Carlos Perez stands behind the counter of Royal Clothiers, surrounded by rows of Tommy Bahama shirts and Italian suits, contemplating the end of an era.
After more than 25 years operating his own tailoring business and clothing store in Morgan Hill, the 67-year-old is ready to retire. But as he prepares to close the downtown store that has become a landmark on Monterey Road, he worries about the legacy he has built.
“I’m praying to God every day somebody takes over the place because I don’t want to lose this store,” Perez said. “I see this store like Morgan Hill needs this business because it’s the only men’s clothing store in downtown.”
A craftsman who learned to sew at age 10 from his father in Mexico, Perez has spent decades building personal relationships with customers he calls his friends.
Perez’s journey to downtown Morgan Hill began in Michoacán, Mexico, where he was born. He grew up in Mexico City, where his father worked as a tailor. While studying agrobiology and soil science, Perez continued helping his father’s business, learning to create custom suits by hand.
In 1987, seeking a better life for his family amid economic and political turmoil in Mexico, Perez immigrated to the U.S. with two of his children. After brief stops in San Diego and San Francisco, the family settled in Morgan Hill.
“We found a paradise,” Perez said.
Unable to use his agrobiology degree without additional validation courses, Perez initially worked in landscaping and construction, then briefly in a laboratory. In 1988, he returned to his roots when he found work as a tailor in Los Gatos at an Italian menswear store called Moda Italia.
Shortly after, he was discovered by Cris Casarra, who offered him a job at Cris Casarra Clothing in Morgan Hill, then the city’s premier fashion designer. He also took jobs at Macy’s and Men’s Wearhouse to support his family.
Perez worked for Cassara for years before Cassara’s retirement and Cris Casarra Clothing closed up shop, leaving Perez to find his own way.
“I prayed to God to tell me what to do because I don’t want to go back to Men’s Wearhouse,” he said. “So finally, God told me, ‘Open your own.’”
Perez opened a small tailoring shop that year in the Main Avenue Shopping Center, which eventually evolved into Royal Clothiers. He later moved to a corner location downtown, sharing space with a bridal shop. Eventually, he established Royal Clothiers in its current location on Monterey Road.
Throughout the years, his wife, Maria Yolanda Perez, and their four children supported the business. All of the children helped in the store while growing up. Now adults, they have moved on to careers in tech, politics and entrepreneurship, achievements Perez credits to the Morgan Hill community’s support.
“I’m very grateful to Morgan Hill,” he said. “Thanks to the community of Morgan Hill who provided to put my kids in college.”
Throughout his years in business, Perez has maintained a simple philosophy: “I don’t look for customers. We look always for friends, because friends always come back.”
That approach has created lasting relationships. For 10 years, one customer brought him a book about trees and photography every Christmas. Former mayors, city council members, lawyers and professionals have become regulars and personal friends.
“I like to have that personal touch with people,” Perez said. “We break the ice, and we have a personal conversation. A lot of people, they tell me about their own problems, and I help them with advice. I’m no expert, but I think somehow, we become psychologists to help people.”
While Perez no longer creates custom suits from scratch—an expensive service for which there is little demand in today’s economy—he keeps one reminder of the craft. Hanging in the store is the last custom suit he made nine years ago, with buttonholes and interior construction all sewn by hand.
“My father taught me those three rules: be honest, don’t do the shortcut and work with ethics,” Perez said.
Now he focuses on selling quality suits and providing expert alterations, skills customers say are increasingly rare.
Judy Cheng, a regular customer, said she buys suits at Royal Clothiers for her husband and friends rather than shopping at chain stores.
“Quality clothes and a quality tailor, you can’t find someone like him,” Cheng said. “That’s someone who really cares and really knows what to do. An artisan.”
Nicole Conragan, another customer, said the store makes shopping effortless.
“The quality of the material is incredible, and his tailoring is incredible,” she said. “He just makes it so easy. You walk away knowing that you’ve got a quality product. It’ll last a lifetime.”
Royal Clothiers has been the sole carrier of Tommy Bahama in Morgan Hill for more than 25 years, after an agent helped Perez secure the account shortly after opening his business. The store serves customers heading to weddings, funerals, job interviews and tropical vacations.
But Perez said small stores like his face challenges competing with corporate chains.
“The big corporations, they don’t care about the customer service,” he said, drawing on his experience working at Men’s Wearhouse. “They care about the money in the moment and not the person. For us, I care for the person. It’s more rewarding.”
The store survived the 2007 economic crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, aided by understanding landlords and grants from the city to improve fixtures and flooring. Now, health concerns are telling Perez it is time to step back.
“I think they’re sending me a message,” he said. “The message is, slow down, take care of yourself. If I don’t listen to that message, someday they’re going to find me on the floor.”
His wife, a retired teacher who worked at the Learning and Loving Center helping immigrant women and children, wants to travel. The couple has visited Europe twice, meeting the Pope in Rome, and they hope to explore more of the world—but ultimately return home to stay in Morgan Hill, where they have spent more than three decades building a life.
“Morgan Hill has been my friend,” he said. “How can I give back to the community more than that?”
As he searches for a buyer, Perez continues working six days a week, hoping someone will carry on Royal Clothiers’ legacy. If the store closes, he said, customers seeking quality menswear and expert tailoring will have nowhere to turn locally.
“We will really lose a major part of our downtown,” Cheng said. “He’s been a part of downtown for many years.”
