Express Alterations

I ordered a floor-​length, two-​layer chiffon dress with a full skirt for a black tie event that ended up being way too long. After failing to find heels that were high enough to solve the issue, I decided at the last minute that I really needed to have it hemmed. I called Express Alterations on Friday at 6pm in desperation (my event was on the following Monday). They said they could have it finished by Sunday, so I immediately went in to have it measured. On Saturday afternoon, they called to say it was already finished– LESS THAN 24 HOURS after I dropped it off!!! I was absolutely thrilled. (And it only cost about $ 50, which is less than I was expecting for such a last-​minute request.) I don’t know what I would have done without Express Alterations. I will definitely be returning for future tailoring needs.

I needed alterations made to my dress for a ball and Anna did the alterations in 2 hours flat and it was excellent work! I highly recommend this place. She is knowledgeable and affordable!

Very friendly and helpful! She was able to alter a dress by 3 inches in just 2 days. She got it perfect on the first try and ready 1 day early! I will always recommend Express Alterations and come back for any alterations I need in the future!

I love Ms Anna Therese. She’s the sweetest ever.
I’m short and I shop on line, so I have to get a lot of my clothes altered. I found her through Unilocal,like, two years ago, and have been going there pretty regularly ever since. Otherwise, I would have had no idea where to go. I was thinking about going to one of those dry cleaners that do alterations, but I have never had a good experience with them. A lot of them have absolutely no idea how to precisely reconstruct the original seams, and you often wind up with a ridiculous product. At least in my experience, she has been a real craftsman. The most complicated alteration I’ve had to get done to date is a sports jacket I bought that was about half inch too long at the cuffs. Another half inch above them were buttons with a complex loop configuration. She was able to move up the buttons to the corresponding length, which is not what I had expected at all. So it looked exactly the way the original would have looked had its cuffs been at the length I wanted.
I suppose because Therese’s been in the neighborhood for a while and, therefore, has dealt for years with sartorially very particular, very specific people, she has a real keen sense of what will not only look good but also what would look good on your body in particular.
Now, to be fair, I am a guy and I am not, in fact, all that particular. So if you are very particular or you’re dealing in very costly material, I couldn’t vouch for her. If you brought in an outfit that cost hundred or thousands, and it wasn’t precisely what you expected, I can see how you might get angry about that. I get all my shirt on sale, so, you know.
It’s hard to find a good tailor– trust me. This nice lady does a great job at a fair price and in the time she says she is going to do it. She may hate you if you challenge her but she doesn’t hold grudges. So don’t take it personal if she hates you because she won’t remember it (or you) the next day.
So imagine that your favorite somewhat crusty older auntie, grandmother, or perfectly tended rose garden kinda neighbor lady was a seamstress (sadly a dying art) and you as the thread and needle challenged needed something fixed went to her for help.
She looks at your proposed project, looks at the fabric you brought, clucks a bit, then agrees she can do it. You suddenly have visions of all those clothing items missing buttons and needing repair and you instantly pull up your shirt and show her the gaping tear where your shorts button and ask how much to fix something like that.
Check out Ms Anna… neat old school alteration and seamstress services… the crusty but lovable owner will make your day! I offered to pay in advance or a deposit and she declined as it was not necessary! Very refreshing these days!
Oh…the project I took her? I replaced my bedroom curtains with grommet ones… and I took an extra panel in to have it recut into a French Door Panel (giving her the original its replacing as a template) and it will be ready in a week or less… and the fee was only $ 35.00! Ill update when I get it back!

Do not confuse this place with Georgetown Express Alterations. This woman closed her shop early without telling any of her customers. She took my money, my bridesmaids dress and my fathers suit for my sisters wedding. When my father went to pick up the items she refused to give them to him without the receipt. When he returned with my receipt she closed early for the day. The next day my parents went to pick the items up and she put a sign up saying she was closed till June 30^th.
To make an incredibly long story short, I located her cell number and called and texted her many many times. She called me back two days later telling me she was on «vacation» and I could pick my dress up on Saturday. I told her I was leaving tomorrow for the wedding and that would not work. She told me she couldn’t hear me and hung up. I did not give up and continued to call and text. The night before I left I recieved a call at 10:30 PM telling me I had 20 minutes to get my dress and now she told me she was sick. When I arrived it was pretty clear that she was not sick, but instead she looked like she was in the middle of a face lift. She then tried to pawn other people’s dresses on to me, telling me they were mine. I then saw that there was no way for my dad to have a receipt because she had both copies.
This was a horrendous experience and this woman is simply a liar. DO NOT GIVE HER ANY BUISNESS.

This woman doesn’t even deserve a star. Echoing many of the people here — I dropped my dress off for my twin sister’s wedding in the UK planning to pick it up today ⁶⁄₂₃. She said nothing about being closed and saw I sign on her door saying she will reopen on July 1. I LEAVE FOR ENGLAND THIS SATURDAY. This horrible woman has my $ 300 bridesmaids dress. Anyone know if there’s a way to get the police involved to get my dress before I leave? This is the most unprofessional situation I’ve ever been in. This woman should not be running this business.
I keep calling the only number listed and it goes to voicemail and the mailbox is full.
HELLPP! What can I do?!

