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    Marcela Bastos

    4.6 (19 reviews)
    Open 8:00 am - 6:30 pm

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    Response time

    4 hours

    Response rate

    15%

    Services - Marcela Bastos

    Clothing alterations

    Clothing mending and repair

    Marcela Bastos Photos

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    seam job on a dress

    My experience with Marcela's business was beyond disappointing. I brought my maid of honor dress in early april for altering of the waist only. My first appointment, there were no notes taken on my alterations and my consultation lasted roughly five minutes. I am not well versed in tailoring, but looking back I felt rushed and unconsidered. Coming in for my fitting, she did not greet me or my mom, and neither her nor her assistant really spoke with us. The entire interaction felt cold and awkward. Additionally, she had another client there while I was trying on my dress, which wasn't communicated prior. When I tried on my dress on, the seams on the sides of the dress were uneven and bunched, and she tried explaining it was supposed to look that way, when the dress did not look like that before at all. When I pointed out that the seams on the sides were strange, she said she had not taken in the waist, which was the only thing I had asked for. There were also parts of the seams that were loose so there were loose threads sticking out that weren't there previously. In the front torso area there is also a permanent flap that rests along the ribs. The sleeves, which I did not ask for alterations on, were taken in so crudely that the fabric bunches. I provided a picture of that because it was genuinely shocking to see. They adding a clasp to the dress which I had never asked for. After getting a multiple opinions on the dress from other tailors, I was told that even with alterations only the sleeves could be fixed, and the problems she created in the torso and seams would only look more pronounced. I will say she did sincerely apologize after I explained my dissatisfaction with the service, and reimbursed me for the both the service and value of the dress. However, when discussing this, she disclosed personal information about her assistant who she blamed for the condition of the dress, which I felt was inappropriate and unprofessional. Ultimately she oversaw this project, and should have checked her assistant's work before just giving it to a client in that state. Despite the reimbursement, I felt overall that my dress did not matter and the emotional damage she has caused is beyond repair, as I am less than two weeks away from my sister's wedding. I would have much preferred transparency, even if that meant being told the service was not doable, as I do understand it's wedding season and they are a predominately bridal store, so I imagine they must be very busy. But instead of receiving that consideration and care I received a butchered dress that I absolutely loved and adored before I brought it to her business. Based on my experience, I would not recommend anyone go here, even for bridal needs.

    Dress

    I found a dress online for my Prom themed birthday party and it had a "no return" policy. So I showed a picture of it to Marcela and she said she could make it for me at a reasonable price. And we began our fun journey of making my dream dress! Marcela is very kind, talented and professional and together we created a dress that was perfect for my event. I would definitely work with her again.

    Brittny A.

    Marcela was a friend instantly. Her expertise in detail is truly amazing! She made my wedding dress come to life, It was 3 sizes too big. Thank you Marcela for taking the time, care and love into my wedding dress. I will absolutely be coming back for all my alternations.

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    Photo of Joyce L.
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    21 days ago

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    3 days ago

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    Marcela B.

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    9 months ago

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    Marcela B.

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    1 month ago

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    Marcela B.

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    8 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    Marcela B.

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    2 months ago

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    11 months ago

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    Marcela B.

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    7 months ago

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    Marcela B.

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    1 year ago

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    Marcela B.

    It was a pleasure having you here—come back anytime you need!

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    7 months ago

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    10 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    Marcela B.

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    1 year ago

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    Marcela B.

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    8 months ago

    We need men's suit pants altered. She did a great job with a quick turnaround. We had 2 days before a funeral and she had it done in time.

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    1 year ago

    Marcela is extremely professional and was willing to add a last minute bustle with less than a week turnaround time. Very impressed.

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    1 year ago

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    2 years ago

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    Ask the Community - Marcela Bastos

    Review Highlights - Marcela Bastos

    She was kind and patient through the entire process and allowed me to come in as many times as I wanted.

    Mentioned in 2 reviews

    Read more highlights

    Tina’s Alterations

    Tina’s Alterations

    (284 reviews)

    Lakeside

    Tina is great. She is kind, professional, knowledgeable and did an excellent job. Turnaround time…read morewas prompt. Thank you.

