Bustle and Bodice

Anna is absolutely amazing!!! I bought my dress in CT and my designer has no contacts here to recommend for alterations. I did a ton of research to try to find somebody who I trusted with my beautiful and very expensive gown. The moment I met Anna I knew I had chosen the right person. She is kind, patient, extremely professional and amazing at her job. My mother and mother-​in-​law who attended my first fitting with me were also blown away by her. Don’t look anywhere else for a seamstress for your wedding dress. Anna is incredible!

Anna was absolutely wonderful to work with for my wedding gown alterations! She was prompt to respond to my initial email, and accommodated me in a very timely manner with prices that were very reasonable. It was so refreshing to be in the quiet, relaxed environment of her home for fitting and alteration sessions. I immediately felt assured I had chosen the right person to help me with my gown, as she listened carefully and gave excellent feedback and solutions. She had a warm confidence and a keen eye that you can trust, was very precise and hardworking, and was a wonderful person to get to know. My wedding gown turned out perfectly and I got so many compliments. Make sure to book her early since she is in high demand! I highly, highly recommend Anna for your alteration/​fashion needs, especially for something as important as your wedding gown! Thanks again, Anna!

Look no further Anna is the absolute best! She is so patient, hard working, dedicated and very detail oriented. She is also so sweet! She altered my all lace wedding dress back in August 2015 and did an outstanding job on making it absolutely perfect :) This review is way overdue… I highly recommend her services, you won’t go wrong! Book her ASAP! Thank you Anna for your exceptionally awesome alteration services!

Ana is amazing!!! So nice, professional and talented. She altered my wedding dress for a very reasonable price and did a fantastic job! The dress had beaded lace appliqués all over and just to take the dress in a bit at the hips required removing them from the sides, making the adjustment and then resewing the appliqués. She knows exactly what she’s doing and offers her opinion from years of experience. At first I left a fitting and in my car realized I just wasn’t thrilled with the dress even though she had pinned the adjustments exactly how I had asked. She told me to come right back and worked with me to figure out what I wanted different, showing me different ways it could be adjusted until it was perfect and I felt excited like the day I chose it. She was so helpful and knowledgable and exceeded all my expectations! And did I mention her prices are very reasonable! Go to Ana, she’s the best!

I’m writing this review two days after my wedding so that any bride reading this does not hesitate to secure Anna’s alterations services. I cannot say enough about how amazing she is. I didn’t understand how much time was necessary for alterations and how far in advance I’d need to book my first appointment. Lucky for me Anna still had space on her schedule (I contacted her just shy of 3 months before my wedding for a quote and booked her 2.5 months before the big day). April isn’t a peak month for weddings so keep that in mind as for my timing. Based on her Unilocal reviews and my first appointment with Anna, I immediately trusted her. It was clear that she was extremely knowledgeable. She gave her opinions and also made sure I was comfortable with everything as we went along. The first appointment (two months prior) was the longest as I needed quite a bit of alterations with an intricate dress — taking it in around the hips, shortening it (with multiple layers on the bottom), and a bustle. You’ll stand a long time — bring your shoes and ideally whatever bra you’re hoping to use. I ended up choosing to sew in cups which was the best decision — one less thing to worry about! The second fitting happened about a month before and the last «fitting» was 1.5 weeks before to try it on before I took the dress home. The price, which seemed reasonable to me, was worth every penny. My dress fit like a glove and you can’t put a price tag on the sense of relief and lack of worry when you hand over that dress to someone. Contact Anna now!

