Express Alterations

Do not even think of picking up on a Saturday. I spent half my day trying to guess when someone would be there. Literally. Between incorrect instructions, an unhelpful «open» sign, and a «back at 3» sign, I had to keep going and coming back. This is absolutely not the way to run a business.

My boyfriend got his suit tailored by Macy’s the week before an event. They did a terrible job! We got the suit back 3 days before the event and needed someone to tailor the suit correctly and in a hurry. Express Alterations was a life saver! We brought the suit in Friday at 4pm. The alterations were done by 12pm the next day. His suit fit like a glove! We have found out new tailor! She is quick, efficient, and an all around pleasant woman to work with.

Amazing work I love her and her work so much. She does an amazing work on everything.

I had two shirts with ripped seams. They mended them in one day and now they look as good as new! It looks like the repaired seams are sturdier than before. Excellent work. The lady I spoke with was very nice and she even remembered my name.

I bring all my clothes here to get tailored. Sometimes I know exactly what I want done but half the time I just let Mari figure out what needs to be fixed and she will work with me to get it right.

Unilocalers, you let me down. The great reviews and the convenient location made me want to go here. But after the hatchet job she did with the hem on my pants and the alterations on my wife’s dress, we won’t return. Whatever happened to good craftsmanship? I’m out the money I paid and need to take the pants elsewhere to fix the hem. Unilocalers, e more discerning.

Mari is great! She always does exactly what I ask for and is a whiz with boy scout and girl scout patches.

After looking for a tailor near my BF’s house, reading reviews on Unilocal,I found Express Alterations. It’s literally walking distance, and the owner is really sweet. Parking is limited, but there is a spot in the garage that she can let you in. We took 5 – 6 pairs of jeans, 1 dress, a pant jumpsuit, and a blazer– everything came out really nicely, and I love the convenience of the location. I will definitely be taking the rest of my clothes that need altering. The only downfall is that they are not open on Sundays.

Awesome First time experience!!! Bought a new yrs eve dress online, I received it on the 30^th. It was little too big… Found this place through Unilocal and it was Great!!! I met MARI that Friday at noon and my dress was done by 3pm!!! Not only was she fast but her price was great! Her professional opinion was also on point! I highly recommend this place! I’m so happy I found it!!! 5 stars all the way! My new yrs eve event was awesome The Dress was a hit!

Needed a new tailor and found this one on Unilocal.LOVE her! Excellent work, very pleasant, reasonable prices. I take all my work there and have taken some items for my husband and son (both alterations and repairs) and we are always pleased with the work. The other thing is… well, tailoring is kind of a personal thing, so you really need someone who is discreet and respectful and doesn’t have «attitude.» This is the place.

Mari is the best! Fast and quality work. I take all my jeans here and tops and dresses that need to be tweaked at bit… she is patient, and a total sweetheart!
Highly recommend them for fast, friendly & fabulous work!

I dropped off a pair of dress slacks to repair a pocket that had a hole in it. The next day I picked up said slacks and found that a brand new pocket patch had been sown in. I paid $ 8 for this and was very happy with the results. Both Mari (the seamstress) and Ragi were very pleasant to deal with. If I should have need of their services in future, I will return there without hesitation.

I’ve been going to Mari for years and recently my brother in law was getting married and we had just bought my Mother in Law a dress from Nordstrom that was way too long. The dress was quite complicated bc it flowed with many layers on the bottom. Mari of course got it done! She also helped me out with my bridesmaid dress and altered my husbands pants on the spot!

Not only did she adjust the problem, she was super fast about it. Knew exactly what had happened and took care of it right away.
Mari is awesome. I highly recommend her.
EDITED:
So here is my final review on Express Alterations.
I had some great experiencs with Mari– she took care of some stuff for me and did a fabulous job. The first job I did with her, she had made a mistake, I had to take it back to her– but she quickly fixed it and I was pleased with the results.
I want to at least give her 2 stars, but I can’t quite make myself do it because she wasn’t so honest with me on my last dealing with her.
Heres my frustration:
Time came around for me to get my wedding gown fitted. Now– I myself am a sewer, I know enough that when I see someone elses work, I can be a fairly competant judge of whether its good stuff. Mari does good work. I noticed I didnt see anything heavy duty in her shop, and so I asked Mari if she ever fitted wedding gowns (hey– some people dont want to deal with complicated stuff like gowns).
She said yes. I made an appointment, and brought the dress in, had it «fitted» and kept wondering to myself why she didnt seem to think this was nearly the big project that I thought it was. I returned to try it on.
Guys– it was HUGE in the bust on me, it was HUGE in the waist, the corset back was completely closed and it still didnt fit right AND it was too long on me. and no, I wasnt on some crazy bride-​to-​be diet.
She didnt take the hem up, she didnt add a bustle, instead she told me to just carry it up with the loop that they put in the middle of the train for when you hang the dress (yikes!).
So– while Mari has done great work on smaller items, and while I was willing to forgive the occasion I had to bring something back to her– Im giving her one star at this point because I don’t think she was honest with me about her experience with wedding gowns, as was shown by the work she did.
Total bummer. It would have been totally ok for her to tell me the job was not something she wanted to take on.

