Saks Suit Alleges Alteration Bias

Two Orange County women filed a class-action suit in Los Angeles on Thursday alleging that Saks Fifth Avenue charged them for alterations while men got the work done free, their attorney said.

Feminist attorney Gloria Allred said Muriel Mabry of Anaheim Hills and Lori Anderson of Mission Viejo recently purchased a $345 dress and a $1,500 evening gown at Saks at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa.

Both women, according to Allred, were charged about $40 for alterations. However, a male friend of Mabry’s bought a suit there and was not charged, and Anderson’s husband purchased a suit and tuxedo, which were altered without charge, Allred said.

Many department stores charge women, but not men, for alterations. Other stores sometimes charge men a small fee for major alterations on sports and suit jackets and overcoats.

A spokesman at Saks in Costa Mesa referred all questions to a company executive in New York. The spokesman was not available for comment Thursday.

But United Press International quoted Martin Fisher, vice president and general manager of the Beverly Hills Saks, who denied that the company’s pricing policies are discriminatory.

“Saks Fifth Avenue pricing policy for alterations is to charge customers equally based on the sewing task performed,” Fisher told UPI. “This applies uniformly to both men and women’s clothing.”

Allred, asked why the suit did not include other department stores, said: “My clients came to me with a complaint against Saks. I don’t go out looking for people to sue. If more people come forward, the suit could be amended.

“With this lawsuit, we seek to cause Saks to mend its ways and alter its policy,” Allred said. “They should tailor to fit existing law.”

Mabry, president and founder of a career-planning service, and Anderson, chief financial officer for that company, were seeking unspecified damages in the Superior Court suit. They also sought an injunction that would prohibit the department store from continuing the alleged alteration-pricing discrimination.