Ma’s Tailoring

super fast and really nice older chinese men. you know these guys were professional in hong kong. i had my bridesmaid’s dress (long /​silk in material) hemmed there. they saved the extra fabric for me as well.

I once took a maxi dress to this location and I couldn’t believe how they managed to mess up the hem so bad that the back hem of the dress ended up at my calves while the front hit the floor the way it was supposed to. It was beyond fixing since it couldn’t be a maxi dress anymore so I didn’t take it back. Thank god it was a cheap dress… I ended up never wearing it and threw it away.
Also, they don’t have a set price for their work. I guess they didn’t think I could speak/​understand Chinese because they were arguing about what to charge me at first. $ 10 was the final price… but what a waste of a dress!

I took a brand new cashmere pull over shall that I wanted cut and hemmed into a wrap because I didn’t like the original style. I had tried other places and they said it was too difficult and risky and that it couldn’t be done. All of the men at Ma’s were very friendly and professional. They were easy to communicate with, charged me only $ 10 and did an excellent job! The hem style required was unique, yet was so cleanly done, I couldn’t even tell that the piece had been altered! Very pleased and will definitely go back!

If I need something altered that is beyond a simple hem, I go here. The overhead is clearly low, low budget, but the quality of the work is truly high quality and outstanding. I often have to have coat or suit sleeves taken up, and they often have detailing at the cuff, so you can’t just shorten it at the hem. You have to take up the sleeve at the shoulder. Not many tailors do this, or even want to bother. But Ma’s, yup, they always do it right. They do not cut corners. I also had them take an entire silk dress down two sizes, and that they did! It looks great! They also have a good idea of where a hem or cut of a jacket should lie, and they take the time to make the appropriate measurements. There were times when they had a better idea of pant or sleeve length than I did (eg. coat sleeve should expose just the right amount of the shirt sleeve underneath).
The staff are Chinese, and don’t speak the best English, but can make themselves understood. They are not cheap, and they take time to do the job right – I have never asked for a rush order, so I don’t know what their work would look like if that had to do it quickly, but they are professionals, and I doubt they would promise anything they could not follow through with.
I say this from the perspective of being the granddaughter of two professional seamstresses from Japan. Ma’s knows their trade! Down sides include occasional waits, but they’ve always had my orders ready on time.

I’ve moved out of the neighborhood but I still go back for Ma’s when I need tailoring done. He’s a sweet old man. I’ve used him for patching and original hems. Workmanship is good. I wouldn’t say he’s cheap but average pricing.

I am very disappointed with ma. I took a new, beautiful coat there and they did not alter it properly the first time, then the second time and even the third time it was not sewn properly… they have hired a new man and I don, t know if he is the problem… plus their phone was out of order an entire weeks and no one bothered to fix it. if you are going to this shop, bring cheap clothes and expect high prices to be charged

Couldn’t have been better! I needed some new pants hemmed in a hurry. Mr. Ma was very friendly, and made sure to double-​check that I didn’t need the waist altered at all. He was able to do the hemming for me very quickly, and the total cost was only $ 14.
One note, they’re cash-​only, and you’ll likely have to pay in advance, so don’t forget to bring cash with you.

I called this place based upon the good reviews and the man answering the phone did NOT know how to speak English. He couldn’t tell me what the hours were, how they determine pricing, if I needed an appointment or not. WTH??? He just kept repeating the address.
I have NO CLUE how anybody has been able to get anything of quality out of this place. Why on earth would I take a $ 400 worth of clothing to this place to be altered if they can’t even speak the language of the country they have a business in!!!
A total joke!

Ma’s does a good job and, considering how knowledgeable the here are tailors are, the prices are pretty very reasonable. They are really good with turnaround times and are willing to do rush jobs when needed. For example, they got my tuxedo back to me in less than a week when I needed an alteration right before New Years Eve.

I am new to the area, and I had some new work pants that I needed hemmed. I walked down to Ma’s where they invited me and my pants in. I told him that I needed my pants hemmed 2 inches. He measured it out with me and showed me what they would look like. Told me to come back on Monday (which would be 4 days), and gave me a receipt.
I have never gotten anything hemmed, so I don’t know how much is resonable, but I thought $ 12 was a good price. My pants look great. Just the perfect length, and I still can’t understand how he hemmed them, I can’t even tell that he did! I am very pleased with the work of Mister Ma! :-)

as you walk up, you’ll notice the top half of the front door is open, and the bottom is closed. on my first visit, i paused, wondering if i should knock or something before barging directly into their tiny work space.
ma, the man, the legend, works with one other tailor. they’re both perched on stools, and work attentively. be clear about what you want, and carry some cash to pay in advance. most often, they’ll have your items expertly tailored within a few days, and if they’re swamped, less than a week.
no frills, no screen door to keep flies out in the summer, no pretty art work. they know what they’re doing, and keep cost low.
i’ve brought in jeans, shirts and even a mink coat. who else are you going to trust with a mink coat? ma, that’s who.
now you know.

