Thimbelina

this is my initial review only dropped off the garment so I can’t speak to the workmanship yet however the ladies are so incredibly nice it’s a cute little house shop at the end of Tchapitoulas. It’s a little bit out-​of-​the-​way for me but considering that I’ve already been to two other tailors I feel like the distance is the same for me living in midcity.
Even though she was busy with a client when I walked in, she took a moment to acknowledge that I was there and let me know that she would be right with me. She asked if I had something to try on. I said yes and she showed me into the changing room while she finished up with her client.
Once I was done she came in and complimented the dress and began to put pins in it to take it in where needed. she recommended that I wear different undergarments with it and even gave me options for the finished product. Just depending on how I would want it to look.
Parking definitely was not a problem, and the good news is they’re building a Regions right across the street from them so that will make it much easier since they only take cash and checks. Thanks to Morgan and all the other Unilocalers who recommended this place I really should’ve gone here from the very beginning!

Thus far, fantastic. These ladies do excellent work. I’m actually surprised because the work I asked them to do was not simple hemming.
2 shirts and 3 pants. Asked them to make the items look fitted and tailiored (otherwise was going to donate them because these clothing items were just too large and loose in the wrong places). They did an amazing job… All 5 items look like they are custom made/​bespoke
Only problem is that everyone else seems to know that they do great work — Had to wait 2 weeks for my stuff.

I thank all my Unilocal friends and others for suggesting that I pop into Thumbelina’s for my bridesmaid’s dress alteration this past week since it was easily accessible from my house. I walked in on a Thursday, and said I needed my dress by Tuesday. She waved me into the changing room to make the alterations without any sort of sigh or «tut tut» you might get asking for a late favor. The dress was a double layer of two opposing fabrics; one being a light fabric under a thick lace with sequins adorning it. She pulled it tighter along the back seam and pinned it without putting any other alteration pins in it besides there. I took off the dress, and paid $ 32 in cash that I miraculously had on me that day. ((Cash or check only)). I really don’t know the price of alterations, but I felt like this was fine.
I ended up actually picking up the dress early Wednesday morning since I pushed my flight back, and trusted that the alterations had been made correctly.
Four days later I put on the dress right before my sister’s wedding and loved how Thumbelina had transformed this beautiful yet frumpy-​ish garment into a well-​fitting dress that I could feel confident in wearing again.
Notes:
–They do have weird hours and days off, so make sure to check!
–Wear the undergarments that you’ll be wearing when you wear the altered piece again
–Bring cash or check
–Parking behind the building on the grass
–I would suggest trying on whatever you have altered there just to make sure, but they did a great job on my dress

My experience here was great! I had two dresses that I needed taken in. One was particularly nice, so I wanted excellent quality tailoring. I was very happy with the work done by Thimbelina seamstresses. They were also polite. Moreover, I needed the dresses back in 4 days (in time for an event), and they were perfectly willing to comply with this timeline. Finally, I thought the price was very reasonable for good quality tailoring. I will go back, and I would recommend Thimbelina to others.

These ladies are the best… at 5′, im constantly bringing things in to have this or that done. They are FAST, do quality work, and their pricing is more or less on par with what I’m used to.
The hours are a little different, sure; and cash only isn’t ideal for this girl, but they’re worth it!

I took a very intricate beaded gown for a Mardi gras ball to Thimbelina to have shorten. They said they good easily get it done in a week and a half when other tailors refused to take my dress given the complicated order and short time frame. However, when I came to pick up the dress on Wednesday and returned home to try it on, the beads were falling off as I walked. They had simply cut the dress and tied knots at the end of the dress to hold the beads up. Needless to say, they had taken the cheaper, quicker route. Granted, they told me this when I picked it up on Wednesday and charged me less than they originally quoted. BUT I would have just preferred the dress be done right the first time. I had to take It back that night and pick it up the day before the ball, Saturday, which was not ideal. The dress was finally done right and I was charged the original quoted price.
I’m still undecided if I’d take something back here. The finished product was done nicely, but the hassle and stress was not ideal, especially given the time crunch.

I’ve been coming here for a long time to have dresses and pants altered. They do a very nice job with alterations. However, expect it to take about 2 weeks (!) to have something done. Furthermore, recently I’ve gone in on the day my items were supposed to be finished and they haven’t been. This has happened the last TWO times I’ve had things altered. Even worse, they are only open a few days a week so I’ve rushed over during lunch break only to find out that my dresses aren’t done. That is unprofessional and a waste of my time.

