Maria’s Alterations

OK here goes. I am a bride (at the time of this post) and I had recently found a new wedding dress. We are talking less then 2 months out from the actual wedding. I was freaking out because i had to a. take it out on the sides b. hem the dress c. have a belt sewed on and d. have a bustle created. The original shop that the bridal place had recommend wasn’t open on Mondays and it got really awful review on here so i was panicking even more. Then I came across Maria’s on here and the reviews were great. I brought it there first thing Monday morning. I met with Rosie and she was as sweet as can be. I tried the dress on and like i showed her it was a bit snug in the chest area. At first she wasn’t sure if there was extra material to have it let out (again another slight panic), but then she said she will open up the dress to look and to my relief there was plenty. She said to come back the following Tuesday.
I came back and the dress fit perfectly, now to add the belt, bustle and hem. That took another week. When i came back the following week the dress was still too long, so Rosie told me to give her 30 min. She fixed it no problem and the dress looks great. The bustle works great too!
Honestly, it wouldn’t be my first choice if I’ve had all the time in the world to hem and bustle and wedding dress, but I didn’t have that luxury due to me changing my mind, but Maria’s was really a great find. The price wasn’t so bad either. The whole thing only cost me $ 150.
Thanks so much Rosie! You really are a life saver.
Note: Only take cash or check

Un-​fucking-​believable! Dropped off two gowns to be hemmed. Specifically wore heels to get an accurate measure of the length that I want — floor length!
Came back and one of the dresses was 5 inches ABOVE the floor!!! WTF!!! It’s right above my ankles! What kind of dumbass would want to wear this dress now??? I needed it for an event and now I’m out of a dress! She tried to convince me that they’ll try to fix it. For what??? So it can look cheap and tacky that you just added another piece of cloth on it? Holy Hell!
Couldn’t they have double checked it with the length of the other gown? Nope
Ugh! All that time looking for a dress that would compliment my body now wasted, and now money wasted.
Stay Away!

Good value for the money. You aren’t going to get perfect alterations but for around half the price it makes up for a lot of the quality difference.

Friendly, honest and very helpful. Everything is completed quickly and priced very reasonably. If there is something they are not able to work on or not comfortable with– they will be very honest with you. Everything has been very well done and completed when promised or even sooner. I am so happy to have found them! Just the sweetest people!

Very pleasant woman, but she said she could not do the alterations because there are beads on my wedding dress. I would say most dresses have beads so this was frustrating to me. Also, the floor hadn’t been cleaned in the «dressing area» (basically a closet with curtains) and so the bottom of my dress got all kinds of dust bunnies in it after trying it on for no reason. Waste of my time.

Awesome! I am so happy to have found a nearby tailor that does great work. The prices are very reasonable too. I am very picky when it comes to alterations and I have been super pleased with the work they have done for me. The turnaround time is very fast, which is a big plus. On one occasion they even offered to sew a small tear in my coat while I waited there for it to be done– I really appreciate such great custoner service!

If you have something important that needs to be altered do NOT go to Maria’s Alterations! I sent in my wedding dress for one layer to be hemmed 1 inch and on the day (the day before my wedding) that I went in to pick it up, it was not ready! I gave plenty of time for it to be done and when I came in that day, they hadn’t even started. They said «it will be done today, but not this early.» As I was walking out one of the workers rudely started laughing at me. The customer service is extremely bad. If you agree on a day that a garment should be done, it should be done on that day, especially when that much time in advance was given. They eventually finished it later that day, but with something this important it should not have been pushed off until the very last minute. I will never go back to Maria’s Alterations.

If you have any tailoring needs and you live anywhere in Chicago, you need to go to Maria’s! They saved my wedding day! My wedding dress was a full lace dress and I had lost a considerable amount of weight about two weeks prior. I called many stores on Unilocal and they told me that to alter a lace dress would cost between $ 200-​$ 900 and would have a rush delivery fee on top of that. The people at Maria’s, however, told me that they would be able to get the dress back to me in a couple of days. I took my dress in and everyone there was kind and welcoming. My alterations were taken quickly, and I was told they could have it for me in four days! AND THEY ONLY CHARGED ME 40 DOLLARS!!! To have a lace dress altered in four days… I am still in disbelief. They did a beautiful job and everyone at the wedding commented on how the dress looked like it was made for me (which it was).
You cannot beat Maria’s Alterations’ work ethic, time sensitivity, craftsmanship, and price. I will never go anywhere else from now on.

