This lady is very good at her work and accepts cash and check only. She's a grandma and works out of her home in Santa Clara, and you might want to call to confirm your appointment or let her know you are on your way. Your friends or kids can sit on the couch (she loves children btw). She has a changing room too. Be sure to bring shoes for the right height and the exact same undergarments or spandex you plan to wear for the event. I can't really remember, but I think she charged $45-$60for a bridesmaid dress, taking the sides in, bringing the neckline up, removing the boning. The bridesmaid dress had a lot of layers on the skirt part and on the cap sleeves. For my dress, she wanted me to come for a 2nd fitting to finalize and then I picked up a few days later. Allow 3-4 weeks before your event. read more

Si Arima - Bridesmaid dress - Sewing & Alterations Near Me

Si helped me with my wedding dress in a huge rush and did an PHENOMENAL job! All I needed was a hem and help with the straps of my dress. My dress came out perfect, she really went above and beyond in such little time. Highly, highly, highly recommended her. And her prices are so reasonable. She's very sweet too! read more

Si Arima - My wedding dress on our wedding day - Sewing & Alterations Near Me

I wish I could give Si 10 stars, she is amazingly talented, so kind and reasonably priced. I had a sample dress about 2-3 sizes too big for me and she made it fit me like a glove while keeping the look and structure of the dress. She also created beautiful detachable drop-sleeves for my dress, and altered my veil because it was too long. She even did an emergency fix on my dress a week before my wedding when a different vendor (dance instructor) inadvertently ripped some of the lace and a button. I will be recommending all of my friends and family go to Si, she is genuinely the best and saved my dress. read more

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Si hemmed my bridesmaid dress a few weeks ago and it was beautiful! She suggested that we hem it so that the back is a bit longer than the front. That way it flows like a little train, and I loved that idea. Si was timely, easy to contact, and so kind. She used to make dresses, like one-of-a-kind dresses for people! Also so kind and nice to talk to so I felt very comfortable at my first appt and my second when I picked up the dress! Would def come here again! read more

Her relative emailed me a private note which I am going to post. You run a business, you should be prepared to be professional no MATTER what. Please hold back your relatives from emailing customers and further ruining your reputation. BTW Jay - It is not my fault she was having a bad day. And just because someone is having a bad day doesnt mean they have the right to take it out on others/customers. Its common sense and just flat out wrong to say the customer should understand and take abuse.. Also if you read my 1st review, she didnt take the time to work with me at all.. read more

Si Arima - Unprofessional email from her relative. Funny because she didnt try to work with me, she basically denied me service. - Sewing & Alterations Near Me

WOW how can I say enough good about Si? I went to Si near the beginning of COVID with a rushed timeline (got the dress late and had to move the wedding up!). She gave me a very fair quote to do work on my dress modified from the skirt from my grandmother's dress and a top we designed together to make my dream dress, gave guidance on how to find lace. She was especially prompt and adept, and even found material that worked with the back of my dress. Several friends have also gone to Si--she came highly recommended to me. Would vouch for her any day! read more

Si is the sweetest and most talented woman. She altered my wedding dress and about 5-6 of my bridesmaids as well. She is honest and timely and ensured my dress was altered to the way I wanted it to be. I don't know how she handles all her appointments, but we never came across any scheduling conflicts and I didn't hear of any problems from my bridesmaids as well. As you can see, I've already recommended her to my bridesmaids, so I definitely recommend her for your special event outfits as well! :) read more

Really grateful I found Si. She is flexible with scheduling, reasonably priced, efficient, and very kind. I knew she had a knack for alterations when she gave suggestions & knew exactly what to do with my pieces to enhance their look & my figure. Thank you! read more

Si Masaye Arima is a very talented seamstress who alters bridal gowns, designs, handles difficult alterations that look perfect on you, and darns the moth hole in an expensive cashmere sweater from Scotland. Si is so much fun to work with and finishing everything so quickly as well. She really cares about her customers, was highly recommended to me, & I feel so lucky to have found her and to be her customer. read more

Loved working with Si on my dress. She did all my requested alterations, customizations and last min requests with a smile! She is very reasonable in the price she charges and is good in her craftsmanship. I would 100% recommend her services. read more

