Fashions by Mary

Owner is nice in a grandmotherly kind of way, but quality of work is a little lacking. I brought in a couple of exercise shirts repaired. I needed some seams restitched. Cost was $ 25 for both. I guess this is a reasonable price, but I had to return because the job was obviously rushed. Some of the seams I asked to be repaired were skipped.
An update: 2 months later seams started separating. Closer inspection shows the stitching was rushed. I should have just done this myself.
Update 2: 3 months later and stitching has all come out. What a waste of time and money. Go elsewhere.

I was on a time crunch to have my bridesmaid gown done for an out-​of-​state wedding. I left my dress with Mary for a week. The gown needed to be hemmed and taken out. When I arrived on the agreed upon day to pick it up, I was very disappointed to find that it had not been let out. The hem was, however, done. I explained to her that it still fit like it had when I first dropped it off. I was concerned that it would not be finished by the time I needed it. She assured me it would be done the following day, and it was. It fit correctly on the second try so I was relieved.
I doubt I would take a dress to her again for custom alterations.

Mary may be a lovely Persian grandmother, but she certainly didn’t do what I asked or was willing to pay for. I wanted a knit jersey top – simple boat-​neck black long-​sleeved top to wear every day – duplicated because the one I had was wearing out. I brought it in and showed it to her. She told me to bring her the yardage and she’d do it for, I think it was $ 45. I went and got the yardage and brought it to her. First of all, she said it’d be two weeks. I called after two weeks and was put off for another week, and then yet another week or two. Finally – finally – I went in and she had made *two* tops out of my yardage, she used fishing-​line-​type nylon thread for some mysterious reason – it didn’t look good and the ends stuck into my skin like fishing line – and she wanted to charge me $ 85. I said no, I’d take one, and pay her what we’d already agreed on. She argued with me. Finally I took one. And paid her $ 45. When I discovered the nylon thread, having tried to wear the top and not being able to because it *hurt*, I brought it back to her. I didn’t take my money back – I just said goodbye. NOT an experience I intend to repeat.

I don’t go to this place anymore. I feel her services are overpriced and sometimes she does a good job, sometimes she doesn’t. She did a great job repairing a ripped leather jacket, but did an awful job hemming a pair of slacks (wasn’t finished well, left raw edges). Another time, the language was a problem and she just couldn’t understand what I wanted done. I need to be able to communicate clearly with someone who is going to be altering my clothes.

Mary just altered two pairs of pants for me and hemmed a third and did a fabulous job. Fast, affordable and high quality.

A neighbor told me about this place, when I said I needed a very skilled and careful seamstress to repair an heirloom quilt and a heavily embroidered Norwegian national costume/​dress. Mary did both jobs beautifully, and at a very reasonable price. She took special care with the antique fabrics, and I can barely see where she made her repairs. She has my highest recommendation

Disclaimer: I am completely unqualified to write this review.
Mary has never sewn as much as a stitching on any of my clothes. She is, however, my best friend’s cute little Persian grandmother. I’ve been to her store a couple of times, having spoken with her regulars who also seem smitten by her grandmotherly charms.
These 5 «Woohoo! As good as it gets!» stars flaunt the definition that a review be based on experience. They’re mostly based on Mary as a person, but personal experience is also relevant: the woman couldn’t keep still when we were watching «He’s Just Not That Into You,» throwing in her own interjections on the stitching quality of the bridesmaid dress. This is the only criteria I have to assess Mary’s dexterity with the needle, but this take-​home passion must reflect something!
If you’re a straight male, beware: like all Persian grandmothers, she has her family’s best interests at heart. Meaning, she might not so slyly try to hook you up with her single granddaughter, i.e. my friend.

I was tired of searching for parking on University Ave to go to the couple tailors there, so I tried Mary’s, which is close to my house with plenty of parking on Solano. She’s obviously a very good seamstress– has pictures of wedding and prom dresses she’s designed all over the store– and my alterations came out fitting me perfectly. My one complaint was how arbitrary the pricing seemed to be– there was no printed list, and while my pants were $ 18 each to take in (reasonable), one skirt was $ 60. When I looked startled, Mary quickly took it down to $ 45. I still couldn’t understand why the price was so much different, and not knowing anything about sewing I suspected I was being taken advantage of. Still not sure if that was the case, but it made my experience worse. Not sure if I’ll go back, though I did think the tailoring itself was very well done.