Elena’s Alterations & Tailoring

Elena is an amazing seamstress. She is imaginative, detailed, and fast.
I first worked with Elena in 2010 to make some last-​minute Halloween costumes. In less than a week, she crafted exquisite The Monarch and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch (from The Venture Bros.) costumes, after looking at just a small handful of images. A little while later, she made an Alice dress and Mad Hatter outfit based on the Disney Alice in Wonderland movie. Additionally she made tiny Alice in Wonderland costumes for some stuffed animals.
As for normal everyday tailoring, Elena does excellent work as well. I’ve had her hem pants and make other small tweaks to my clothes. She has great attention to detail. One time, I had her re-​sew a button on a shirt and noticed that she sewed it back on in a different place than the place where it fell off, but on further examination, I realized that the original location was misaligned with all the other buttons and that she had sewn it back in a better spot.
Her office is a little hard to find, because it’s in the back Tangerine Gifts. (It’s also accessible via a small doorway in the adjacent alley.) I’d recommend calling ahead to make sure Elena is in the office. She sometimes doesn’t get enough business to justify being there all the time, which is a shame, because she is simply the best.
Elena is very direct and down-​to-​business, so don’t worry if you don’t see her smile or let that turn you off. Her work is the best I’ve seen and she’s absolutely worth your time.