Julia Needlman

Julia saved my wedding dress! I picked my dress up from another seamstress on Sunday one week prior to my wedding and was not pleased with the way it fit. In fact, I was in tears. On Monday night, Julia agreed to meet with my mom and I and had my dress looking better in a matter of minutes. She was able to see the things that needed to be altered, padding that needed to be removed, etc that the other seamstress couldn’t. Julia had my dress ready for me in 24 hours! I left her home feeling much more confident in the dress and ready to walk down the aisle.

A very talented seamstress and a very good friend! She has taught me a lot about fashion and how to wear clothes.

Going to someone’s house and just leaving your dress there is a little unnerving. But based on Unilocal reviews, I left my wedding dress with Julia. And all her cats. I don’t know how, but those cats are trained to stay the heck away from those dresses, not a single cat hair ever touched the dresses I brought her. But there will be 2 – 3 cats hanging out during your fitting. It’s cool, just roll with it. The expertise is worth it.
We got along well, and yes, you have to like her personality. She will ask you for adjectives and about what you like. She will try to tailor the dress to your personality. And she will be very honest with you. If your feelings get hurt easily, don’t go here.
I got lucky in that I also needed a bridesmaid’s dress for my sister’s wedding a few months before my wedding. so Julia did that dress for me first. I looked better than any of the other bridesmaids at that wedding. It was a backless sheath dress with no front support. Julia made it work. She even made me bring in one of my own bras to sew into the dress so the cups would fit best. It was worth giving up a bra, it looked great.
So then I went back to do the wedding dress. It was massive on me — I’m pretty small and it was a ballgown — and Julia made it look perfect. She incorporated a belt and extra row of rhinestones at the waist, and dropped the waist a little to elongate my figure. She added pretty satin buttons to replace the flimsy-​sticky zipper (by the way EVERY seamstress should do this). And she sewed in this inner elastic belt that helped hold the dress up without cinching the shape out the outside layers.
Book Julia early, she might tell you no simply based on her schedule. I had a second bridesmaid dress I needed altered, and she had too many weddings at that time. Based on my experience at another seamstress, I wish I could say I’ll never take my dresses anywhere but Julia, but you gotta fit into her schedule.
The only thing I would caution brides about is to make sure you like her bustle. (I’m so sorry Julia, I know you love that bustle.) She has her own unique bustle, and it definitely holds up all night, it was very secure. But for me, it didn’t pick up the dress all the way off the floor, so it got stepped on a lot, and one layer got torn. Julia was pretty sick the night she did my final fitting/​bustle, so I’m giving her the benefit of the doubt, everything else was so spot on, but I would just tell other brides to be sure they like it before they leave.

I found Julia via Unilocal and chose her based on location and overall positive reviews. I went in for a simple hem on a silk chiffon bridesmaid’s dress that was way too long (and in my mind fit perfectly otherwise), but as soon as I put the dress on for measuring, she frowned a bit and asked if she could make a suggestion. In an instant she snipped, moved and tightened one of the shoulder straps that made an incredibly flattering difference on my shoulders and back. It sounds small but the improvement was incredible. 15 minutes later the dress was fully hemmed, straps were permanently adjusted and my dress and I were on our merry way. The whole visit was under 30 minutes. I will gladly bring everything back to Julia because not only are the hems perfect, she has a great objective eye for what would look best on your actual body type. I’d trust her with anything.

Before scheduling an appointment with Julia I read the Unilocal reviews and many people noted her «personality» and how it wasn’t for everyone. It wasn’t for me… The first time I met with her I sat there as she yelled at her cleaning lady over the phone. It was very unprofessional. That should’ve been a sign that working with Julia was not going to be easy. But I left my dress anyway because the reviews raved about her work, which I was very disappointed with as I will explain later. She told me it would be 5 – 6 weeks. 6 weeks later I called her to see if my dress was ready. That Monday she said she was going to have it ready that night. Wednesday I emailed her to confirm when I could pick it up. She did not reply. Friday morning I called her again to see when I could pick it up. She said noon. I arrived to her home and she said «you’re not Alejandra». I explained to her that I called her Monday, and emailed her Wednesday. She said she got confused and thought I was someone else. She said she was confused when she read my email on Wednesday, yet for some reason she did not take the time to reply and clarify. I took time off work to go to her home to have my time wasted. She said it would be ready next week. I reminded her she said 5 – 6 weeks. She said «I need to let people know that I don’t mean 5 – 6 weeks when I say that»… Well then why give people a time frame?! The scheduled pick-​up day rolled around and I went to pick up my dress. I tried it on and there was a bump in the back. She said she could fix it. I waited as she went to her basement and fixed it. As I tried it on again, pieces started to fall off and she said she cut the wrong string. I just wanted to pay her and leave and never deal with her again. When I got home I inspected the dress and the sewing was sloppy (picture below). Overall, I would not recommend Julia. She is not professional, her home she works out of is not clean and smells, and she will just waste your time.