Si is amazing. I had received a few quotes from different alterations people but held out to wait for one I really wanted to work with based on Yelp reviews. By the time I got quoted by them, I was 6 weeks away from the wedding and literally in tears bc the initial quote (which was "subject to change") they gave me was twice as much as other people. I called my amazing planner/coordinator and was given a referral to Si. Si took me in and offered to alter both my dress and my mom's dress. Not once did she make us feel bad that we had such a short and rushed timeline. She was honest and upfront with us in every aspect. Whereas other alterations businesses made me feel bad bc my dress needed to be taken in so much or bc my dress had this lace at the hem that needed to be removed and re-appliqued, Si was more than happy to help. She took in my dress completely, hemmed it, added cups and a bustle, and had 4 different fittings with me to ensure my happiness. (Bc just my luck - I needed a bunch of alterations the week of my wedding -____-) Si also took the time to take in my mom's dress. She added a nice little touch to give my mom's dress extra oomph. My mom felt fabulous in her dress, and that was so important to me. Lastly, Si also was very patient with our family. I have a large family and my younger cousins wanted to join the dress fittings. At each fitting, I brought a different person, and Si was so patient in greeting them, accommodating them, and showing them how to bustle my dress. Si is the sweetest, nicest lady. My family and I are so, so, so grateful to her!! Also forgot to add - I had 4" heels to wear for the ceremony but knew I would change into flats immediately after and for the entire reception. I asked Si to make a dress that would look nice in both heels AND flats. She was the only person to take my request seriously (instead of telling me it was impossible), and she made it happen. Thank you, Si!! read more

I got two dresses altered. Si's alterations transformed them to fit me perfectly. Her turn around time was very quick too! I would definitely recommend Si. read more

Si seemed like a very nice lady but this review is for her work. The quality of the tailoring was subpar. - The back of a dress I got tailored literally has stitches showing trying to hold together a hoop. She could've easily hid it in a way that didn't show visible stitches. I was so disappointed when I saw it. - The waistline was uneven. Omg how I regret taking this expensive dress to her. Now I have to look for another tailor to fix it. - She hemmed my pants shorter but it falls in a weird way where it clearly looks tailored and not like the original where it was flatter stitching. - She tries to cram as many clients that fit in her schedule. Red flag, I should've known the quality would lack because of this. - I would not take anything other than basic sundresses or pants to her. Her prices are very reasonable but I would rather pay more for quality stitching. read more

Miss Si Arima is stellar! I reached out to her from my friend's recommendation and was struck by her compassion & years of experience. She beautifully hemmed both my bridesmaid dress and my wedding evening gown, and was incredibly prompt and organized in her delivery. She also went above & beyond and added little clasps and buttons, so I could shorten the length of the evening gown more for dancing. They were the perfect length, and she also made sure I could properly move around. The prices are also very fair considering seamstress market rate. 10/10 would recommend and will return for future occasions. read more

How can you not love Si? (It's pronounced "sigh" by the way). Si is tiny and wears these cute two toed Japanese socks and has lots of cool Japanese artifacts. This review is about her alterations work though so I'll get cracking. Si works out of her house so you get a good price since you're not paying for overhead. I think the alterations for my wedding dress came to $125 or $175 (I can't remember now). It would have been more but my shoes made me the most perfect height so she didn't have to make any changes to the length. The alterations were perfectly done. She took the dress in two sizes but she kept the beading and other details intact. She did a great job on the bustle, too. In addition to my dress, I provided her with silk chiffon fabric and she made five scarves for my bridesmaids by hand. It's no wonder that in her dressing room you'll see 20 other wedding dresses she's working on concurrently (all of them probably Knotties since they all rave about her). Update: Now that the wedding's over I go back to see Si and have her hem my pants. I think it's $7 for machine hem (visible stitch from outside), $10 for hand hem (no visible outside stitch). She also took in a top of mine for only $5. read more

I agree with everyone: Si is great. She did alterations on my wedding dress. It's nice to have people who not only do great work but are pleasant to be around during this stressful time. Highlights: - Super duper nice, friendly, personable. Such a cute little lady - Great prices--definitely more economical than the bridal salons - Patient: I had cap sleeves that weren't quite working and she played with them until they worked better Lowlights (my flip side to highlights): - Since she's so popular, she's super duper busy esp on weekends - Kind of strange being in someone's home and it got a bit warm I would definitely recommend her. read more