HELP! Outside Ms. Tam’s shop where I dropped off a bridesmaid dress last week for a wedding this weekend, paid $ 130 for express services, and there is a sign that says she is closed until July 1^st. Is there anyone who can help me get in touch?

I guess this is fine. Ahn/​her folks did a good job with the hem of my dress and pulling up the back to fit my petite figure.
I was just disappointed that when I got my dress back, it seemed like a stray pin had caught my dress and loosened a thread, fraying the pretty fabric. When I pointed this out, she claimed I caused the damage when I tried the dress on in the shop! Though I got a $ 10 discount, I was apparently charged an extra $ 6 because I used a credit card.
This feels all strange when I should be stoked. :(

I am not certain why Unilocal does not publish/​advertise many of the negative reviews for this business. Had I seen these «hidden» negative reviews, chronicling what one user called a «nightmarish» experience, I would never have crossed paths with this horrible woman, whose grim, slackened visage I hope never to see again.
The things I would like to say about Express Alterations are too obscene for public consumption.

I stopped in today and Ana was able to fix my pants on the spot. I was having major problems with the zipper on my trousers and Ana was able to fix them on the spot. I am very thankful that she saved me from a major wardrobe malfunction.

I took some curtains here based on the good reviews but was really disappointed. What I needed done was really straightforward — adjusting/​hemming the length of two pairs of curtains and sewing each pair together lengthwise. Yes, there’s a pretty big language barrier here, but I drew what I wanted on paper and wrote down the measurements (length and width) and we went over it carefully. Everything seemed fine. When I went to pick them up, she had adjusted the length but not sewed the curtains together lengthwise. She refused to admit any error and didn’t make any effort to resolve it. It was overpriced for the job she did ($ 120 for hemming four 55″ cotton curtain panels). It wasn’t express, either — took a week, and she initially wanted to have two weeks to do this.

Ms. Tam has saved my life on countless occasions. Not literally, but you know what I mean. My first time coming here was before President Obama’s inaugural ball in 2012. I received the gown I wanted to wear in the mail about three days before the ball and it needed to be altered. I did a quick google search and this was the first place that popped up so I decided to check it out. Ms. Tam got me in and out of there in less than 30 minutes even though the place was packed, and she had the dress ready for me the next day. Since then, I’ve taken all of my business to Express Alterations – dresses for senior ball and other formal events, everyday clothes, etc.
Word of advice for Unilocalers thinking of going there: Don’t judge a book by its cover! The space is small and hidden (it’s upstairs), and in the summer it gets SO HOT in there. It’s loud, hectic, and can get extremely cramped in the room during busy hours/​days. But Ms. Tam and her team always deliver, and the finished product has never disappointed me.

I’ve been coming to this establishment for over a decade. From my youthful days of having them put the finishing alterations on my fresh outfit for da club, to them putting the finishing touches on my Easter Sunday special, to them sharpening me up for a dream job interview. So when the most important day of my life needed me at my best, there was no question who I was going to.
I bought a J Lindeberg suit that was perfect for my beach wedding. However, though it fit great everywhere else, years of lifting heavy weights had left me a bit large in the torso and having a pretty steep drop of about 8 inches. This made shopping for suits hell. I took this suit to Express Alterations and within a week, they had it back to me with a perfect fit for the best price in the area for this level of work. This is the only establishment I use for alterations.

I bought a beautiful Dolce and Gabbana dress but it was too tight on the hips (it was the only one and such a steal I couldn’t pass it up). I was nervous about getting a silk dress let out but was reassured by the store’s owner that Express Alterations was the best and I was not disappointed! She had it ready in 4 days and when I went for my fitting and it was still a bit snug on one spot she had it fixed by the next day. It fits perfectly and you would never know it had been altered. The price was also very fair. I highly recommend her and will certainly be a loyal customer!

Ms. Tam (The number «8» in Vietnamese, her nickname) is a miracle-​worker. I came to her with my bridesmaid dress about three weeks in advance. She told me it was going to be a challenge but that she would be able to get it done. It did take longer than she told me it would — but I anticipated that and luckily it was able to be finished in time.
I write this to express my gratitude to Ms. Tam. She calls my dress the hardest one she has ever had to alter; even wedding dresses have been easier! What’s more, while she was working on it she was informed she had a family emergency and had to leave town early the next day. She knew she wouldn’t be back until after the wedding was over, so rather than return the dress to me and call it a draw, she stayed at her shop until 10pm at night on a Sunday to finish it for me, and coordinated with my boyfriend to pick it up since I was working that evening.
She went above and beyond for a first-​time customer just because she takes pride in her work. She told me that when she was a girl, she would take the lunch money parents gave her and buy cloth instead because she loved to sew so much. She says nothing makes her happier than to make women feel beautiful and perfect in their dresses. She delivered in a big way, and I don’t think you’ll find this type of dedication in many other tailors.
Thank you so much Co Tam, I got many compliments on my dress and it’s all thanks to your hard work and dedication!

