she charged $50 to hem my jeans that also cost $50 do not go there for tailoring. she's also very rude read more

Don't go here. Seamstress charges literally 3 times everyone else. And it's "Cash Only"...enough said. End product reflects mediocre, lazy workmanship. The item fit worse after tailoring because she didn't bother with the more challenging parts of the alteration. She just took in the sides without doing any work to refit the chest and straps. This made the top baggy...it looked worse that it did pre-alteration because the proportions were off. Unfriendly environment. She makes it clear that feedback is unappreciated and unwelcome. read more

I was so completely panicked about my wedding dress after reading what felt like hundreds of negative and disastrous reviews of other tailors. I am so thankful I found Alla!!! She did wonders with my complex wedding dress, was straightforward about the price and kept it the same even when the dress required a second round of alternations. She was incredibly creative with how she suggested hiding my bra on the low-back dress because I really didn't want cups sewn in. She made me a sweet little ring pillow out of the excess lace from my dress, which was such a sweet surprise! She's a pleasure and very good at what she does. We take all alterations to her now! Thank you, Alla!!!! read more

Alla Tailoring - Wedding dress - Sewing & Alterations Near Me - Newton, Massachusetts

I'd gone to Alla's because the reviews were outstanding. However, she was curt while tailoring. I gave her a pass-not everyone is chatty and upbeat. However, I returned to pickup dress, it was too small(too much fabric taken out) and very expensive $185! I was dismayed, of course by the job not being completed well and I asked her to alter it again. She suggested to me to lose a little weight so I fit. I decided I had had enough, I paid for the dress, told her how upset I was, and took my business elsewhere. read more

Alla did an impeccable job altering my difficult horsehair-trim wedding gown. I originally went to a different tailor, who specializes in wedding dresses and is top rated on Yelp. But that tailor turned down my job because it was too time consuming; she instead referred me to Alla. I'm so glad she did! Not only is Alla's sewing beautiful, but she is professional and lovely to work with. The work was completed on time for every fitting I had. Her prices are great given the high quality of work, and she is less expensive than tailors on Newbury St. Lastly, as a testament to Alla's creativity, she saved the extra fabric and beading from altering my gown and created a lovely pillow. It will be perfect for the ring bearer the day of, and I will treasure it as a keepsake afterwards. I hope to donate my dress after the wedding, so the pillow will be a precious memory! read more

Alla Tailoring - After altering my wedding gown, Alla used the extra fabric and beading to create a beautiful pillow! Perfect for the ringbearer. - Sewing & Alterations Near Me - Newton, Massachusetts

See all

Alla did a beautiful job in downsizing my corset ballgown. The estimate was a month but she actually finished in 2 weeks. It was a bit embarrassing when I heard the final bill is 150 while the quote was 80, Because i didn't prepare enough cash and she doesn't take cards. But honestly it's still inexpensive. Follow up - as I promised I will add a pic after the big day - this 20lbs heavy strapless fits me perfect, not falling, not choking me :) read more

Alla Tailoring - Sewing & Alterations Near Me - Newton, Massachusetts

I brought in a dress for a quote on alterations. The price was beyond expensive and there was a charge for the consult. I brought the dress elsewhere and am paying less than half the amount. Be sure to do your homework. read more

I have brought ski pants, PJ pants, pillow cases, ripped pants (but love them too much to let go), and a host of other clothes for Alla to alter. They were all competently done for the price you pay. Not the friendliest seamstress either. read more

I came here desperate for help after a highly reviewed tailor in South Boston told me it would be "impossible" to take in my wedding dress due to the illusion/mesh neck and back. With less than a month I came to Alla since she was close to my office, and asked if anything could be done. She took one look, said no problem, and a week later I had the dress of my dreams for 1/3 less of the price I initially paid the first tailor. I won't go anywhere else from now on! read more

Alla Tailoring - Great alterations by Alla! - Sewing & Alterations Near Me - Newton, Massachusetts

Alla did an awesome job for me, very fast and accurate. She decorated my denim tote bag made from old shorts. Now it looks like new, unique and very cool one. She is very pleasant and experienced person. I definitely will return with other ideas since I like customized things and clothes. Highly recommend her work. read more

