Monika’s California Apparel & Alterations

Monika is amazing!!! She did a beautiful job on my wedding dress and she charged me a very fair price for the alterations she made. I have since come back for alterations to a bridesmaid dress and will be returning again for another wedding I am in. I won’t go anyplace else!

Amazing seamstress! Super friendly and helpful. She was able to alter my wedding dress in a timely manner and went out of her to make me feel comfortable throughout the entire process.

I brought my wedding dress to Monika’s to get alterations for my wedding day. She was VERY easy to get in touch with and very quick to respond to emails. I didn’t know where I was going to keep my dress in my apartment and she offered to hold it for me in her store. It stayed there for months! She is more than accommodating and did a great job with my dress. Her prices are very fair, also. I would 100% recommend her.

Monika is amazing! My dress fit like a glove. Turn around time is great, you can’t beat the pricing! And just a very sweet genuine person in general.

I had her alter my wedding dress 8 years ago and she did an incredible job, today I went back to get a dress altered and she is still the same. Monika is very nice! I could hear her talk for hours I love her accent. I alter my cloths myself but when it comes to more difficult alteration she is the ONE to go to.

Monika altered my wedding dress and a my maid of honor dress in May and June. She has a keen eye for details and put in a lot of good work to both dresses.
For my wedding dress she took out the corset and put in a zipper. Then had the idea to sew and snap on a beaded embellishment over the zipper. It looked AMAZING! She also added my wire over my hips so it laid flatter. It was perfect! Look no more for a trusted seamstress!

She does amazing work, I got pregnant 4 months before my wedding… oops. She was able to take apart my dress and make it fit! Not to mention it was a mermaid gown, so it was no easy task.
I now always take my jeans to be taken in in the waist so they don’t gap, She does amazing work, you can’t even tell anything was done.
I highly recommend using her.

Amazing! Did the alterations for my bridal dress for HALF what the bridal store was charging me and was so quick and thorough! Loved how my bustle turned out! So friendly and I would recommend anyone needing bridal alterations to go to Monika’s California Apparel & Alterations — you will not be disappointed!

Monika is fantastic! I was recommended to her by a previous bride’s mother. Based on her recommendation, I traveled from San Francisco to Pleasanton (multiple times), and it was completely worth it! Monika is an expert at alterations and she is also fair and reasonably priced. I had some minor concerns about my wedding dress and Monika steered me away from various alterations I was considering, as she assured me that the dress fit perfectly, and it would be aa waste of my money to do any alterations. She is out to do the right thing for the customer, even if it means less business for herself. A couple of weeks later I wanted to build in bra cups to the gown and Monika was happy to provide this service as a reasonable price. I would drive back to Pleasanton any time to see Monika!

I am updating my review since I have had 2 more bridesmaids dresses altered by Monica since my wedding dress. She did a fantastic job on both of them, especially the one I just had done recently. I found out I pregnant a month after ordering a dress and alas it was too late to order a different size. I had to wait to the last minute to get it altered since, obviously, you only get bigger with each week in the third trimester. The dress would not zip up 3 weeks before the wedding and I thought for sure I would be screwed. Not only was Monica able to help me with the short amount time, it looked amazing. She had to let out the seems and create a corset and panel in the back. It looked like it was meant to be a maternity dress, you would have never known I had all those alterations. I highly recommend her!

I love Monika! She does wonderful work! I had to get my wedding dress altered a bit and she did a fabulous job. I have been going to her since for random things like getting my pants hemmed. My husband brings his suits to her when they need something fixed. We fully trust her with anything. You are in great hands with her!

I was recommended to Monika from a previous bride who was very pleased with her work. My wedding dress was actually a bride maids dress but I had a vision in turning it into a beautiful beach wedding dress. With Monika’s guidance and expertise, my dream dress came to life in a matter of weeks! It was painless and no issues whatsoever.
I have included pictures before and after.
I am so thankful I found Monika and will use her for all future alterations.
Thanks for such quality work!!!

Another 5 star review for me. Another bridesmaid gown for me (catching a theme here?)
Floor length chiffon. Ordered it online at David’s bridal with my exact measurements. Somehow the dress was literally so big on my I could throw it on over my head and it would fall straight to the floor if I didn’t have a shoulder strap.
Somehow when I got it a few days later it fit everything perfectly and it was definitely tailored specifically for me meaning some alterations could have been made but weren’t because ultimately it wouldn’t be flattering to my body.
Not really sure what else you could ask for. Quick service without issues. Perfectly tailored alterations. Surprised there’s people who had any negative remarks, but I suppose you can’t please everyone.