Julia heard the desperation and took my case a week before my wedding. At the time, the top of my dress was way too open and no way I could’ve walked down the aisle like that. the boobs didn’t fit, the waistline was not visible. Julia put a string of jewel that went around my neck and held it all together like magic. She also added a jewel piece between my girls and gave them a peek a boo which was super sexy. She also rebuilt around the waistline and gave me curves for days. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU !!!

So I waited too long to buy my bridesmaid dress and ended up having to buy a 2 when the whole country was sold out of zeroes. I was swimming in it before I took it to Julia (size 0 tends to be too big on me). She literally saved the day by not only being able to fix the dress, but doing so within a two week turn around. When I came in to pick it up, she easily explained all the steps she took to size it down, and now you wouldn’t even be able to tell that it had needed a lot of work.
She’s a saint and just all-​around AWESOME — the aunt I always wish I had! I will definitely recommend her to my friends and family!

Julia was a life saver! My wedding dress arrived much later than planned and many local alteration places rudely told me I was SOL! I called Julia after reading the many great reviews on Unilocal and she immediately calmed me down. She took the time to listen to my needs/​concerns/​worries and she told me, «we will make it work!» Those are just the words a worried bride needed to hear. Throughout the alteration process, Julia was supportive and had excellent ideas. She made my dress amazing. I got so many compliments. I will be taking it back to her to alter into a party dress! I love Julia

Julia is an extremely talented woman and fun and entertaining to work with! I bought my dress at David’s Bridal and Julia did a lot to transform it — my favorite part is that she raised the appliqué to make it stand out more and made me a head piece with the remaining fabric. Julia also fixed my pearl necklace, made an inexpensive veil and hemmed my bridesmaids dresses, in a matter of days. She was extremely flexible with her schedule, which was great since I live out of town.
Julia made me feel so comfortable and beautiful in my dress. She was full of suggestions for my mom and bridesmaids about their outfit details (shoes, cardigans) and offered as much assistance as she could.
To me the following aren’t negatives, but to some they might be:
My family, bridesmaids and I are extroverts and enjoy someone who tells it like it is, but if that isn’t your style, Julia may not be the best choice for you. She is brutally honest about everything, including the weight you may have gained from your last visit, the way you walk, the type of shoes you plan on wearing, etc. She is the expert and I completely trust her, but others may see this as harsh.

As others have said, working with Julia is a complete experience! If you are looking for an in-​and-​out tailor, Julia Needlman is not your gal (and she won’t have time for you anyway!). But if you are looking for a creative, inventive artist with an amazing amount of experience communicating and working with brides, you need to make an appointment asap so you can get into her busy schedule!
I initially went to see Julia to create a reception dress for my wedding. I had ordered my wedding dress from an Etsy designer online, however, and when it arrived (after my first meeting with Julia) I realized I had a disaster on my hands and needed more help than I initially thought! Julia was there for me to make sure that a new dress was created that would surpass my every expectation of the one that was not to be! And instead of a costume change, Julia devised an inventive way for me to change the look of my dress from my preppier outdoor ceremony look to my reception look using beautiful custom belts — even coming up with an external garter that would pull my dress up for dancing later in the night (for three looks total!). Add to this that I needed to be able to comfortably play viola in the dress (my dad and I played a duet in lieu of a father daughter dance)… which, if you’ve read her website you know was no problem at all for the woman who designs for Rachel Barton…
Besides designing and fitting me in a dress that I seriously could not wait to put on, that looked amazing in photographs, that was completely comfortable, and that added immeasurably to the joy of my day, visiting Julia for meetings and fittings was something that I looked forward to. She is, as others have noted, a wise woman who is amazingly intuitive. She gives fantastic advice and is a joy to be around. She also has an adorable, fun and talented apprentice Christopher. The whole vibe of her studio is positive and invigorating. You will seriously want to go get cocktails with them.
Julia is a special, special person and I can’t wait until I need another amazing dress!
** Photos by Alexis Ellers Photography (
) and Jonathan Mathias Photography (
)

