Freshly altered and ready for pick up, colorful summer dresses, blinged ball gowns and smart dress pants hang from racks situated around El Bengal Tailor, the longtime alterations shop near the North Gates of LSU. A trio of sewing machines stand sentinel, each one threaded with a commonly used color to save time.
But alongside the spruced apparel of Baton Rouge partygoers and professionals, there are familiar flashes of purple and gold. A rack of Tiger Band tunics sits alone, waiting expectantly for tailor Oscar Reyes to work his magic. Since the mid-’80s, El Bengal Tailor has been an essential part of keeping the Tiger Nation looking good. It’s the go-to alterations provider for the band, the football team and many other LSU Athletics teams.
This time of year, the Golden Band from Tigerland is Reyes’ main focus. He spends a lot of time down the street at Tiger Band Hall, making adjustments for many of the band’s 325 new and returning members. The detailed, brocaded purple and gold uniforms, expensive to produce, are cleaned and passed down to new members each year. Many stay in rotation for up to a decade or more, Reyes speculates.
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Reyes adjusts hems, cuffs and waistbands to ensure each musician is comfortable throughout game day. He also provides any needed alterations during the season. It’s a task that carries significant responsibility. Band members spend long hours in their uniforms as they carry out the rituals Tiger faithfuls expect.
Over decades of working with LSU, Reyes has seen styles and fabrics change.
“The band uniforms weigh a lot less today than they used to,” Reyes says.
He says it’s been satisfying to be part of Tiger Band’s legendary pageantry.
“The students are always really excited,” he says. “You can always tell the new ones.”
Reyes’ father, the late Oscar Armando Reyes, started El Bengal Tailor in 1973.
The family was living in their native El Salvador when the elder Reyes immigrated to the United States in 1970. He took advantage of a program granting residency to certain trades, including tailoring. Reyes worked in New York and Dallas before settling in Baton Rouge in 1972 and opening the shop shortly after. His wife and children finally joined him in 1976.
Father and son began working together in the early ’90s. From the shop where it all started, Reyes reflects on the difficult learning curve of tailoring.
“It takes a lot of patience,” he says. “For like a year when I first started, all I did was work on pants.”
Oscar Armando Reyes died in 1994 from cancer. The younger Reyes has been running the shop since.
The relationship with LSU Athletics started slowly and built over time, Reyes recalls. The business’ proximity to campus and its bold yellow and purple exterior paint might have helped. But his father’s exceptional skills kept clients coming back.
“He was a true tailor,” Reyes says. “He could make suits from scratch. He was a master at it.”
“The students are always really excited. You can always tell the new ones.”
[Oscar Reyes, El Bengal Tailor]
Along with his continuing alterations for Tiger Band, Reyes sews on the many novelty conference and bowl patches that are added to football uniforms. He also repairs jerseys when needed and provides alterations for a number of other LSU sports teams.
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The majority of El Bengal Tailor’s business comes from neighborhood residents, students and downtown business people, Reyes says, but working on band uniforms and football jerseys has its allure, especially this time of year.
“It’s fun to be a part of it,” Reyes says.
This article was originally published in 225 Magazine’s 2024 Tiger Pride edition.