Si is the most wonderful and adorable seamstress I have ever had the opportunity to meet. She is amazingly personable and charming - I wanted to carry her away in my pocket. Working with Si on my insane tulle wedding dress was a breeze. My dress was quite difficult as it had layers of tulle and no side seams, so all the tailoring had to be done from the back zipper - trust that this was no easy task. Si works very methodically and on a great timeline. My dress came out like a fairytale and everyone complimented on the way it fit. You are in great hands with Si. I would note that she is a very busy woman, so have a good idea of when you'd be able to come in and what it is that you need done. read more

Si Arima - Vera Wang Gemma - Sewing & Alterations Near Me

Si is WONDERFUL :) I met with her 3 times! Great price, great service, all in all, 5 STARS. She is awesome. 1) Initial meetup with the dress! I addressed some concerns as this was a used dress.. there were tears on the bottom of the dress layers from the previous bride, plus the front bodice had an ugly seam across the front. I'm also short so I brought my shoes with me and she had to hem the bottom. Everything was explained thoroughly and she was so professional and sweet! She showed me two different bustle options as well. She gave me the option of adding cups into the front, and that was an easy fix, plus it wasn't an expensive add-on either. 2) Fast forward a few months later (my wedding isn't until next year) and we met for the first fitting! It already fit beautifully! The front was pinned up nicely but wasn't complete yet so I could give her the OK on how it looked. The hem was finished and looked new! Amazing. She also said she'd add a ribbon underneath the train so I could pick it up if needed. 3) Final fitting! The dress is finished! It fits beautifully! All in all, I highly recommend Si! There is a reason why she's booked up :) I will refer ALL of my engaged friends to her! read more

Si did an amazing job on my wedding dress. Everyone who sees the before and after can hardly believe it! I brought in a very plain sleeveless dress and my own lace to add. She also added a french bustle, custom cap sleeves, and created a sweetheart neckline. The real work in this dress was definitely the lace. Si cut it into very small usable sections and I arranged them exactly how I wanted on the dress. We pinned everything, and after about 4-5 visits, the dress was complete. Originally, she quoted me a little low because she didn't anticipate the time that would need to be put into the dress, but I knew it would be a lot of work and had no problem arranging an extra payment with her. I couldn't be happier with the end result. What started out as a pretty dress, turned into the custom gown of my dreams! Thank you so much Si! read more

Si Arima - Close up of lace detail - Sewing & Alterations Near Me

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I just went for my first fitting and I'm very please with Si's services....My dress is too long ...Poor Si is going to have to take all of the details off my dress and put them back on.....She is going to charge me $225 which I don't think is cheap but she is probably going to spend hours taking off all the details on my dress and then putting them back on.....I will post pictures and more info after my second fitting..... Second fitting...the dress looks great I cannot wait until is all done!! read more

I found Si on Yelp. Like what everyone else said, she works out of her home and is the sweetest lady. She is very busy, but found the time to schedule me in for multiple fittings. I kept losing weight up until my wedding day so each time i went we had to take the dress in a little more. She didn't do a traditional bussle for me because my dress had a beautiful diagonal draping that she wanted to preserve. So she put in multiple hooks and color coded them so that my bridesmaids could help me hook the different areas up. I got so many compliments on my dress and how beautiful it looked both down at the ceremony and up at the reception. It didn't look tucked in at all, it just looked like a shorter, flowy dress. I also ended up having her do a flower girl dress, where she made these cute fabric roses and added a sash to a plain white one... and she also altered a couple of evening gowns for me. She was simply awesome. Thanks Si! I'll post some pics too. read more

Si Arima - Si did an amazing job on my dress - Sewing & Alterations Near Me

Si really saved my wedding dress. My now husband and I planned our intimate wedding in one month. I went to Si as soon as I got my wedding dress to get it hem and everything. Had 2 appointments with Si. First for measurement and second, for hem and adjusting the straps and adding a bustler for the train. And the third time was picking up my dress. Long story short, Si was able to fit me in a short notice and was able to finish with my dress within two weeks tops (2 weeks before the wedding). Not to mention, Si is also friendly and the cost is a significantly cheaper than anticipated especially for it being in the Bay Area. read more

