Studio Kim

I’ve taken a few items in the past to Studio Kim for simple alterations — a hem here, a strap adjustment there. I find it incredibly overpriced and slow, but living in close proximity has been a tempting aspect.
I recently took a Calvin Klein winter coat for repairs. Having been worn for about 25 years by my mother, it’s still in incredibly good condition and has a timelessly classic shape. There was a small hole where a seam had come apart at the side, and both pockets had completely bottomed out. Ever put your phone in your faulty pocket only to have it end up banging around your knees as you walk?
When the coat was returned, the seam at the side had been flawlessly refinished. However, as I put my hands in the pocket, I noticed something strange. One of the pockets had been seamed correctly. The other one had a giant, hard ridge, likely formed by a serger, which was inside out.
It’s like water torture every time I put my hands in my pockets. The fact that one is fine and the other is sloppy and uncomfortable is slowly eating away at me. Bit by bit, drop by drop, I am slowly losing my goddamn mind.
I don’t know exactly what the lesson is here. I guess it would be that if you want to take a risk, hand something over to Studio Kim. The jeans I had hemmed here were completed satisfactorily, but something like a disastrously flawed pocket repair might take a toll on even the most mentally stable.
From now on, I’ll just schlep to Jean Wu for drastic alterations, and Magic Tailor for things I want done quickly and properly.

She was nice and had the alteration done promptly for a good price when no one else had time. It looked good enough, but I used to sew and did not consider the alteration to be done quite as professionally as I was hoping for, especially given that it was a designer dress for a special occasion.

Took a dress here for a small alteration of a strap that had come undone. The handiwork was perfect, and it was done within 30 minutes.
One major caveat: they stained it. I had never worn this dress before (still had tags on, was in garment bag), and when I picked it up, there was a fresh stain near where the alteration was done. Luckily, it was on the inside lining and it doesn’t show through when I wear it — thank goodness. Either way, it’s a major red flag.
I saw the woman who did the work eating from a plastic take-​out container in the back, which is also where the work is done. I can’t help but assume her hands weren’t clean when she worked on my dress. I will definitely not be back.

In need of some sturdy crotch repairs for my Iron Hearts, I went to Studio Kim with 2 pairs of jeans and some 25oz denim off cut from the originally hemming.
The work has not disappointed. Studio Kim completely reinforced the crotch with the denim I provided and I’m pretty sure the repairs will outlast the jeans.
Yes, the repairs are expensive at $ 40/​pair, but when you’ve spent $ 400+ on a pair of jeans, another 10% to make them indestructible is worth it.

Kim is always very professional, friendly, and fast! Whether it’s taking in sleeves of a suit jacket, hemming jeans, or repairing tears, she always has provided me with great service. I’ve been going to her for the past 5 years and wouldn’t go anywhere else. :)

Denim: Fantastic work. The guy at Sydney’s recommends here for high-​end jean repair. My boyfriend trusts no one else to fix blowouts in his designer jeans. Very intricate and detailed work — noticeable fixes, but very very well concealed. Price is reasonable considering how much work goes into those repairs.
Everything else: Meh. I took in a $ 20 dress to get it taken in in the sholders. Cost me $ 30 to have it altered, and the shoulders are still a little too big.

I visited Studio Kim after the recommendations of two people from two separate downtown stores (ignoring poor reviews online). I was hesitant to just go to any tailor, as I wanted my alterations done properly. I brought in three dress shirts to have sleeves shortened (on Tuesday), and was told my shirts would be done on Saturday for pick-​up. On Saturday — with my pick-​up slip — they could not find my dress shirts, and when they did, they had not been worked on. Nothing.
I don’t normally write reviews or complain, but if you can’t have something done by a certain date, please don’t quote it. I took my dress shirts back without alterations. I will find another tailor to do them.
My encounter with the woman at the store was nice, she was friendly… but as a business, I will not go back.

So I lied. I went back, but this time the prices were what I paid before, but the quality has just dropped.
Fool me once, fool me twice…
I’m REALLY done now. Hunting for another tailor.