    I've been searching for a reliable tailor in the San Francisco area, and Tina's Alterations was…read moreexactly what I was looking for. I had four dresses that needed alterations for several upcoming weddings and initially sent Tina photos of all of them. Rather than accepting every project, she carefully evaluated each dress and agreed to work on only two. She explained that while the other two dresses could technically be altered, the fabric and fit would make it difficult to achieve a result that met her quality standards. I greatly appreciated her honesty and professionalism. Many businesses would have accepted all four dresses, but Tina was focused on delivering work she could confidently stand behind. Her transparency and commitment to quality immediately gave me confidence in her expertise. During my first visit to Tina, I brought both my dresses to try on to assess the alterations that I needed done (mostly hemming). She provided a quote at that time, and stated that payment could be made at pick-up. I found her pricing to be very reasonable given the complexity of the dresses (material and multiple layers). The two dresses she altered turned out beautifully. The craftsmanship was excellent, and the fit was exactly what I wanted. The turnaround time was about two weeks from drop-off to pickup, which I found very reasonable (especially since I had told Tina there was no rush). She clearly takes pride in her work and pays close attention to the details that make a difference. One thing to note is that English is her second language and Mandarin is her first, so there can be a bit of a language barrier. If you speak Mandarin, communication will likely be even smoother. That said, I found Tina to be thoughtful, professional, and genuinely committed to achieving the best possible result for her clients. I would definitely return for future alterations and would highly recommend Tina's Alterations to anyone looking for quality workmanship and honest, trustworthy service.

    Linda Ayre

    Linda Ayre

    (7 reviews)

    $$$

    Linda is a true artist. She is a sculptor whose medium is fabric…read more I worked with Linda for custom bridal alterations. She did custom alterations and created a bustle for my store-bought wedding dress, a multi-layered, silk chiffon sheath with a sweetheart top and straps. Linda also remade a 1970s vintage bridal headpiece and veil that had been my mother's. I found Linda through the San Francisco dance community (more below). I emailed her a photo of my dress and we discussed the scope of the project and her hourly rate & pricing before I made an appointment for a fitting. Dress alterations: My dress had been a store sample, purchased at a wedding dress sample sale in NYC. I initially came to Linda to have the dress hemmed to my height and bustled. The dress was shopworn and the bodice fit a little oddly, things I was going to overlook. Linda picked up on these details right away and fixed all of them: loose threads, loose beads, the odd corset boning and discolored straps (she handwashed the straps). She also sewed in a bra. No detail was too small to ensure that the dress fit well and looked great. Company's dress photo (Not me, not Linda's alterations: https://www.theknot.com/fashion/persephone-lea-ann-belter-bridal-wedding-dress) Headpiece: Linda revamped, fixed and updated my mother's vintage veil. The veil was formerly a very large piece that I didn't feel comfortable wearing. Linda trimmed down the size, replaced the discolored tulle, replaced yellowed beading, added sequins, reinforced the underside with tulle and redid the comb. She also added loops to aid my hair stylist in attaching it with bobby pins. Linda preserved the feel of the headpiece while updating it to suit my style - a perfect balance. See photos for a close-up of her fine-detailed work. As a fashion designer, Linda made overall styling suggestions for shoes, jewelry, undergarments and hair, being mindful of how items would appear in wedding day photos. As an expert seamstress, she advised on how to manage the dress day of: preventing wrinkles, spot cleaning should something spill that day, how to walk in it. It should be noted that I specifically sought out Linda because of her expertise in custom dance wear. My now-husband and I wanted to dance Argentine tango for our first dance and I knew Linda's knowledge of dance and dancewear (she dances herself) would be an invaluable asset. She ensured that I had a beautiful, strong bustle that was short enough for tango (mid-calf). Everything about the experience was custom and I never felt rushed. Linda went above and beyond to ensure that I looked smashing during all parts of my wedding.

    Linda Ayre of dancedress.com is a miracle worker!!! Last year, this little piggy tumbled head over…read moreheels in love with THE little black dress. roberto cavalli stretch silk, sleeveless with the 2 most exquisite lace trim embellishments beginning at the hem in front, running up the front of the dress, over the shoulder and continuously down the back to the hem again. Devastatingly, the dress (the smallest size made) was just clearly too large all around. As in, needs to be taken in not just at the hem, but also the sides (too loose) and the straps (if piggy's life had been a movie, trying it on would have been an R-rated moment!). When I took it to my regular tailor, he actually refused to do it. he said because there was not natural seam on the tank straps, and because the width was not uniform in the front and the back, it would require basically remaking the dress, and he didn't want the responsibility on his hands for a designer piece. Never was there a piggy so morose as this little piggy was at that moment . . . that is, until i found Linda online and drove myself over to her studio ASAP! I'm posting a couple of photos of the finished product. Linda was fabulous; she did multiple fittings to make sure everything was just right, include a fitting after she had pinned and basted the dress, but before she went in and actually cut any fabric. I could really tell the difference between Linda's services and my regular tailors; she had lots of clever suggestions about different options for approaching each aspect of the alterations, explaining what the finished look would be for each option as well as whether some were more labor-intensive than others (she does her alteration work on an hourly basis). I still visit my regular tailor in the city for normal things like hemming a skirt for work or taking in department store dresses, but for custom or complex work, Linda's the first person I would call, no question about it! piggy stamp of approval granted! (^(oo)^)v

    Marcela Bastos - sewingalterations - Updated July 2026

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