I have ordered a window seat cushion and some matching pillows at Alla Tailoring a few weeks ago and I couldn't be happier with the result! Alla did an amazing job in a very short time. Her design ideas and suggestions were helpful and creative. Her work product is absolutely beautiful and of impeccable quality. The service was very professional and courteous. I highly recommend Alla Tailoring without any hesitation and so does Cat Leopold who loves his new cozy and relaxing sitting spot : ) read more

Alla Tailoring - Sewing & Alterations Near Me - Newton, Massachusetts

See all

I want to thank Alla for her great support and help with buying a wedding dress for my daughter. Someone gave me Alla's number and I called to find out if she would be available to do alteration for a dress that we were going to buy. Alla ended up spending a lot of her time on the phone with me, helping with advice, revising the pictures of dresses I sent her. Not only she is a professional, but she is a very kind genuine person. I owe her my sanity. Many thanks from my daughter, me and the whole family, we all love the dress that Alla helped to chose! read more

Just beware. Ask her how much before you agree to anything. She can be very expensive. Also. This is a place where the customer service is non existent. She doesn't even acknowledge her customers with a hello. Let alone a smile. I'm never going back there. Plenty of competition and I don't appreciate the lack of kindness. With that that said she's a competent seamstress. read more

I went here after reading the reviews, but had a very different experience. I had to have a gown altered for a black-tie event: when I went in, she was dismissive and rude. When I went back to pick up the dress, she had not done several of the alterations that I had requested. She was, again, dismissive and rude. I had to go back the next day to try again. Once again, dismissive and rude. The alterations were better, but I was not thrilled. When I asked how much...it was atrocious! I will NEVER go back. read more

This tiny little one-woman shop is great. Kathy's alterations are quick, reliable and affordable.

She did quick work and was very pleasant. The work was done very well and looks great. I am impressed with her turnaround and the look of her work. read more

Great little tailor, quick turnaround, and beautiful sewing. I had a formal dress taken up a bit and she was great.

I wanted to have my jeans shortened - i brought them in on Wednesday and they were suppose to be ready by Saturday. When i showed up in the morning as agreed, she said she hasn't had the time yet. I am fine with that, but there are a bunch of tailors on that street and if she had told me earlier that she was busy, i would have taken them somewhere else. Very unprofessional! read more

I came in with a dress that I need to have taken out quite a bit. She had no problem doing the job and had it ready for me within 24 hours. She is a fabulous seamstress who doesn't stress out no matter what the job is. This is a hidden gem in the Newton area, I highly recommend this shop. read more

I needed to get a dress altered for a friend's wedding. I brought it here and she got it back to me in just a few days and did a great job. I would definitely recommend going here. I think the price was very reasonable as well. read more

Alla has really cleaned this shop and made it beautiful. I have brightly clothing to this shop for 15 years. Always consistent, great work ready in a timely fashion. I just brought I two new pair of jeans Friday and she had them ready for pick up Saturday. Which was very much appreciated!!! read more

I had a really expensive winter coat that got hooked on a doorknob. The pocket ripped open and I thought I had to throw it out. I reached out to Alla tailoring and asked them if they do this kind of repair. I got a very quick reply and brought my coat in. They had a very quick turnaround, and performed the repair for less than they originally quoted! I would highly recommend them. Please know they take cash or check only. read more

Alla transformed some curtain panels to fit my windows. Even though I made a mistake in measuring, she was able to alter them and make them look perfect! Her work was beautiful and I was surprised by such a quick turn around time and a very fair price. I will surely be returning for more items to be altered! read more

I came here based on Yelp reviews, and unfortunately, will not be returning. I had a bridesmaid dress that needed to be shortened by a 2-3 inches... that's it. Not terribly complicated fabric either, chiffon on top that needed only to be cut and a basic hem on the inside fabric. I requested a short turnaround (dropped off Saturday morning, picked up Tuesday evening), but never in my wildest dreams could I have anticipated a charge of $80 for this. Ludicrous. I asked again for the price hoping I had misheard the first time, wrote the check and left. read more