My boyfriend and I brought some formalwear in to have alterations done in order to get ready for a wedding.
My bridesmaid dress was a strapless polyester-​satin Le Château dealio with all kinds of ruching in the rear that looked really awful seeing I have a long torso and the dress had a short bodice. Ms Kim altered the dress so that the smooth seams in the bodice continued into the skirt, removing the ruching and helping the dress sit properly on my body shape. She also took in the bust and end result fit really well — I am not well-​endowed up top, but I was able to wear the dress comfortably without a bra for the whole day (ceremony, walking all over St John’s for photos, dancing).
My boyfriend brought his suit and dress shirt in, which he’d purchased off the rack at Zara. Ms Kim hemmed the pants and tailored the shirt and, when we went in for the pickup, realized that it would fit better if taken in a little bit more. Since we had another errand to run, she promised do the alteration while we ran around, and it was ready for us when we got back 20 minutes later.
Even though it was during the busy wedding season (early July) we got everything within a week — in fact, all of this only took 5 days. The pricing was very reasonable, as I think we got out of there paying just a touch over $ 100 for everything. I will certainly take her any future tailoring projects.

I am always skeptical of online reviews, but after my experience with Studio Kim, I have to say that Studio Kim is by far the best alterations place I have been to in Toronto! I had a bridesmaid dress that was too small… it would not zip up by about 3 inches, but Kim was able to fix it in one week! I dealt with Kim herself, and she was super friendly! I went in to pick up my dress this morning, and there was another alteration that needed to be done, and she had it ready for me by the end of the day!
I would highly recommend Studio Kim for alterations! I will definitely be going back!

I recently brought in a pair of fairly expensive jeans to get them shortened. I told Kim exactly how long I wanted them to be and she told me to come back in a few days. When I came to pick them up they were at least 2 inches shorter than I had requested.
They ended up buying me a new pair which was nice but I think I will take the new ones to another tailor.
Ive had much better work done at Sun King Cleaners near Queen and Brock and I will continue to go there instead. The girl who does the alterations at Sun King really knows her stuff and I have never had any complaints about her work. The prices are also considerably lower at Sun King.

Pay attention to the mixed reviews here.
I had a pair of jeans and two suits hemmed here.
Kim suggested I hem my pants for a skinny-​leg look. Unfortunately she didn’t/couldn’t hem more than the legs, so it looks like I’m wearing a diaper for both suits.
She hemmed the arms on one suit too short. (Although she did hem the shoulder well, which is hard to do.) I wore this same suit for the first time today, and there is a cigarette burn-​hole in the arm. Neither I, nor anyone I’ve had around the suit, smokes.
I will not be returning.

I found Studio Kim as they were mentioned in Toronto Life as being one of the better tailors in T.O. so I brought two dresses here for fixing, a silk dress to shorten and a summer cotton dress from Zara with a torn underarm to fix. I usually give stuff to my mum to fix as she’s a whiz with the sewing machine, but her sense of urgency is lacking so I opted to go professional with Studio Kim.
The initial visit was very good with Ms Kim properly pinning my silk dress to hem and being very courteous. I was told to come back in a week to pick up my two dresses so I waited and returned in a week.
Only one dress was ready for pick-​up so I paid for the one item and again was told to come back in a few days for my cotton Zara Dress with torn underarm, well upon my return a few days later I was disappointed as a) said dress was improperly repaired, they added a patch of satin (WTF?) to repair the underarm of my COTTON dress? b) By adding a patch instead of rejoining the original seam it made the one sleeve sit incongruently longer not to mention there were messy threads all askew c) they charged me $ 20 bucks for shite workmanship which took twice as long as it was supposed to. Of course once I said I’d prefer to pay less for the less than stellar workmanship Ms Kim turned all Dr Jekyll/​Mr Hyde on me, getting defensive and up in my grill and started calling me «dear» or «sweetie» when she hadn’t before thinking things are all kosher like that!
My mum could give Studio Kim lessons with her eyes closed on how to properly sew and repair items not to mention how to carry oneself with REAL poise & etiquette.
If only I could give them half a star…