I have been using Monika for years for various alteration needs. She has always done a great job and totally comes through with what she says she’s going to do.
So, when it came time to alter my wedding dress, naturally I trusted Monika to do a fabulous job. Not only was my dress beautiful but it fit me like a glove. I had many of my wedding guests compliment how perfect my dress was for my body type and even the built in bra enhanced my cup size just the way I hoped it would.
In addition to altering my dress, Monika helped design a one-​shoulder strap for me because I didn’t want a strapless dress like 90% of brides (I’ve been to way too many weddings and I’m extremely picky). All in all, my dress was uniquely stunning and I was and still am absolutely pleased with it.
**Side note, Monika even took extra fabric from my dress and made a ring pillow out of it. It was seriously perfect and I will treasure it forever.
If you are a bride, please check out Monika. You will not be disappointed. This post is coming from someone who is a total perfectionist too!

Monika is fabulous! She did my wedding dress alterations, which included the bustle and it turned out perfectly! She was quick and precise. She is amazing and I would highly recommend her for your future alterations!

Monika made the alterations on my wedding gown. She was so accommodating and sweet throughout the entire process, allowing me to wait all the way until the last day before leaving to make alterations so I could loose as much weight as I could and feel great on the wedding day! Her prices are very reasonable. I also purchased my bridal jewelry from her. She has some great unique pieces! Would highly recommend her to every Bride!

I’ve gone to Monika’s to alter my coat sleeves the last three years and it seems like the quality decreases with each trip. Last year, I had issues with the sleeves after I picked it up. Although she fixed it, she gave me attitude and was very cold towards me. This time, I was super disappointed with her craftsmanship. Who does this? It shows no care and a rushed job just to get it done… Looks like I’ll be looking for a new seamstress next winter.

J’aime bridal recommended this location, and it was a solid 5 stars recommendation! I had called multiple locations and asked friends for recommendations about wedding dress alterations, and Monika’s was definitely the best. The prices here are great, especially because I was shocked by the quotes I received at other locations for the bussle on my wedding dress. When I asked Monika about steaming the dress she told me that J’aime bridal offered the service for free if I had purchased my bridesmaid dress there to, which I hadn’t, but I appreciated that she made sure that I knew about that deal. Very friendly lady, and I will be back with other clothes that needed hemming and work. Thanks Monika!

I told myself I wouldn’t give any more places any reviews that were less than 5 stars, but I just can’t do it. Jaime bridal recommends Monika for any alterations, but my experience matched the less than stellar reviews listed here on Unilocal.
I had three fittings.
First fitting — I was early for my appointment, and Monika was still reviewing her work with another bride who was not happy with the alterations (first clue), Monika kept reassuring her that all will be well so I just chalked it up to the bride-​to-​be being a bit of a bridezilla, especially since when it came time for my fitting, I had no issues. Monika was sweet, went through what would need to be altered, took a deposit, and reassured me that everything would be fantastic.
Second fitting — The hem and lacework was good, but the bodice looked … off. Some beading had been pulled off and looked loose in a few places. Monika told me it was just «fine» and that it «was supposed to look like that» and that «it would look better after pressing.» Monika also talked me into getting cups put into the dress and that everything would adjust accordingly. Monika got snooty with my seamstress mother when my mom questioned some of her work. I should’ve ran away right then and there, but I opted to stick with Monika because she did a good job on the lace.
Third fitting — HORRIBLE experience. Even though the neckline was wonky-​looking, Monika kept insisting that there was nothing wrong and that everything was perfect and it would come out in the pressing. Yeah right. How can pressing fix beading that was substantially lower on one side compared to the other?! Not to mention that you could SEE the cups when I bent over. They weren’t even sewn under the lining. Her response was extremely dismissive. She kept insisting everything was perfect and it was supposed to be that way. Some customer service. It was clear that she was DONE with me and DONE with my dress. I felt swindled.
I admit she did a GREAT job on the lace hem but in the end, that’s all that she did. She makes you feel great at first, but don’t dare question any of her work after the fact.
My dress got fixed elsewhere.

Monika did all of the alterations to my lace wedding dress (Maggie Sottero, Karena Royale from J’aime Bridal) for my wedding on September 30, 2012. She did an *amazing* job! I had lost more weight than I though I would, and when my dress came in it was at least 1 size too big, and about 2 inches too long. I was worried about how alterations would work since it was a detailed lace dress with scalloped edges along the bottom, but Monika did a flawless job!
She was a pleasure to work with. I appreciated the calm atmosphere of her store. She is very talented and obviously knows what she is doing. The dress fit like a glove, I wasn’t pulling it up all night to have it stay on. Was able to dance all night with it staying on perfectly.
The price for the alterations was fair, I can’t remember the exactly amount but no more than a few hundred dollars. After my initial fitting and consultation, I came in 2 more times 2 weeks apart. Never had a bad experience.
Monika did such a great job on my dress, I hired her to do the alterations on my bridesmaids dresses. Both dresses had to be hemmed, and I had her add sleeves with to the strapless dresses with the extra fabric I had purchased from the dress designer. I wasn’t exactly sure how I wanted the sleeves to look, but Monika recommended a halter look that came out perfect!
Would highly recommend Monkia.