I took a dress into this shop to have the skirt shortened. It is a size 4 dress - not a large skirt. I was told by Alba that it would cost $40. (yes, FORTY) to shorten. I thought I didn't hear her correctly, but, yes she reassured me . When I said no thank you, Alba came into the dressing area and said ok $30. I took the dress to another tailor and had an excellent job done shortening the dress for $ 17. (Yes, SEVENTEEN.) Now why would that be ? I don' know what quality of work this shop does, but I can tell you that you will pay too much. read more

I have had wonderful experiences with Alba. She is the owner of the shop, although it is called Kathy's, she has not changed the name as yet. I have a Navy peacoat from my brother's time in the service, circa early 80s, that I use as my winter coat. It's a beautiful sturdy coat but it was showing a lot of wear and tear. The sleeves were frayed, the buttons loose, the pockets full of holes. Alba took the coat and did wonders - she remade the sleeve hems so they are like new, she created a new pocket on one side - with the extra inner pocket from the original that I use for my chapstick, sewed all the buttons on securely. The coat is now better than new and I love it. I am so appreciative of her skills, I bring her the most difficult fixes and alterations. Thank you, Alba! read more

I've been a loyal customer of Alla since 2009. Since then she has professionally altered a number of dresses for me, mom and my girlfriends. Most of these dresses required quite a bit of work, and as a result, Alla always made us very happy. It's hard to find a good tailor these days and as I was was preparing for my wedding, I needed someone who I could rely on, and at the same time not spend a fortune. As a bride to be, I kept changing my mind about different types of alterations that I wanted. Any other seamstress would have given up on me a long time ago, yet Alla was extremely patient and made me look like a princess on the big day. Everyone kept asking whether the dress was a designer made and custom fitted for me. I felt truly amazing in it!! I'm really happy that I found Alla's shop, I highly recommend her work!! read more

Alla took on my wedding dress project, which was not an easy one. I had a vintage, heirloom dress that I wanted to re-style to suit me, but didn't know exactly what I wanted it to look like. Alla instantly had a vision, and created gorgeous alterations that fit my request perfectly! I'm sure the fabric was not easy to work with, yet she was able to cover stained areas, conceal tiny tears, and just worked magic with the pile of fabric that I left in her hands. I had so many compliments, and it took some real convincing to get our guests to believe that it was the same dress as in the "before" pictures. For the amazing work that she did, I couldn't believe how reasonable the cost was! Alla was so sweet and generous, and is a huge talent. I have been, and will continue to tell anyone who will listen where they should bring their tailoring needs. Thank you, Alla! read more

I started going to this tailor about a year ago. She's a miracle worker when it comes to dress zippers, and she was pretty good at getting the job done promptly (for the most part...there were definitely times i would come in on the day she asked me to pick up my clothes and she hadn't even started). she was always reasonably priced, too. then, on 9/26 this year I went in and showed her all my ripped jeans. I wasn't sure they were salvageable, but she said she could definitely make them look like they were never damaged. i kept going in, i must have gone in about 4 or 5 times because every time she'd say "no, come next week, i haven't started them yet." then, finally, the last time i went in she said "I'll call you." well, it has been over a month (about a month and two weeks), and I called her a few days ago. she said "I haven't started, I'll call you." I thought this was ridiculous so I asked her to give me a date on when to pick them up. Winter was coming (first snowfall [blizzard, actually] was last night, and she was well aware months ago that I had only one pair of jeans left to wear), so she said okay in a few days. I called her again, after my last pair of wearable jeans broke, and asked for an estimated price for my jeans. She didn't call me back, she never has. Turns out, I could pick them up today. So I did. The price came out to be $108, and all of my jeans have patches in them that just don't match. The time I waited was enough, and honestly I could have maybe dealt with the price...had the jeans turned out to be what she said they would be. I was pretty upset because I really can't afford to buy new jeans, which I have to do now. I was also upset because she had always been so reliable in the beginning, then slowly over time as she got to know me as a frequent customer, the prices rose and the time to get repairs increased markedly. read more

