Maria’s Alterations

The dress was not properly altered the first time around. It was too loose in the chest area (causing the straps to slide down). The gal working with me kept telling me «don’t worry, don’t worry.» Well, I wasn’t worried… it’s just that it wasn’t correct. Her only resolution was to add a simple hook and eye enclosure on the top. Although she didn’t charge me for this… it looked terrible when I put it on again. There was a gaping hole above the zipper and the hook and eye was clearly visible at the top of the hole. For about $ 150 in alterations to a bridesmaid dress (hemming & tightening the bust area)…it sure wasn’t worth it.

Prices seem very arbitrary and expensive — even for Brookline. But I paid them because of the convenience-​factor of her location.
I also had a bad experience where I asked Maria just to take up the straps of a dress. She ended up suggesting taking it in instead (saying that the straps would then fit). And I trusted her — because she’s the expert, right? Well, the straps were still too long. I ended up having to pay an additional $ 25 to have the straps taken up after I had spent $ 45 to have the dress taken in. $ 70 just to have the straps of my dress fit? Maybe it’s just me, but I thought that since she was incorrect about the straps fitting, she should have offered to correct the problem at no additional cost.
I will give Maria some credit for doing good work though. Everything that she has altered has looked great. You just have to pay a lot for it.

Maria’s Alterations does a great job — she’s fixed a liner of a coat for me, (replaced the whole thing, it’s like having a whole new coat!) and shortened the sleeves on a blazer and the hem of some trouser jeans. Having said all that, I think she is rather expensive — for the hem on jeans, and the shortened blazer sleeves, it was $ 48 total.
I may go back if I needed something more expertly done, like the lining, but otherwise, I don’t think I will be taking my jeans there anymore.
BTW, Cash only.

With very little time to spare, I brought in a very large, colorful piece of Indian fabric that I needed shortened and made into a shawl. I was surprised by how helpful and attentive they were to my needs. Not only was the piece of fabric made into a beautiful shawl (no easy feat!) but they did it with kindness and patience. I will definitely go back again!

i have my loyalties with getting my alteration done back in fairfax, va at hilltop cleaners; however, i was desperate and needed an original hem on my new jeans (i blame my genetic predisposition for shorter legs lol)…anyways, i was a little weary with dropping off my jeans at Maria’s, but still took the leap of faith. i’m so glad i did! she did an amazing original hem job — great cosmetics, solid stitch job (blind stitch on extra material, reinforced the hem with multiple stitches)…100% im coming back here whenever i need anything altered!

I have used Maria’s quite a few times for everything from basic hems to taking in bridesmaids dresses & always find the ladies to do a consistently good job — both under the old ownership and the new ownership. Even trusting them with my wedding gown this week! Yes, they only take cash and can sometimes have a week-​long turnaround time, but it’s definitely worth it for me. Feel like the prices have gone up a little bit under the new ownership, but that may also be because I’m bringing them more difficult things to do (they charged me $ 80 to hem & take in a bridesmaid dress because they had to remove the zipper & re-​sew the whole thing). All in all, have been very pleased with Maria’s.

I disliked the previous owners of this shop — I thought they were rude and didn’t do an outstanding job with shortening pants/​jeans. I was pleasantly surprised when I went back a couple months ago and there were new owners. They are quiet but very nice and do a great job. One thing to note is that they DO NOT take credit cards… kind of a pain but not a deal breaker.

The mother/​daughter team who were there before have sold the shop and moved back home to Lebanon. Boo! I wish I could say I am as happy with the current business owners as I was before, but frankly, unhappy is being generous.
With one month before I needed it, I took a dress in to get altered. I explained in dressmaking terms exactly what I wanted. I had a very specific vision for this dress. I knew it would work, but I also knew it would take a bit of work– hence the one month lead time.
In the past, «Maria» had wonderfully accommodated me and followed my vision, even if she personally didn’t agree. Not so the new owner. In spite of the seamstress pinning it to my specifications, when I went to pick the dress up, the very problem I had with the dress in the first place was still there. Inexplicably, the only thing that had been altered was the very thing I did NOT want changed. Needless to say I was confused, and more than a little upset.
After I explained in no uncertain terms why I was unhappy, she actually asked me to pay full price for the alteration. I reiterated that the work done was not what I asked for and refused to pay more than half-​price at the most. What followed was a ludicrous 20 minute argument over (for the third time!) why I did not want to pay.
During the course of this argument I was repeatedly told that «since the price was so cheap I shouldn’t complain,» offered several times an explanation that had nothing to do with the issue at hand and, bafflingly, accused of «lying» about what I said I wanted. It also came out that a) she didn’t like what I wanted done so she changed it, and b) in fact she felt what I wanted would have been «too big a project» so she just didn’t do it. Livid doesn’t really do justice to how I felt. Never once was it mentioned to me or was I contacted about this project being «too big”– though my phone number was on the tag.
I explained that I suspected it might be a lot of work, which is why I brought it in a month beforehand. (Maria knocked out an alteration of much greater scope– i.e. sizing down a corset dress with boning – in two weeks once. One month isn’t enough time for an elastic waist? Really?)
As to the price, I confess I was surprised when I was quoted a price beforehand, since «Maria» had always taken my pieces and then given me a price after the fact to reflect the amount of work done. It’s not my fault that the current owner lowballed me on the quote. She should have contacted me if she felt it was going to cost more than what she originally stated.
I also reminded her that this is my dress to wear as I see fit. It doesn’t matter if she thinks it would look better a certain way. I want it how I want it and as long as the dress can be altered to look that way – it can– I don’t think that’s an unreasonable request to make as a customer.
To her credit she offered to fix it so that it will look the way I originally requested. I am, however, skeptical that this dress can be saved, which is the most frustrating part of all.
Needless to say, I’m going elsewhere form now on.

I rather like this place. I trust them completely. They’re not a talkative bunch, but that’s not what I pay them for. Mostly I’ve only gone for hem jobs on pants because of my squatty little legs, but every hem has stayed in and taken the beating I and my ridiculous shoes have to give. I’ve paid much more for hem jobs that came undone after 3 wears. They also removed the pockets that were showing through in a cream colored pair of slacks and masked the surgery beautifully.
I will definitely consider going in for more complicated work when I feel like my life is calm enough to afford such things. Plus, I like the location. It’s out of the way so I don’t feel cramped and flustered like I do running errands streetside.