Si is the sweetest lady you could meet! She's so accommodating and helpful! I called her a week before I was going to be back in town. I didn't know she was that busy, but she was able to fit me and I was truly grateful. It's really hard when you're living in one state while your wedding is in another. I had three fittings with Si and she had my dress up until the Tuesday before the wedding. Her embroidery skills were fabulous. And she is so reasonably priced. I was very happy with the final product. read more

Si is amazing and my go-to seamstress! 3 years ago she helped my sister with her wedding gown and my bridesmaid dress, 2 years ago I went back to her with my wedding gown (she did an amazing job putting together the bustle), and this year, again with a bridesmaid dress. She's always very sweet, gentle and willing to help you do anything you want with your dress. Although if you do ask her for her opinion, she will be honest and tell you what she thinks from her experience, and I love that. Her pricing is also very reasonable, which is why we keep coming back. I just picked up my bridesmaid dress today and it took less than a week for a simple hemming job from her at a great price! I would recommend Si in a heartbeat. read more

After having a wonderful experience the first time with Si, I went back to have her alter my wedding dress. She's receptive, professional and helpful, yet accommodating. I had Si adjust the corset, hem the bottom of the dress and create a French bustle. My dress was satin with a lace and she handled the detail beautifully. I also had her add lace cap sleeves to the dress. She happened to have lace on hand that went beautifully with the lace on the dress - the sleeves were secure, stayed in place and looked lovely. The photo I've uploaded shows off the lovely sleeves! Again, her pricing was extremely reasonable and she worked quickly and scheduled several fittings to make sure the dress was perfect! read more

Si Arima - Si added these lovely sleeves to the dress, which was originally strapless. It looked perfect! - Sewing & Alterations Near Me

Love this lady!! She really is the sweetest, with the most experience and heart. I loved coming to see her for my (2) wedding dress fittings. Si did all the work, I showed up.. tried on the dresses.. made my comments and she adjusted it per my request. Easiest and least worrisome part of my entire wedding planning (planned and coordinated my own wedding)! Thank you Si! read more

I needed my wedding dress altered within a few weeks of the ceremony and found Si on Yelp. She did a great job hemming my dress and making sure I fit into it without too many issues. She's also wonderful to work with because I wasn't sure what height my shoes were going to be (I didn't want to wear heels for the whole time), so she was able to hem it so that my dress wouldn't look too short or too long if I wore heels or flats. She also took the time to explain how she was going to alter my dress and made sure that I was happy with the way it looked in my final fitting. I would definitely recommend her to friends and family! read more

Si is amazing and extremely sweet. I found myself in a huge predicament last summer. I was all set to be a bridesmaid in my friend's LA summer (read: sweltering) wedding, but then my dress arrived (shipped to me from the shop in LA) and it was totally the wrong size! (I swear I didn't just gain weight). Since they were special-order, there was no time for a new one to be made... I needed this dress to fit perfectly in three weeks, and it was a corseted full-length gown! I searched Yelp for dressmakers and tailors and didn't feel comfortable going to a dry-cleaner for alterations as drastic as I needed. So, right when I was about to drive over to Los Gatos to a proper tailor, I found some reviews for Si Arima not on Yelp (*gasp*) but on a wedding website. She had a couple rave reviews, so I called her up, made an appointment for the following week, brought some extra matching fabric (in the form of the shawl) and drove to Si's house--her place of business--to see if she could help me. She ended up sewing upside-down triangular panels of fabric (about 2 inch-wide sections) into the bust under my arms so they weren't even visible and looked like they were meant to be there. I was so worried that I'd be able to tell and my dress would look different than the others, but it didn't at all! The only problem I had through the 3 times I saw Si occurred on the day of my final appointment to pick up my finished dress. Apparently there was some sort of mix-up with the time of my appointment, and she wasn't home. Her husband answered, and looking nervous, called her but couldn't reach her. I ended up getting lunch in the area, then about an hour after that, she called, apologized for the mix-up, and I went and picked up my dress (which she also had steamed). I was irritated at the time, but this really wasn't a big deal. So she let out the bust, added panels, re-positioned the original zipper, and steamed my dress, all for less than $60 and in less than 3 weeks. Mix-up or not, I wanted to kiss her for her expert work in making a dress that was originally 2 sizes too small fit perfectly. I will definitely go back to Si for all of my alteration needs. Oh and when I said I loved one of the unusual purple plants in her yard, she offered to give me one of them! I couldn't accept it...but this is just an example of how sweet Si (pronounced "Sigh") is. read more