Mari is awesome. I have been going to her for years. I am kind of a creature of habit and once I find a place I like I am dedicated to it.
I have short asian legs and have to get EVERYTHING shortened. I went to many dry cleaners in the area and wasn’t happy with any of them. Both price and quality of work. Then I found Mari. She is quick, precise and reasonably priced.
Never second guess her. One time I argued with her that I wanted something shortened a little more. When the work was done, she was right that it was too short. Better to leave it to the pro. She knows what she is talking about.
Now that I have been there for years and have sent many of my friends there I have a great relationship with her.
Yes parking can be difficult, but if you buzz her at the gate there is guest parking in the garage. I live walking distance so I walk over cause it is just easier.

I had several pairs of slacks, skirts, and jackets hemmed and fitted here.
Mari is absolutely fantastic. I will never doubt again when it comes to purchasing clothes and having them tailored to my form. All I’ll have to do is bring them here and easy peezy, Mari will work her magic in no time.
Parking is hard to come by if you don’t know where to look. I do what everyone else does and park in front of the furniture store and book it over to her shop.

I had found Express Alterations via google and Mari happened to answer the phone on a Friday evening at 6 p.m. I needed a dressed hemmed the next day to be ready by 3 p.m. and she said she can help me (so happy about that). She asked me to come in at 10 a.m. the next day so she an have it ready in time.
The parking isn’t too bad — I actually lucked-​out and grabbed a meter parking spot right there in front of the building (a little off from her store front but literally a few feet walking distance).
Mari rocked-​it and did a wonderful job. For $ 25 bucks she hemmed my cotton dress by the time she said she would — and the hem looks great.
I’ve never experienced a seamstress before but all I know is that the price was reasonable (I asked around) and it was such a quick turnaround. I have no complaints at all and will be coming back here. So happy I found this place.
She only takes checks or cash. So just be prepared. She let me pay when I picked the dress up. Mari is a really nice lady!

I complained to Mari the tailor about the lack of street parking on a recent weekday afternoon.
She said it’s fine to park at Mirage Furniture despite all the new tow-​away signs they have posted.
I’ll take her word on it next time.
She still does great work and is very quick. By the way, she accepts only cash or check.

I was a bridesmaid in my cousin’s wedding and literally one week before I’m supposed to make the trip north to SF, she tells her mom, who tells my mom, who then tells me that I need to shorten the length of the skirt to mid-​calf… Holy-​Moly! Really? My mom says she can sew it. I do a fitting for her and she’s doing a test cut with an extra 2 inches added, and a wave of panic flows over me. It’s uneven! I love my momma, but she was not allowed near my skirt!
So, I’m pressed for time. I know I can take it to a local cleaners for their seamstress to fix in no time, but I’ve had bad experiences in the past and I have one (last) shot to get this right. I don’t want to be the one to stand out with a botched-​up, irreplaceable skirt.
I find Express Alterations online and they’re so close to where I live. I go there based on the reviews I’ve seen so far on Unilocal (thanks Sarah and Julie!) It really is hard to miss and it’s because the signage is misleading. I found the Mirage next door just fine, but all I can see in passing is «Ram’s Clothier’s». wha… it should be here! So it turns out that Express Alterations IS Ram’s! Or at least, inside of it. I think it did say it on the sign, but there was no way I would’ve read it while trying to drive. Needless to say, I found it.
I go in and it’s tiny inside, but the lady there is really nice. I tell her I just need it hemmed, nothing fancy. I put on the skirt and she immediately notices the unevenness – thank goodness! She pulls out her antique chalking device and asks when I need it by. Thursday – earlier the better?! I saw her on Tuesday, btw. She says if I come by after 10am, she’ll have it done.
Thursday comes around and «Voila!» Perfectly even and no puckering along the hem (as often happens with satin-​type fabrics)! She saved the day and it was only $ 20, which was very reasonable. So should I need any future adjustments, I will definitely take it to Express Alterations from now on.

Another Unilocaler recently asked me for the name of the place I go to for alterations (based on the reference to her in the review of my local dry cleaner). I’ll admit that I didn’t Unilocal the place right away because there are just some spots that we hide away– our little secrets. But, since the information has been requested…
This little tailor’s shop is teeny tiny and easy to miss. It’s on the south side of Ventura Blvd. near Mirage Furniture (which is where I usually park because there aren’t any meters on the street there – shhhh).
Anyway, it’s simple and unassuming. In fact, there’s nothing *amazing* about this shop… except the fact that they do IMPECCABLE work.
I’ve had them shorten suit sleeves, take in pants, let out dresses, repair vintage slips, and match missing buttons and I haven’t ever been disappointed. Oh yeah, they’re cheap too.
(This is where I cringe and imagine hundreds of Valley Girls flooding the store with their ill-​fitting True Religions and slowing down my all-​important skirt hemming. I must remind myself that sharing is good karma.)