Julia isn’t for everyone – which might be a strange way to start a perfect review – but it’s important to state. She’s such a master of her craft that she can’t *not* be honest about body shapes, dress lines, etc. If it’s hard for you to take constructive criticism or if you’re not open to suggestions or creative energy, then Julia might not be the best fit for you.
That said, if you’re able to let an extraordinary seamstress to do her thing, then Julia is like all the reviews say: a fairy godmother, a therapist, a godsend, a genius – whatever you want to call someone who will make you look your absolute best in clothing.
I came to Julia after purchasing a BHLDN skirt and top for my wedding. I loved the skirt but quickly realized the top wasn’t for my body top. (Julia also agreed at our first meeting that the top was for a «hard body,» which we both knew I didn’t have.) After discussing my personality, my fiancé, the wedding’s feel, we explored ideas for the new top. After several fittings, Julia had created not only a top, but a full-​on wedding gown. She also gifted me the perfect veil, which completed the look.
Julia is honest, fair, communicative, and organized, on top of being a phenomenal talent.

Julia was a pleasure to work with. She turned my off-​the-​shelf wedding dress (ordered online from BCBG) into a customized, beautifully fitting dress that I was thrilled to wear. At our first meeting, Julia wanted to get an understanding of who I am so that she could customize the dress to fit my style. She had fantastic ideas… She ended up adding a lace belt w/​buttons, lace to the chest, redid the lining, inserted a zipper to make it more of a «real» wedding dress, and hemmed it all for a very fair price. I had a wonderful getting to meet and work with Julia!

What an experience it was working with Julia! I read her reviews on Unilocal prior to meeting with her, and thus I was prepared for an honest assessment of the dress I had chosen… and I definitely got that =) I was confident in the dress that I chose and was super happy with how my body looked in it. She came up with great suggestions to «slim down» my dress further and remove some unnecessary material on the bottom. She took before and after pictures and gave me a day to decide on some of the alterations so I was confident in each step. The first time I met with her, I spent almost 2 hours with her as she got to know me and what type of a wedding I wanted as well as what type of an image I wanted to portray with my dress.
Her suggestions and creativity are incredible and my dress fit like a glove. I would be prepared for her occasional comments about weight loss and gain throughout the fitting process, but if you’re a strong and confident woman, it’s worth it… especially because her comments come from a good place. Julia has a great heart and really knows what she is doing.
Finally, she makes her own jewelry and offered earrings as well as a veil to me for a fair price. I was going back and forth on the veil, and decided on not buying one. A few days later she called me to tell me that she would love to give me a veil as a gift if I wanted to wear one… she said she didn’t want it to be about the money for me. While I still ended up going with my gut instinct and not wearing a veil, I appreciated her gesture very much.

Julia is a spirited, clearly talented woman who is an expert in her medium.
We didn’t actually end up working together after our first meeting because we had a mismatch of ideas about the direction of my wedding dress, but I simply want to add to the reviews that describe the process so women who approach Julia with wedding gowns are fully aware that she’s not your run-​of-​the-​mill order-​taker who’ll simply hem and take in your dress.
She has a clear vision of what looks good and will be vocal about that. I really loved most of her suggestions except for one, and because of this, she told me we couldn’t work together. That sort of bummed me out because I was excited about most of her changes, but it seems that with Julia, you must be on the same page through-​and-​through.
Be prepared for philosophical and honest conversation with Julia. With the right personality, you could probably end up with the dress of your dreams if yours hasn’t quite met your expectations and you’re open-​minded.

Julia was wonderful! She altered a bridesmaid dress for me while 8 months pregnant. I received so many compliments on my dress that people couldn’t believe I was pregnant from the front.
Her pricing was fair. Service was quick. And perhaps the best part is her award winning personality that really relaxes you. I was über comfortable talking to her about my wants and she not only listened, but explained what her plan was and why she wanted to do the things she did.
I will be using Julia for all of my future alteration needs.

I agree with the sentiments of the previous reviews. I found Julia on Unilocal several months prior to my wedding just expecting some alterations. However, I purchased a $ 400 dress from David’s Bridal and the material was plastic-​y and hard to change.
Julia made me a dress from scratch. We went to the fabric store together to pick out a beautiful creamy silk. She definitely takes the time to get to know you and makes sure the dress is a true reflection and what you want. She does great work at a reasonable price and has a great energy.
If you have cat allergies I would let her know in advance.