Ms. Tam aka Co Tam aka Anna is amazing! I had a bridesmaid dress that was one or two sizes too small and just didn’t fit right at all. It would not go past my waist; and the zipper broke on me (b/​c of my back fat lol). She was able to somehow make the dress fit right bc there was no way I could drop 2 dress sizes! This is the 4^th wedding that she has done alterations for me and my friends. She’s done magical transformations every time at prices you can’t find anywhere else! Although she doesn’t speak the best English, she knows what she’s doing and it’s worth getting your alterations from her!

I came here after reading other Unilocal reviews & couldn’t have been a more satisfied customer. I highly recommend her, she’s extremely friendly & does an amazing job with your clothes. I needed five dresses altered since they were oversized & ill-​fitted, but after she did her magic, they were perfect. She’s going to be my go-​to tailor from now on!

I rarely ever write reviews on Unilocal.But, I had to log in and express my gratitude and appreciation for Ms. Tam (Anna). Not only is she very friendly, she is great at what she does. The turn around time is fairly quick, and she will work with you to make sure you are 100% satisfied with your items. I highly recommend her to everyone. If you’re in the area definitely go to her, you will not be disappointed!

In 2010, my friend Nancy and I were maids of honors for our girl, Sofia’s wedding. We had just had a crappy experience at a bridal shop who was trying to charge us an arm and a leg for alterations. Nance says one of her mom’s besties might be able to hook us (and the 6 bridesmaids) up. Nance has been going to her since she was a kid since her mom is very good friends with Ms. Tam. Thank God for that. All 8 of us went to Ms. Tam with absolutely NO issues and she did amazing work at such a great price. We were all so happy, that most of us, to this day, still take our work and daily clothes worn to Ms. Tam to fix up.
Fast forward to when I was planning my own wedding in 2011. I had 10 bridesmaids (yeah, we roll deep in this crew) and 2 dresses of my own, to include my wedding dress and reception dress, to get taken in and fixed up. All 10 bridesmaids had their dresses fixed up by Ms. Tam and they fit their body figures perfectly at such an affordable price.
My wedding dress was purchased at Filene’s Basement during the Running of the Brides event and was a size 14. But who could pass up the $ 499 price tag on a Jim Hjlem couture (originally $ 1500), just because it was too big? (Btw — my girls fought hard to get me that dress, haha! Had to stalk it around the store from a bride and trade her for a dress we already had. We knew it was THE one… especially when a random guy literally had tears in his eyes when I tried it on in the middle of Filene’s, and as my girls clipped me in and held the back to make it fit me properly, with hands to his mouth, he gasps and says, «OMG, you look stunning. And… bitch, if you don’t buy that dress, I will.»)
Ms. Tam took care of me and resized it down to a 4. And basically reshaped it into a brand new dress that hugged my body and every curve. It was an amazing transformation. She even made me look like I had boobies in my sweetheart neckline! And with wedding stress, you inevitably lose a few pounds the week of the wedding… Ms. Tam resized it to a 2, 2 days before my wedding rehearsal with no issues. She also hooked it up with a BCBG dress (a size 10 originally, bought from an outlet in Florida for $ 40 by a friend) down to a size 2, that I wore during the reception. One of my bridesmaids had just given birth to our beautiful nephew not even 3 weeks before my wedding and waited till the very last minute to get her dress tailored (about 4 days before it) and Ms. Tam had no issues getting that work done, so fast!
Our friend, Paula, got married in 2013 and all 11 of us in the bridal party (what I say about us rollin’ deep) took our dresses to Ms. Tam to get tailored. I had just found out I was pregnant around the time we ordered our dresses and was advised by the bridal shop to order a size 16, the biggest size they carried… Really, doe? IDK why I listened… Come June, my 7 month pregnant ass needed my dress to be sized down from a 16 to a 4. Ms. Tam hooked it up! And managed to make my pregnant ass still feel beautiful in my dress. I hadn’t really announced I was pregnant, either, so Ms. Tam was able to alter my dress to show my cute baby bump and it was a nice surprise for some when we did our entrance at the wedding. Paula’s beautiful $ 3,000 wedding dress with intricate beading and lace was altered by Ms. Tam and fit Paula like a glove. It was beautiful! She was able to add a bustle and everything.
Needless to say. Ms. Tam is the GO TO if you are getting married. Or if you need your power suit hooked up before an important meeting at work. Or if you just need your jeans taken in or loosened. She was even able to put an extra hole in my belt so it fit me better. She works well within your budget and charges a lot less than what I was quoted from bridal shops and fancy dry cleaners. She works fast, while still maintaining the quality. Yes, there is a slight language barrier and English isn’t her strongest language but I’ve never had any issues. And that’s nothing a picture or a quick game of charades can’t solve. Or better yet, bring your Vietnamese homie with you to translate, if it’s something out of the norm. And she does take credit cards now. Suhweet.

Amazing and fast!
This hidden place is definitely worth looking for.
I needed a quick same day alteration for New Year’s Eve and I came looking on Unilocal for the address!
Lady is nice and friendly, and provided great service.