Anna at Bustles and Bodice was a god send. I needed my wedding dress altered and was nervous about the process in general b/​c this was probably the most important dress i would ever wear in my life and wanted to look amazing on my wedding day. I initially got a consultation from the bridal shop where I purchased the dress and was told by the lady after looking at me in the dress for less then 30 seconds that it would be an astronomical amount to get alterations and did’nt even go into details about what would be done for that amount obviously I DIDNT go with that option. I started the search on Unilocal and narrowed my options down to a couple of companies based on their really good Unilocal reviews. One company said they were booked till next year, one company suggested i go back to the bridal shop but from the beginning Anna was patient, attentive, and helpful. Even though she had been working almost all year doing alterations for brides she figured out a way to fit me into her busy schedule. From looking at my pictures alone we mapped out a game plan and planned a date to meet in person to go over everything. On our first appointment she was clear and direct and to the point but with a sweet kind nature that made me feel more then comfortable leaving my most expensive article of clothing to date with her… We had a particularly difficult part of my dress and had to make my full button zipper back lay down (the back of the dress was completely sheer and gave the illusion the buttons were going up my back this was a huge detailing and really one of the main reasons i purchased the dress). To make this part lay down flat ended up being one of our most nerve racking parts and she even told me i dont feel comfortable doing that part b/​c i am worried it will cause more damage then it will fix… Luckily for me she did all the other alterations so perfectly that the issue with the zipper laying flat ended up fixing itself once the rest of the dress was altered and on our last fitting i was even informed that since the job wasnt as labor intensive as she initially thought she was reducing the amount quoted and that i owed LESS then originally agreed upon. She was overall AMAZING and i was almost sad when i had my last fitting that the process was over… i would recommend her to anyone looking for someone who is going to take the uptmost care when working on your wedding gown. Her services were worth what i paid and more.

Anna with Bustle and Bodice is amazing. I needed someone to make some alterations to a rather «non-​traditional» dress for our big day, and Anna made it absolutely perfect. She also kindly fit me into, what I learned later, was the BIGGEST wedding month in Chicago for our early October wedding. My dress fit like a glove (one that I could move and feel comfortable in too — do not underestimate how important this is!) Anna is a true artist whose warmth and professionalism make her so gifted at what she does. Do not hesitate to hire Bustle and Bodice for your alterations!

Anna was fantastic in altering my ornately beaded dress. I was told by other alterations companies that many of the requests I had were too difficult to do and it wasn’t possible to keep the beading pattern to bring the dress in as much as it needed to be. Anna was able to make all of the adjustments I needed on a fairly tight schedule, and my dress fit perfectly on my wedding day.

Anna altered my wedding dress and did an absolutely beautiful job. I emailed her about 3 months prior to the wedding for availability and she called me soon after to schedule a fitting. My dress was from Jcrew so fit pretty well, but she made it fit like a glove with a nip and tuck here and there. I couldn’t be happier with her work and would gladly refer her to anyone who is looking!

Anna did an amazing job! I called around a few places on alterations for my wedding dress, but Anna gave me a quote that was better than anywhere else I found. When I met with her, she found a couple other alterations to make the dress fit perfectly. It was a reasonable price, and she did it quickly — and only needed one fitting! It fit like a glove!

My advice: do not hesitate in choosing Anna for your alterations! I scoured Unilocal for Chicago-​area alterations, and was so nervous… it is your big day after all and you want to look your best! I bought my dress off the rack as a sample dress, and it was 2 – 3 sizes too big, but loved the shape and designer (not to mention the price) for my destination wedding! I was skeptical about my dress at our first fitting because I just couldn’t envision such a large dress being made to fit me, but she assured me that it could be done!
She was very flexible in making appointments, and even responded to some frantic emails that I bombarded her with. She was honest when I brought up some ideas that I was very indecisive about, such as the type of sash for the dress. She brainstormed and played around with materials to find what would work best for me and the dress! I ended up getting a sash from Etsy that I absolutely loved, but still needed some tweaking to fit my dress best… she can do it all!
Anna is extremely talented and has a great eye for design and style. She took in the dress, hemmed it, and patched up several places on the corset back that were worn from being a sample gown. She worked wonders on my dress and I got so many compliments on the dress on our wedding day! You won’t regret working with Anna!

Anna is amazing! I met with her and tried on my wedding gown to figure out what needed to be done. She took care of it more quickly than anticipated and did an exceptional job! I would definitely recommend Anna for anyone wanting to look amazing on their wedding day!

I had my wedding gown altered a month before my wedding. Anna was wonderful to work with. She is very knowledgable of her work and I trusted and followed her recommendations completely. I love how the dress turned out at the end. My case was a little complicated since I was pregnant at the time as well. But Anna was good at estimating the waist. The dress fit perfectly on the day of. The price is very reasonable. She is so friendly and personable! I would highly recommend her if you need some alteration for your dress!!!