A little annoyed about my experience here.
Called to see if they could take my measurements for my wedding dress I’m ordering from a designer in Portland. The friendly woman on the phone said sure, it would be NO CHARGE, at which point I reassured her that I would bring the dress there if it needed alterations. Point being I appreciate the freebie and it won’t be something for nothing for them, in the end.
So I go in and it is a different woman working the counter. She very quickly takes my measurements, with all my clothes on (I was wearing tight pants but a baggy shirt), in a manner that I consciously thought, while it was happening, seemed very quick to be precise. Wouldn’t be a huge deal normally, but this is a custom made wedding dress. Not made to size, made to MY SPECIFIC MEASUREMENTS with a sewn in corset and the whole sha-​bang. So I’d think the measurements need to be precise. She only measured once, which was different from the time I get measured at a bridal salon where the girl measured very carefully, twice, in just my bra and underwear.
Then when I’m leaving (I had also reassured her that I’d bring the dress there for alteration if necessary), she tells me it’s going to be $ 3 for HONESTLY less than a minute worth of seemingly imprecise work. Not exaggerating, one minute of work. She was very nice, I was very nice, I paid it because you are a lame-​ass if you squawk over three dollars. It just sort of chapped me a little bit because I was told two different things and also I felt like it’s kind of nickle and dime-​ing your customers. I know I’m not the first person to come in for measurements, so have a consistent policy about what you charge you customers.
She sacrificed a possible couple hundred bucks for $ 3 because I’m taking the dress elsewhere if it does need alteration when it arrives

They were able to take in a bust and hem a dress in 4 days — and they steamed it for me. It wasn’t cheap, but I was surprised they could do it at all!
The ladies here are so nice.
I had a really difficult dress that I needed to be taken out a little, and they did it for me. I was impressed.
You can definitely trust these ladies with your garments. However, it is pricey, so I probably wouldn’t come here for really small things.

Top quality seamstresses, tailoring, and knit repairs.
Lovely staff.

Some say that finding a good tailor is priceless. After all, we’re different shapes and sometimes sizing in the realm of 2, 4, 6, 8,10, 12 + just ain’t gonna cut it.
Reading the reviews of the skilled seamstresses at Thimbelina had me convinced that I would hit them up when I needed to. I only needed a hem on a cotton pencil skirt, ie, nothing major. I went in, put on the skirt and they swiftly pinned it to where it needed to go.
That’s where the swiftness ended, I’m afraid. I got my ticket and could not believe that a simple hem would take two weeks. I mean… two weeks? Is that the norm in town? I’m used to such things taking two business days.
I picked up my skirt yesterday and admired the excellent hemline. I won’t be walking around looking like a ragamuffin anytime soon. But… 17 dollars? Really?
All this said, I would entrust them to expert tailoring for something major and I am willing to pay for it.
But for a simple hem, I most likely will go elsewhere (Mom?). Or finally break down and buy that damned Singer.

Thimbelina is not my usual alterations place (only because of location) but I recently bought a pair of jeans that was almost 8 inches too long. I was advised by fashionable type people that I had to get original hem and that Thimbelina was one of the top places to do that.
My drop off & pick up were easy… although the shop was packed with ladies getting their last minute ball gown alterations for carnival. My jeans were ready in 2 weeks and the original hem was only about a dollar more than regular pants (or maybe the dollar more was for jeans?)
They accept cash & checks only.

If you’re wondering what the Asian’s secret is to taking over the world markets/​economies, you only need to make a visit to Thimbelina. Hard work and perfection rule the day here. However, you will pay for what you get here. Maybe the «High-​ish» price you pay includes not having to deal with a crap job… maybe it includes great customer service… Hell! Maybe it’s because they have tiny unicorns in all ten of their fingertips working miracles on my hemline. Whatever it is, I’m willing to pay the price. As mentioned in a previous review, turn around time is approx 2 weeks… but knowing this, if you need your pants for a certain date bring them in early.

After asking many, many people for tailor recommendations, I decided to try Thimeblina. I brought two pants of pants for alterations, and not only did they do a fantastic job, their price was very reasonable. I plan to go back to them for future pants and suit alterations.

This place is a serious alterations and tailoring studio full of women who know what they’re doing. You’re going to pay for their good work, and wait for it (about 2 weeks turnaround), but I’ve never been disappointed in the 6 years I’ve been a customer. Highly recommend. Only reason I didn’t give them 5 stars is because of the high-​ish prices and long turnaround times.