I had a last minute hem job on an expensive, black classic long dress with a sweeping hemline and built in liner/slip which also needed hemming. I can hem but this dress was just too nice and I needed it professionally done in a hurry. I called Kathy's Tailor shop--who turned out to be Alba (she's owned the shop a few years but did not change the name) after finding her on yelp. I was worried about her only having one review from 2007 but pretty desperate. When I met her, she told me she used to have more reviews and when I went back online later, indeed I did find some after being prompted to type in some code. Strange--I've been using yelp a long time and never encountered that before. Anyway, she said to get it to her asap, which I did by 3pm on a Thursday. I asked to have it by 3pm Friday and when I went to pick it up the next day it was ready and perfectly done. I thought the price was reasonable though I don't use tailors much. Alba was busy but she went the extra mile for me, getting it done on time at a price I could afford. Thanks Alba! read more

I was looking for an experience tailor for a long time and finally I found the right one ! I came to Alla to resize my expensive leather coat. She did a great job on it: professionally, accurately and quickly. After a while I ask her to have my pants done and she did exactly what I wanted. I strongly recommend Alla and I can trust her without any worries about my clothes ! read more

Overall, Alla did a great job. I had asked her to create a cotton lining in my dress pants. most materials such as polyester cause me irritation. She completed five pants. the work was completed on time and her price was reasonable. she found a very nice lining that was pretty thin. I would highly recommend her. I am happy that I worked with her and will certainly go back again. I had originally planned on working with another tailor down the street. he told me he would not recommend doing the lining. read more

The previous review was written in 2007, which I did not notice, when I brought 3 dresses and 1 camisole to be hemmed prior to a trip to Florida for a wedding. There is no one named Kathy here. It is still a solo operation, by a woman named Alba. She took time to pin the hems where I wanted them and agreed to have them ready on 1 week, although she did not appear to have a ton of work. One week later, I showed up, and she had JUST STARTED TO WORK ON THEM! She kept saying " another half an hour, another half an hour, you wait!" except she had NOT EVEN BEGUN 2 of the items and had to "press" the dress I am wearing to the wedding. When i got home, I tried on that dress and the hem is shorter in the back than in the front and it cost me $40.!!! HER ALTERATIONS ARE NEITHER "QUICK, RELIABLE, NOR AFFORDABLE". I had to leave 2 of my items there, and, like an idiot, I paid for the hems, as messed up as they are. OMG, this cannot possibly be the same shop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! read more

She saved my beautiful black cocktail dress that another tailor almost destroyed. The dress was a jersey material that had a beautiful flow to the hem. She did an unbelievable job taking out the hem mess, cutting the dress as little as possible and making it look beautiful again. She took photos of the the steps she had to take to make my dress wearable. She did it in the timetable she established and was very reasonable. I have returned to have jeans shorten and she did and excellent job, using the original hems. read more

Alla is a great seamstress. She has a 1-2 day turn around. She hemmed a few pairs of jeans for me, I always asked to have the original hem sewn and she explained when it is necessary and when not to sew an original hem and I have saved money because of this. She also altered 2 other items that fit as if custom made! She is friendly, her shop is clean and bright with a large fitting room. read more

I brought in a length of fabric that one of our children bought in Africa and asked Kathy to make a tablecloth from it. It was beautiful! I'd asked her to do a French seam (one of our children knew about this stuff) and she did it extremely neatly, with an extra but subtle seam for greater strength. The project was done in three days, over the New Year's holiday, and the price was exceptionally modest. read more

Alla is a magician with a needle and I am so fortunate to live around the corner from her! The maximum turnaround time she has given me has been a week, but she otherwise gets the job done in just a few days - and for a very reasonable price. She has patched many a pair of jeans, fixed some buttons, and even has taken in some clothes that I never thought stood a chance but she proved me wrong! I will recommend her to anyone and everyone! read more

Alla is amazing! Her work is impeccable. She is so quick and has done some ingenious tailoring. I had a mini skirt that I wanted to lengthen and she took apart the thick and long hem, reversed it and sewed it back onto to the skirt. It looks perfect and now is the modest skirt I needed! I highly recommend her. read more

Alla was the best! She saved my bridesmaids dress from another AWFUL tailor. I came in on yesterday in a panic at about 5 o'clock because I was leaving in the morning for the wedding I was in and my dress did not fit! The previous tailor had ruined the zipper and hem lines causing me major problems with the dress. Alla worked for three hours fixing everything and made the dress perfect! She called me right back and I was able to pick it up last night so I am ready to leave this morning. She is truly amazing and her work was perfect! I would highly recommend her to anyone! read more