I would love to give Si a good review, but she just didn't put the attention I needed on my alterations. I got marred in CA but live in WA, so I was only able to see Si on weekends when I came into town. This was told to her up front, but after our first appointment she said it would be better if I saw her not on weekends. Upfront I told her when I would be in town - I wish she had turned me away, rather than trying to make it work with my schedule when she really didn't want to. At my second to last appointment, we went to schedule our last appointment when she said she'd be out of town for the week prior to my wedding. My wedding date was known to her all along and this was never mentioned! I ended up adjusting my flight to come in earlier so I could get my dress. When I arrived, the first thing Si said to me was "I need to get somewhere so let's make this quick." We had originally set it up that we would do a final fitting that day and get the dress the next day, but she just wanted us out. So it wasn't a very enjoyable experience and we felt rushed. Fast forward to my wedding a week later. I put on my dress... and I can't walk. The dress hem is way too low. My coordinator ended up getting on her hands and knees and trimming my dress. 15 minutes after I put my dress on, the eye and hook pop off. The dress is not fitted tight enough, so the dress keeps falling down and just doesn't have a super flattering look. My coordinator was able to sew the stop of my dress to keep it as tight as possible and keep it from falling, but the bust just did not fit tightly as it should have - the dress probably should have been taken in more at the last fitting, but Si just wanted me out. I will admit for the parts that Si did fix, she did a good job - she brought the dress in a lot, dealing with tulle and lace appliques and ruching and multiple layers very nicely. But, at my wedding, my dress did not fit properly to the point where I spend the night concerned about walking down the aisle and my first dance and that my dress just doesn't look quite as great as I wished it did in my pictures. And I can't fix that. I wouldn't recommend no one go to Si, but if your schedule is limited (ie you're not in town all the time), then I would keep looking. read more

Si is a wonderful woman who is very professional and cordial. I had to have my dress hemmed, taken in a bit since I lost some weight from when I bought it, and had a bustle put in. Everyone said she's reasonably priced, but I ended up paying $425 for everything, which I thought was a bit expensive. Also, my bustle kept falling apart during the night of my wedding, and I was just picking up my dress and taking it everywhere with me rather than having my bridesmaids re-hooking every few minutes. I'm not sure if I'd personally recommend Si, but she did get many good reviews, so maybe you'll have better luck than I did. read more

Si is wonderful and did an awesome job on my wedding dress. I had measured myself and ordered my dress online so of couse it was way too big. I called Si for an appointment when my dress came and she was busy and couldn't see me right away and I freaked out a bit because that would mean by the time I meet with her, I would only have 3 weeks until my wedding. However, Si assured me that there would be plenty of time and she was right! Since my dress was a size too big, Si had a lot of work on her hands...I had buttons that ran down the back of my dress so she had to remove all the buttons and take in my dress. From the very first fitting to the 2nd, the dress fit like a glove and made me feel so wonderful and confident in her work. Since my dress was a strapless sweetheart neckline, I told Si I was contemplating not wearing a bra and she suggested that I get bra pad inserts. She had some available and I chose the one I wanted and she sewed it on the inside of my dress...and I'm very happy that she suggested that because it saved me from wearing another layer under my dress but giving me the support/cleavage I wanted. All in all, I was very happy with Si's work and would definitely recommend her!! read more

Si did an AMAZING job on my lace wedding dress! She is also super sweet and very talented. I highly recommend her! read more

Si Arima - Si took in the sides and removed extra fabric at the top of the back of my dress. - Sewing & Alterations Near Me

