A broken zip is usually what finishes a garment that still has years of wear in it. The zip goes. The trousers sit in a drawer. The dress gets left on a hanger. And eventually, without anyone quite deciding to throw it away, it ends up in a bag for the charity shop.
It does not have to go that way. Zip replacement is one of the most straightforward repairs we do at Angelz on Arlington Way. Trousers, jeans, skirts, dresses, coats — all handled. Most standard zips start at £14.99. No appointment needed.
We replace zips across a full range of garments. Trouser zips, jeans zips, and skirt zips are £14.99 each. Invisible zips — the concealed type set into a seam — are also £14.99 for both short and long versions. Longer standard zips up to 22 inches are £24.99. Zips over 22 inches — the kind found in longer dresses, coats, and jacket fronts — are £29.99.
Every replacement uses a good quality zip suited to the garment. YKK — the world’s largest zip manufacturer, whose products appear on garments from high street to luxury level — make the point that zip failure is almost always a component issue rather than a structural one. A quality replacement zip fitted correctly outlasts the original in most cases.
Trouser zips go through a lot of use. Daily opening and closing over months wears the slider, loosens the teeth, or eventually splits the tape from the fabric. A trouser zip that catches, slides stiffly, or gapes at the top is ready for replacement.
Trouser zip replacement is £14.99. Jeans zip replacement is the same price. The work involves unpicking the original zip carefully to avoid damaging the fabric around it, fitting the replacement to the right length and weight for the garment, and stitching it in so the fly sits flat and the zip runs cleanly.
Jeans in particular need attention at the top stop — the metal bar at the top of the zip that prevents the slider from coming off. If the top stop has bent or pulled loose, the zip fails even if the zip itself is intact. We check the full assembly when replacing, not just the zip tape.
Skirt zips are £14.99. Side-seam zips on skirts — whether standard or invisible — are straightforward in principle but need care in execution. The zip needs to sit in the seam without pulling the fabric to one side or creating a visible ridge on the outside of the skirt.
Invisible zips are the most common type in skirts and dresses. When an invisible zip works, it is genuinely invisible — the seam closes over it completely and there is no visible hardware. When it fails, it tends to fail by the slider coming off the track, the tape separating from the seam, or the top of the zip pulling away from the waistband.
Invisible zips are priced at £14.99 regardless of length. They need a specific presser foot and a different fitting technique from standard zips — the coil has to be rolled away from the seam while stitching, then allowed to roll back into position once the zip is set. A standard zip foot cannot achieve this properly.
We fit invisible zips regularly in dresses, skirts, and formal trousers. If the original zip was invisible and you want the replacement to sit the same way, we use the same type. If the original was invisible but poorly fitted — visible stitching, a seam that pulls — we take the opportunity to reset it correctly.
Longer zips are priced at £24.99 for those up to 22 inches, and £29.99 for anything above that. These appear in full-length dress backs, coat fronts, jacket bodies, and longer skirts.
A long zip replacement on a coat or jacket front is a more involved job than a trouser zip — the zip is structural to the garment, and the facing, lining, and seam allowance all have to be managed carefully during fitting. The result needs to sit flat across a longer run of fabric without pulling or gaping at any point along its length.
We replace jeans buttons at £9.95. The tack button — the two-part riveted closure at the top of jeans — cannot be repaired once it fails. The male and female components have to be replaced as a set. We carry a range of standard jeans buttons in appropriate sizes. If your jeans have a branded or distinctive button, bring it up when you come in — we will advise on what can be matched.
Most zip failures come down to one of a few things. Slider wear — the slider loses tension over time and no longer grips the teeth tightly enough to close the zip. Tape separation — the fabric tape that holds the zip teeth pulls away from the garment at the seam. Top or bottom stop failure — the small stops at either end of the zip come loose, allowing the slider to come off the track.
Less commonly, the teeth themselves crack or bend — this is more common on metal zips than on nylon coil types, and more common on older garments. A zip that skips — closes and then reopens — usually has a worn slider rather than a tooth problem, and is fixed by slider replacement rather than a full zip swap. We check the type of failure before recommending the repair.
Occasionally, the fabric around the zip has deteriorated to the point where there is not enough sound material to stitch a new zip into. This happens with very worn fabric at the fly of old trousers, or with delicate fabrics that have torn away from the original zip tape over time.
If that is the situation, we tell you honestly at assessment. There is no point fitting a new zip into fabric that will not hold it.
We handle a full range of repairs and alterations beyond zip replacement. Our suit tailoring service in Angel covers jacket and trouser alterations from sleeve shortening to full relining. For the complete overview of what our tailoring team does, visit our tailoring page for Angel.
We are at 18 Arlington Way, Angel, EC1R 1UY — two minutes on foot from Angel tube on the Northern Line. Customers come in from Islington, Clerkenwell, Pentonville, Finsbury, and King’s Cross throughout the week.
No booking needed. Bring the garment in, we check the zip, give you a price and a collection date. Most zip replacements are ready within two to three working days.
Can you replace a zip on a leather jacket?
Yes. Leather zip replacement is assessed individually — the method of attachment differs from fabric garments. Bring it in and we will look at it before quoting.
My zip slider has come off. Does the whole zip need replacing?
Not necessarily. If the zip teeth and tape are in good condition, re-threading the slider onto the track is sometimes possible. We check this before recommending a full replacement.
Can you match the original zip colour?
We carry a range of standard zip colours. An exact match to an unusual or specific shade is not always possible, but for most standard garment colours — black, navy, cream, grey — we can match closely.
How long does zip replacement take?
Most zip replacements are ready within two to three working days. Straightforward trouser and skirt zips are sometimes quicker. Longer or more complex zips take a little more time. We give you a specific date at drop-off.
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