Anna was a true pleasure to work with leading up to my May 2014 wedding. She is experienced, talented, and professional! Her alterations to my lace bodice, bustle, little wristlet to carry my train, and steaming were beautifully done, and I am so thankful (and relieved) to have met her!
I e-​mailed Anna seven months prior to my wedding inquiring about her willingness to work with me as an out-​of-​state bride. I grew up in Chicago and was planning a Chicago wedding, but I had recently relocated across the country for my job. Due to my work schedule I only had time for one fitting (in January) prior to my May wedding when I would return to Chicago and pick up my gown only two days prior to the ceremony. Anna was incredibly accommodating considering my unusual circumstances!
During the fitting she was honest and clear about not losing or gaining any additional weight between January and May… And I couldn’t have agreed more since I had no other opportunity for further alternations! Anna was direct, but she was also so warm and kind to me, my maid of honor, and my dad who helped carry my dress up to her studio on a snowy, blustery, freezing January day.
My dress fit beautifully on my wedding day four months after the initial fitting. Anna’s detailed work is fantastic. I absolutely recommend Anna and her services to future brides!

Anna did a great job on the alterations for my empire waist wedding dress. I went in to get a bustle added and the straps shortened. When I tried the dress on, she suggested taking in the seams on the side a little to give it more of an hourglass shape. The price she quoted was reasonable and within my budget, so I took her advice. I am so glad I did! It took it that little extra from being a dress I loved to being a dress that made me look fabulous. She was very nice and very professional. I would recommend her to everyone!

Anna did a fantastic job altering my dress for my wedding day. She was knowledgable and professional and my dress came out beautifully. She gave mulitple suggestions and ideas about options for the bustle, sewed on a belt and a bracelet «handle» for me, in addition to hemming all four layers of the dress for the perfect length. I couldn’t have been more pleased with her serivces! Highly recommend!

Anna did a wonderful job altering my wedding dress for my September 2014 wedding. I emailed her about availability a few months out, and she scheduled me as soon as my dress arrived. The amount of alterations were pretty minimal, and only require 2 visits — one to drop off and pin the areas she’d alter, and at the next one she made a few last minute adjustments right then and I walked away with my dress. How easy is that?!
She gave helpful and honest feedback, but still in the sweetest way possible! Like telling me to «stay just like this!» and not try to lose any weight right before the diet as the lace up back of my dress was already pulled pretty tightly and wouldn’t lay right — meaning more work for her and money for me! And my favorite thing she said, and I quoted the night of my wedding as my Matron of Honor struggled to get the button for my bustle into the loop was «show it who’s boss!» :)
Anna also thought of two wonderful things I would’ve never thought of but really appreciated… She added a handle under the dress so I could carry the train gracefully as I walked around for pictures pre-​wedding. She also noticed my sash that came with the dress didn’t lay just right and fixed that for me. The little details did not go unnoticed, and she priced everything very fairly I feel, and carried herself professionally the whole time. Wonderful experience. Thanks so much, Anna!

Anna is absolutely wonderful! She made my dress which was two sizes too big fit like a glove. She also had to take a lot of length off and even sewed on the trim I bought to make a sash. She listened to all my concerns and made suggestions which made this whole process seamless. I am so glad I went with her after going to a few other places. She did not take any shortcuts and I could not be happier with the way my dress came out!

Anna’s super friendly, pleasant to work with and has a passion for her work. She modified my neckline from straight to sweetheart. A few important things to know:
— Works out of her home… a really nice alternative to a hectic, noisy store!
— Keeps day time hours, a few week days (no evenings)
— Prices seem very fair
— Call early (don’t wait)…she’s had to refer some potential clients to others because of demand (a good problem for Anna to have!)

I just cannot say enough good things about Anna. I was so lucky that after a horrible experience at a Bridal Salon (they were supposed to do my alterations) that literally had me in tears, one of my bridesmaids found Anna for me. Now where to start…
She has an aura of calm around her. So even as you are wondering how this dress is ever going to fit or what it will look like when everything is done, Anna knows and she is confident in her knowledge. She taught me that sometimes you need to «let go of the banana».
She is fairly priced. Alterations on a wedding dress are expensive no matter where you go, but Anna charges a fair price and her service is definitely worth it.
She will see you… time and again… until she knows you are happy with the outcome. After picking up my finished dress I took it home and wondered if I should add bra cups, which I had previously decided against. Anna told me it was no problem to bring it back and have her take a look at what would work best.
She is honest. As we talked through what I wanted to do or change with the dress, she gave me her honest opinion on what she could do, but also on how it would ultimately change the dress — for better or worse (no pun intended).
Thank you Anna! I will recommend you to all future brides, bridesmaids, and anyone who needs alterations.