. "He's a good man. He has a good philosophy, and he's cultured. He's not like a teacher, but I think we learn from each other."

Torres greets everyone who comes into his shop with a smile. And his personalized service and sincerity bring customers back.

On a recent Tuesday, one repeat client is a woman who has purchased a Ralph Lauren jacket for less than one-third its original price at Macy's and is having the sleeves altered. Another brings in four pairs of casual pants to have the legs shortened. Torres is on his knees marking the length with chalk. "No cuffs," the customer says. "They are just for wearing around the house."

Before an hour has passed, a third customer drops in to pick up a pair of slacks he's had altered and chats with Torres while shopping for a tie to compliment the slacks.

Diane Stabile is a Sunnyvale resident who has been going to Torres for about 15 years. "I saw his sign, walked in, learned what he could do and have been going back ever since. He is extremely personable. It's like going to visit family when I need help with getting clothes to fit," Stabile says. "If I buy something that I like, but it's too big, he'll actually take it apart and remake it for me," she says.

Stabile has worked in sales for Motorola for the past eight years with major accounts like Hewlett Packard and PalmOne.

"In a sales position, you have to look good. Women's suits and skirts have to be tailored," she says. "He has the knack of making the garment fit perfectly to my body. He also understands rush orders. He's very professional, and I've passed him on to all my friends who need tailoring."

There was a time when Torres' work wasn't quite so lucrative.

While still in Jalisco, he was making the equivalent of $20 a week for 65 hours of work. Then in 1965, a friend suggested that their future lay in California.

Their first stop was San Francisco, where Torres recalls he was pleased to see that people dressed up. "The weather is usually colder there and people dress for the seasons," he says.

From then until 1976 when he bought his first store in Sunnyvale, Torres worked in sales and tailoring. Sometimes he had two full-time jobs at the same time to support his wife and five children.

Two of his former employers are now faint memories in the Santa Clara Valley—Hart's Department Store and White Front. When Torres finished his shift at the Sunnyvale White Front store, he would walk through the orchards along El Camino Real to work at the tailor shop he eventually bought.

At one time Torres had eight people working for him. Today, he has two full-time employees and three working part-time. Torres does the measuring and cutting, and his staff does the assembly.

A handmade suit will cost from $850 to $1,600, depending on the fabric and amount of labor. "Labor is still the biggest cost," he says.

He could make more expensive suits, but he can't provide the label that people are willing to pay extra for.

"Some people will pay $3,000 to $3,400 for a suit, if the label says Bironi. I can't offer that," he says.

"With the cost of labor so much lower overseas, most people save money by buying ready-made suits off the rack. Then we can do the tailoring here to make them fit correctly," he says.

"That Ralph Lauren jacket that just came in was originally priced at $165, but with all the markdowns, she paid $50 for it. Macy's is literally giving the clothes away because they don't want to hold the stock in their stores.

"Her jacket was probably sold at a loss," he says.

Torres says that long-lasting quality comes with a price. "Ross, Marshall's, even Target, have good prices, but the clothing quality is not." He says items as basic as the thread affect how long and well a piece of clothing will last. Nylon thread is an inexpensive alternative to cotton thread, but it may melt in dryers or be affected by dry-cleaning chemicals.

Adding the attention to detail to make a ready-made suit fit correctly is an art form tailors learn from long experience, according to Torres. Outside of the United States, there are schools to teach the tailor's skills. But those trade schools are becoming a thing of the past here.

"Anymore, the only experience many people have with tailoring is someone who works as a seamstress at the dry cleaners," Torres says.

The Custom Tailors and Designers Association reports that "since the invention of ready-made, cheaply produced clothes in the middle of the last century, the demise of the tailor has been predicted. But craftsmen have managed to survive in this age of the mass-produced and quickly thrown away—even to prosper."

The association's report goes on to say, "There is still a clear need for the uniquely personal and individual in our lives. In this age of the shoddy and the quick, the vulgar and the mass-consumed, tailors can still be counted on to champion uniqueness and quality. It is the hallmark of their tradition."

And Langston counts Torres as part of that tradition. "Torres is not just a tailor; he's a craftsman," Langston says.

Ricardo's Tailoring and Mens Wear is located at 765 E. El Camino Real, Sunnyvale. Phone: 408.736.4194.