I was looking for a place to get a bridesmaids dress altered and found Maria’s on Unilocal.The shop is located on State street above the Bank of America. The shop itself was a little messy but Rosa seemed to know what she was doing so I felt OK about it and decided to hope for the best.
I couldn’t be happier with the dress! She did a great job, finished it in 2 weeks (and offered to do it faster) and the cost was very affordable, especially when comparing it to what the other bridesmaids paid to alter their dresses. I’ll definitely use Maria’s Alterations again.

Great company for rush orders. Very personable staff and its a joy working with them. At times it can be a bit unorganized, however the quality of work at this shop is unparalleled.

I usually don’t leave reviews unless service was terrible or great. In this case, it was AMAZING! I bought a long evening dress 4 sizes bigger than me and I needed someone to fix it one week before the wedding. I called many places and they were all charging a ridiculous amount for «urgency». I read the reviews of this place and everyone said it was great, and it was! They fixed my dress in less than a week, left it perfect (it was a $ 600 long peplum dress with a train. I obviously bought it for waaaay cheaper online but just letting you know so you get the idea that it was a good quality dress) and they charged only $ 70. Rosa was amazing! Many people were coming and going with suits, dresses, jeans, etc. I’m so glad I found my tailor in Chicago. I’ll definitely go back again… and so will you! :)

Great alterations! Had a tear in my suede skirt that seemed unfixable. The seam they created looks like it was there are along. I dropped off two pieces for little fixes and I got my clothing back in less than a week. Very cheap! Seems like they do a lot of heavy duty alterations as well. Will definitely be seeking their services in the future.

AVOID THIS PLACE! Although they did decent (not great, but decent) work on a skirt that I dropped off, it was ready a week late without even the courtesy of a phone call. (I had to stop in once and call twice to finally figure out when it was ready.) When I explained that I had recently moved to the area and was looking for a tailor to visit often, but was concerned about their tardiness and would appreciate a discount, the manager was extremely rude. He said that their prices are already low enough to reflect a discount and that there was nothing he could do. It’s a shame that this shop’s customer service is so bad, because there are plenty of other tailor shops in Chicago. I will not be back!

Even in the midst of wedding season, Maria found a way to take in a very detailed bridesmaid dress (lace bodice AND pleated chiffon skirt) and get it back to me within 2 weeks!

Rosa has done a few bridesmaid dresses for me over the years but with me being pregnant I was worried about the timing. She had me come in two weeks before the wedding date for the main fitting and then a week out to make sure everything was right. They are efficient and talented. Plus to put the panel in, hem the bottom, and take up the top three inches only cost me 90 dollars!

Good location and easy to work with. I needed a bridesmaids dress hemmed (no other alterations necessary). I dropped it off and picked it up a few days later. Charge was $ 35. I asked her to save the fabric for swatches and she did although she had trouble locating them for about 5 minutes. The job had no issues. I tried to go back again to get a dress let out and she looked at it and said there was nothing she could do. It was a very fast jump to judgement without even examining the fabric and stitching. Perhaps that was the case but I think she said that because there were sparkly rhinestones on it and she thought it would be a pain. At least look it over thoroughly before declaring nothing could be done. But if you need a basic hem or something, I’d return.

I initially called before I came asking if they can do an alteration within a day and they said yes, even within the hour if necessary. I went in and the lady, I’m assuming she’s Maria, was very nice and helpful. And although she wasn’t able to alter the dress how I needed it, we came up with a different solution and she fixed it for me on the spot. I will definitely return.

I went to Maria’s altercation because of the Unilocal reviews. I just came back from here. I ordered a dress that was one size too small and needed her to let some of the seam o ut. I’m not sure if it was Maria who helped me but she took one look and said «no I can’t do it — it’s too much work» I asked her to walk me through what was needed so I can find other solutions and she continued to rush me and say «no I cannot do it.» Then rushed off to take a phone call. Too much work is not an excuse nor was her poor customer service an excuse. The place was a complete disappointment. If you have a job that may require TOO MUCH WORK — do not go to this place.

Great place for alterations! I was a an idiot and left it to last minute to get my pants altered. I’ve been a slob for the past year and subsequently I’ve gained some weight… Crap. My suit pants were too small for me around the waist so I had to let out the waist a little. I walked in and Maria was very accommodating, I needed the pants asap and she was able to do it within a hour when I told her I needed right away.
It was super quick, altered nicely, and pretty cheap — $ 10! I believe they usually do most alterations in about 2 – 3 days.

Maria’s was a lifesaver!
I was an ahole bridesmaid and waited until three days before my friend’s wedding to have the dress altered. It was a weird dress with netting around the shoulder and the part that needed alterations was between my shoulder blades — not exactly a common place. They were able to get the dress back to me in two days and it only cost $ 30.
The place is a bare bones facility and they take cash only. But who cares b/​c they do great work, quickly, and at a reasonable price.