** 4.5 stars **
I can vouch for all my fellow Unilocalers when I say that Studio Kim is a great place for alterations. The folks at Girl Friday on Queen St West first recommended her to me a couple of years ago, when I needed some alterations on one of their dresses.
Although I’ve been there a couple of times since, last week was the first time I think I’ve actually dealt with Miss Kim herself. She’s very nice and courteous and knows her stuff.
Although the price for my most recent alteration might have been a bit steep ($ 16 + tax for a zipper replacement), I didn’t mind at all — the quality of the work was well worth it!

Based on all the great reviews here, I deceided to take my wool coat here to be taken in a few inches and was very pleased and satisfied.
Miss Kim was very knowledgeable and courteous, she knew exactly what needed to be done ever before I said a word. The work was well done and completed quickly, and the price was very reasonable (mens clothing such as coats and suits are often the hardest to alter nicely).
I will definitely come back again. Thank you Miss Kim!

This is the greatest place to go for any type of alteration. I get all my jeans hemmed here, as well as having had a few bridesmaid dresses altered. I’ve seen them do suit jackets, as well as some major alterations for someone that looked like they’d lost about 100 lbs.
Suuuuper nice staff, the prices are decent (15 $ for jean hem), and they can even do same day, or next day service.
Also offers dry cleaning.
Love Studio Kim!!!

I went to Studio Kim this summer in need of a dress alteration (bridesmaid dress). I ordered the dress a good two sizes too small and was in a panic to get the dress taken out. No time to re-​order the dress. Kim and her team helped make it possible all within one week and they did a great job. No way could anyone tell it had been taken out. My only complaint was that the alternation didn’t come cheap! so if you need a miracle, Studio Kim is the place to go, you’ll get excellent service and they’ll do a great job but expect to pay for it.

After a recommendation from a friend and reading several positive reviews, I brought my bridesmaid dress to Studio Kim for 2 simple alterations — hemming and adjusting the strap. I knew they would be a bit pricier but I was willing to pay for quality work since this was my sister’s wedding and I am the maid of honor.
I was told that the alterations would take about a week, which is a pretty quick turn around time. When I arrived to pick up the dress, I tried it on to see if the alterations were okay. They were fine… but to my horror and disgust, I notice what looked like two grease stains on the skirt of the dress. These stains were not there when I dropped off the dress. My husband noticed that two more large grease stains on the back of the dress. It looked like someone was eating a hunk of KFC when they were working on my dress and decided to use it as a napkin.
Kim was in the store that day. She apologized and offered to send it out for dry cleaning which took another week.
I picked up the dress tonight and the stains are still visible. They were unable to get the stains out with dry cleaning. Kim’s employee insinuated several times that the stains were there before I brought the dress in for alterations (completely untrue). I was still charged the full price for alterations but the dry cleaning was complimentary.
So now I am left with a never before worn bridesmaid dress that already has been stained before the big day. I’m disappointed and don’t want this to happen to anyone else. Think twice before you bring your clothes for alterations here.

Studio Kim is run by Kim.
She is wonferful and talented, fast and affordable.
I’ve gone to her several times in a «pinch» and have always been very happy.

Leave it to me to have things done at the last minute. I needed to get one of my fancy dresses altered (shortened and hemmed) for a wedding I attended recently. The wedding was on Friday and I thought of what to wear four days prior. To avoid stress and panic by tackling the job myself (I may know how to sew but not how to do an invisible hemline), I headed over to nearby Studio Kim.
It was a last minute job, but they said they could get it done by Friday morning. On the date promised, I picked up my dress which was hemmed beautifully. I have been told by a neighbour friend of mine that there’s a cheaper and better alterer/​studio down the street. But I have to say that this studio has reasonable prices for the quality of work they promised, as well as getting the job done on time.