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I needed to transform a silk gown that I bought from Jcrew and Si was able to do the job. She changed the halter tie gown into a cross back gown, she also sewed in cups for me which turned out great. She also helped me sew on some handles on a beautiful silk bag that I have. Overall, I was very pleased with her handiwork and her pricing was more than reasonable. i would highly recommend. read more

Oh, Si! What can I say about my wonderful lifesaver! I brought a sample dress that was royally screwed up by another way more expensive seamstress and she not only fixed it (and made it look gorgeous), but she charged me only a fraction of what the other seamstress wanted to charge me. It looked AMAZING. My dress was a dream. Everyone commented on how great it looked and it was all thanks to Si. She works quickly, her prices CANNOT be beat and she is a complete sweetheart. She works out of her home but her work is top notch. RUN TO HER NOW! read more

Si was sooo wonderful to work with. She worked on three of my dresses for wedding ceremony, dance, and reception. You can tell she is experienced because all my dresses came out just how I imagined! She takes careful measurements and will work until she gets the fit perfect. Her dedication to her work is unparalleled. I now want to go to her for custom shirts, skirts, and everything bc I love her work!! She specializes in wedding dresses and can fix train wrecks. I can tell you this because my dress was VERY difficult to alter and she did it!! read more

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Si Amira did a wonderful job of shortening the hems on my slacks. I dropped them off on Monday and picked them up Wednesday for an interview the following day. They fit perfectly. Si is very conscientious with the pre-fitting. She gave me a couple of options on the hem design. Her work is exemplary and I would go to her again with future clothing alterations. read more

Si is amazing! She has a great eye for detail and is very reasonably priced. On my first fitting, she had me put on the dress and then showed me two different types of bustles so that I could pick the one that I liked better. She came up with a cheaper way of hemming where she would just tuck in some extra fabric into a fold instead of cutting off the extra fabric. There were also some small details that I didn't like about the dress, like how the buttons on the back didn't sit perfectly flat, and how the ruching in the front made me look like I had a stomach, and she patiently listened and came up with ways to fix them. On the second fitting, she had me put on the dress and then walk around in my heels so that she could check that the dress would flow nicely and that I wouldn't trip over it while walking. By then, it already fit perfectly. On my third and final fitting, my dress was perfect and it had been steamed so that there were no wrinkles. (Which saved me a trip back to Elegant Lace for steaming.) She also showed my sister how to bustle the dress and gave her some tips on how it should be carried and stored before the wedding. I had to wait about 3 weeks for my first appointment with her, so call early! She gets booked up really quickly because she's so good. If she was a bit more conveniently located, I would go to her for all of my alterations! read more

Si is AMAZING! Not only is she SUPER sweet and warm, but she does an outstanding job. My dress could be summed up in two word "Lace" and "Beads" It is a Pronovias dress made in Spain and since I ordered it late, I didn't get hollow to hem. The dress not only looked stunning, but I was so comfortable! I ended up wearing my dress from 3:00pm-2:30am! (hey,you only get to do it once) Lace is not an easy thing to do, but she did it! (And said it was fun too) Good luck getting an appointment with her. Word is spreading fast. (Oh! and I dropped my lace on the way out and she called me immediately and mailed it out to me right away) Thank you YELP!!! read more

I was referred to Si through a friend and she was AMAZING!! I was really impressed how skilled and confident she was given that my dress was pretty detailed. To be exact, this was my wedding dress (http://www.brides.com/fashion/dresses/gallery/wedding_dresses/runway/detail/122279). it was a sample size 8 and I am more like a size 2/4 so i was really worried about the lace detailing and applique. She did a great job and you coudn't even tell it had been altered! And she was also very reasonable in terms of cost. The store I had bought the dress from (Glamour Closet) told me that alterations through their tailors would be about $500. Si ended up charging me $350. With Si, you are in great hands - she knows what she's doing! read more

Im excited to get on my computer to Yelp about Si. You know how it feels when someone is easy to work with, genuine, and truly a kind person. This experience sets the tone for the Event I'm going to attend. I walked out thinking - wow, it's going to be a great wedding. I haven't received the dress yet, but being able to trust someone fully with something important - well, it says it all. I highly recommend Si. read more