I had a wonderful experience with Julia. Not only does the woman REALLY know what she’s doing, but she is an enjoyable, wise woman. I didn’t just get a beautiful wedding gown, had a bridesmaids dress altered; I got to see myself in a new light.
My wedding dress that had a beautiful bodice, beautiful fabric but a seriously unfortunate skirt. The dress in its original incarnation made me feel like I was wearing a costume of someone else’s idea of a bride. I knew it would require a rethinking of the design, but I didn’t know where to start.
Julia was able to look at me, my body type, my style, look at the dress & its merits and came up with a redesign after we talked. Thankfully, there was a lot of fabric to work with & she was able to work with my budget. We made an appointment for a fitting after she reconstructed the dress and I was stunned that the drawing she made become a reality on me, but even better than I imagined.
I no longer had a dress, but a GOWN. Even more amazing, it felt completely right on me. This is a serious feat for a jeans and t-​shirt girl. I felt like a phenomenal me, like I now matched how special it is to marry my best friend.
Julia can work some serious magic, but she is a very busy woman, so I really recommend making an appointment in advance. You will not regret it for a moment.
Oh, and Julia, if you read this, I haven’t forgotten that I promised to send you a picture from the wedding day.

I had a fantastic experience with Julia. I bought my dress right off-​the-​rack, and it originally fit like a charm. However, after a few months and several french fries, it barely zipped and looked terrible. It was originally pretty form-​fitting and ended up looking tight and pulled. I looked like a stuffed sausage. I worried that I would need to buy a new dress. The whole thing gave me so much panic and anxiety, I can’t even say.
I found Julia on Unilocal,and she was able to make time in her busy schedule to get me in fairly quickly. We had an hour-​long consultation where she talked to me about what I wanted, how I wanted to feel, and what best fit my personality. It was really nice compared to most bridal experiences where fussy women push sales at you without truly listening to what you want.
I came back for one fitting, which was much quicker. Then I was able to pick up my dress a few days later. The whole process took about a month, and it turned out PERFECT. Out of all of the compliments I received at my wedding, the most repeated was about my dress and how wonderful the fit was. Not only did it fit and flatter my shape, but Julia added some small details that made it look even more lush and expensive – such as replacing the cheap plastic zipper with a lovely column of buttons.
In sum: Julia has an intuition about clothes and a knowledge about body types that are unrivaled. You can definitely trust her with your dress!

I wish I didn’t have to write this review, but I am very disappointed in my dealings with Ms. Needlman. I am getting married at the very end of August, and to ensure I had plenty of time to get my dress fitting scheduled (I know this wedding season is busy) called on April 9 to make an appointment. I was told she was too busy to even schedule me, and to call back in a few weeks, though she thanked me profusely for calling so early or at least trying to. I told her I understood completely and would call her back later. I called back on May 14, and made an appointment for June 11.
Over the phone we talked about how my dress was an extension of myself, how I should come up with adjectives to describe myself and how all of these things would be part of my dress fitting. I was excited because all of the reviews were just glowing and I could not wait to get my fitting done. Then this morning (June 7) she called to tell me she had to cancel our appointment, and would not be able to reschedule due to the volume of work she had. With 12 weeks to go to my wedding, this really has set me back tremendously and I am now left trying to find a new seamstress.
I know work can become heavy, especially during wedding season, but we had an appointment, and canceling right before our appointment has been a huge disappointment. She apologized profusely but I am still stuck now with finding a new dress fitter in the middle of a very busy wedding season. I am sure she does great work, if you can get and keep your appointment.

Julia is amazing!!! She is such a kind spirit who is very skilled and loves what she does. While she shows up in wedding dress alteration listings— she can do any kind of dress making/​altering. (I think her background is in stage costumes)
I came to her on a short timeline (3 weeks) and low budget– she totally met both, with no judgement or pressure. After dealing with wedding vendors this was SO REFRESHING! She finished alterations to my wedding dress 5 days ahead of schedule, for less than $ 200, and gave me marriage and wedding advice too :) I came to her to remove the train of my dress and shorten it. She recommended that we move some buttons up, add a strap thing in the back to keep it stable, etc. All technical things that showed me she was truly an experienced professional.
Julia made me fall in love with my dress, and change my emotional approach to my wedding– what benefits! I am so happy I worked with her rather than going to snobby wedding places who can hold your dress and pocketbook hostage!
Notes: Yes, she has cats, and they will come visit when you are working with her. She works out of the front of her northside apartment– so know that you will feel like you are in her home, and she will make you feel comfortable that way too. Don’t be taken aback if she asks you about your husband, family or wedding— she gets to know you as a person, which will also help her recommend changes to your dress that will make you feel BEAUTIFUL! Also, she can take credit cards– runs them from her IPhone, aweeeesome :) She can also make jewelry for you (she made my earrings). Add a $$ tip!