Ma’s is great if you need something as simple as pants/​jeans hemmed. For anything else, find a different tailor.
They mucked up a blouse of mine last week. Now I have to spend more money elsewhere to undo what they did and have the shirt altered properly.

Reasonable tailoring can be hard to come by in SF, but have no fear, Ma’s Tailoring is a deal and a steal IF you don’t mind a) paying in cash and b) sometimes not understanding what the tailors are saying. That being said, I have never NOT been pleased with their work product and their prices. Pants for $ 10, a ball gown being hemmed for only $ 25, seriously not bad.
Well-​tailored clothing items never go out of style, so don’t be shy about taking that old dress of your grandma’s in to be revamped for your body!

This is a great neighborhood place to take your clothes to be repaired.
I brought 3 garments here with holes in them and they fixed them flawlessly. It is a little expensive… for 3 of my things it turned out to be $ 39…the most expensive being $ 16 for one tank top. They are also cash only which is a huge hassle.

WHY?!? Why are there so many great review’s for Ma’s Tailoring?
Or the more candid question: Why are the seams on MY recently tailored (> 3 months) jeans coming apart?
I don’t know… if my pant hems can’t stay in place, I’m afraid to think of what might happen to a blouse or dress I have tailored here.
*sigh* Am I cursed or are there no expert tailors in these parts?

I’m not tiny short, but every time I splurge and buy something designer, I can usually wing it without alterations, but dresses usually look better a few inches shorter. I’ve always heard good things about Ma’s and Irene C’s review sold me so I went and took this new dress there.
I knew exactly what I wanted, 3 inches off. I was pondering taking it in on the sides at the hips too, but based on my hesitation, the folks at Ma’s talked me out of it. They are also pretty good about pining and marking things as you try it on so you are certain that what you think you want in your head looks right on you. It’s also nice to have a sweet Chinese old man remind you that you just have to be careful sitting down when wearing a dress that’s mid-​thigh.
They asked me when I wanted it done, and it was done exactly then. Everything was perfect. My dress came with a nicely done blind hem, and that’s exactly what they did. The thread was a perfect match, original hem tape was still used, the lining was also shortened, and they even added back the chainstitches that held the shell to the lining at the hem. Fantastic craftsmanship for a reasonable price, $ 20.
The next time I wanna show more legs, I’ll definitely be back!

This place is cheap, but you get what you pay for. I don’t get why there are so many positive reviews as they hemmed all my jeans too long and I had to take them back in to be taken up some more. Plus, they did a TERRIBLE job with the original hems. I now need to take them somewhere else to try to have someone fix their crappy work.
I would look elsewhere.

I brought in a silk dress that needed to be altered asap — brought it in thursday evening and got it back by saturday morning, definitely very accomodating!
(See picture)
My dress was a bit loose around the neckline (about ½″ taken off on both sides from the top layer and lining) and needed to be taken in a bit around the sleeves and waist line. The tailor listened, understood, and did a great job with my dress. The fit is so much snugger and exactly what I had wanted. $ 65 for the job — well worth it considering the difficulty and time.

Mr. Ma does a great job. Listens to all your special requests. Sets proper expectations about any alterations before you leave so there’s no confusion.
But there have been a few times that I was out of town and I wanted to call just to let him know. Uhh… NOBODY ever answers the phone or returns your message! Hello… Hello Mr. Ma answer the damn phone?

Took a couple pairs of jeans in for hemming — only $ 8 per pair! I can’t believe I’ve gone this long without hemming my jeans and letting them drag on the ground or cuff them up. Damn I hate being so short. The two guys in there were terribly friendly, even the customer being served was friendly :) You walk right into the middle of their workroom filled with clothes, kinda crazy little place but I liked it. I’ll have my jeans back in 3 days — based on the reviews I have a good feeling they’ll be nicely hemmed up.
Update 08÷01÷07: Got the jeans back last night and they were very nicely hemmed. I’ve never had anything hemmed before (CUFFS!) so I can’t compare. But everything was straight, the thread matched the jeans, and finally I have jeans that don’t drag on the ground behind me.