Nonpareil Studio

Very poor quality job. The tailor didn’t take measurements so the result is very far from what it should have been. Inexistent customer service.

First time customer. Needed a few patches sewn on a jacket. They were able to do it the same day. Friendly staff and reasonably priced. Will definitely come again for future needs.

I am, no joke, literally sitting here right now because Michelle is fixing a dress for me for a birthday party for tomorrow. TOMORROW! I walked in and didn’t even have to beg, I just mentioned I’d like to wear it tomorrow and I know that’s crazy and it’s not absolutely necessary… and before I knew it she had taken it out of my hands, told me to sit down, and gotten to work.
Update: just walked out, two minutes later (literally) with the hem fixed for tomorrow’s party. If that is not amazing customer service, I don’t know what is. GO HERE!!!

This was probably the worse experience I’ve had in customer service Since I’ve been in Ann Arbor. I walked in, in order to get some pants altered, and the owner didn’t even acknowledge my presence. So I sat down hoping that I could at least receive some assistance, but instead the owner or worker (whomever she was) walked past me several times in order to hold full on conversations with her friends who decided to visit her at that time. She completely ignored me, a potential customer for about 10 more minutes, until I just decided to leave because it was clear I was interrupting her social hour. I do think this event smacked of both racist tendencies and pure unprofessionalism. Please think twice before giving this horrible business your money, especially if you are a POC.

I did NOT have a positive experience here. I first went in to have some straps shortened on a bridesmaid dress. When we went in to pick up our dresses, she had completely forgotten to do them (got placed in the wrong spot) and we had to come back in the morning of our flight out to the wedding. She did a decent job & gave us a discount, so all was forgiven.
I went in again to have another bridesmaid dress altered. It was a fairly fitted dress, and I needed the bust taken in. It fit perfectly as is from the waist down. I made this very clear when I went in, but felt sort of ignored. She did a quick pin, but was much more concerned with a bride that was in at the same time. She also made a comment that it was «just a bridesmaid dress». I’m sorry, but I already spent $ 120+ on this dress, I want it to fit nicely.
So, I go in after it’s finished. The bust fit nicely, but I comment on how I look hippy. The fabric was gathering around my waist and pulling. I just thought I was bloated or something and she says nothing. I try it on again a week later, and it’s still too small on the waist/​hips. I think I’ve gained weight. I now spend the next 2 weeks feeling fat and trying to crash diet, just so I can breath/​sit/​move in this dress without looking like I’m in an unflattering sausage casing. Finally, the night before I’m to leave for the out-​of-​town wedding, I finally think to look at the seams. Come to find out, she didn’t just take in the bust, but continued it down to the waist, before tapering it to the original at the hips. I lost over 1.5 inches in the waist– which in a already fitted dress, is a lot. I had no time to take it back to get it fixed and done the way it should have been initially. Luckily– 1) she did not cut out the extra fabric and 2) I had a family member who could completely redo it overnight. I’m so mad that I paid money ($ 60) for a service that had to be completely redone. Why would she let me leave when it clearly wasn’t fitting quite right? I know it was «just a bridesmaid dress», but this was now a $ 180+ dress and I better look great in it!
I’ll be finding somewhere else to go for future needs.

My fiancé and I absolutely love this tailor. She’s so sweet and works with you to get your tailoring done at a time you want. We are never in a rush so our jeans usually takes about a week. You do the usual, try on your jeans and she makes the adjustments necessary. She’s quick with the fitting and we are always pleased with the results. She never takes a centimeter too much or too little. We know exactly what we want and there are never any surprises when we pick up our jeans!
Michelle is the woman for all your tailoring needs!

This is the first time I have ever felt the need or urge to write a business review on Unilocal and may be my last as I am pretty lazy when it comes to this stuff. However, I absolutely have to share my experience regarding this wonderful place.
I bought a very nice silk cotton lace wedding dress this past summer for my September wedding. The dress I bought new would have been really expensive, so I bought the sample from the store. It was 3 sizes too big. Strapless fit and flare with a long lace train. When I bought it my friends were worried I wouldnt be able to make it what I wanted, but I had fallen in love with the bold coral lace pattern… The local gown shop did not have in-​shop tailoring. I thus had to find someone on my own. On a friends recommendation, I went to Nonpariel (meaning «without equal»).
I had this vision of a backless dress with straps and tiny little buttons running down the back. I came to Nonpariel with this huge froth of lace and my vague dream. Michelle (the owner and head tailor) is a little blunt, which I can see makes her seem awkward, and doesn’t sugarcoat much. But she is fabulous, funny, caring and really listens to you once you get to know her. She wasn’t deterred by the amount of work it would take or the fact that I couldn’t articulate well what I wanted. She agreed to go for it and we embarked together on this dress altering journey.
She let me have as many fittings as I wanted (almost 15!!) without complaint. She was flexible if I was running late to a fitting. She dealt with my unending questions. She let me stay in my dress staring in the mirror as long as I wanted during a fitting. I was never rushed. I was never dismissed. She was patient and helpful, explaining every fitting what exactly she had down last time and what she thought the next steps would be. She was clear to me in explaining what I needed to buy (the buttons for example, along with toule for the bottom of the dress to amp it up) and where to go to get them. One fitting I forgot my shoes. She let me run home, get them, and return for the fitting, even though that took us way past the time I should have had «blocked off» for my fitting. Whenever I wanted something, she was clear to explain whether she felt it was 1. feasible/​accomplishable and 2. a good idea to actually do. Then she let me decide what I wanted and did it. If I had an idea, she listened, stated her opinion and then we moved forward however I asked. I was comfortable with the process from start to finish.
In the end, the dress of my dreams started to emerge. She was able to cut out the back of the dress, creating a stunning low back with a lace overlay. She added small straps to help support it. She added delicate lace trim around the neckline and buttons down the back. She created a bustle. She tucked and pulled and pinned and in the end, it was perfect.
She literally made my dress everything I wanted and more. Give her creativity and trust her abilities and you will end up with a dress like mine — a dress which fit like a dream, and my chest, stomach, hips, derrière and all around curves were AMAZING on my wedding day. Got a million compliments from everyone I saw, even randos on the street. I felt absolutely beautiful and it was all thanks to her. TWO DAYS BEFORE the wedding, my now husband realized he needed his tuxedo shirt altered. Problem was, he was out of town for work. I took it to her in desperation, with his body measurements written down on a napkin. It was ready THE NEXT DAY. And it is the best fitting shirt he owns.
Oh and did I mention that upon request she MADE MY VEIL FROM SCRATCH with matching lace from the dress which she got from the dress company? And when the first veil wasn’t quite cut right, she scrapped it and made a new one at no extra cost. Veils alone can be $ 400 or more!
How much did I pay for all this (dress alterations/​creation and veil)? Lets just say it was cheaper to buy the sample and alter it PLUS get a fully customized veil than to buy the dress new (prior to any alterations)!!
I cannot say enough about my whole experience at NonPariel. Some people on here have said Michelle isnt professional — I don’t know their situation but I have to completely disagree. Maybe she was having a bad day. Or maybe it was that bluntness/​mild awkwardness (which I appreciated by the end of my time with her and found endearing) that they could not get past. But take my word for it — if you have a complicated tailoring job, this is the place to get it done. She responds to emails promptly. She is honest. She believes in her work and stands behind it. I couldn’t ask for more. I have referred everyone I know here since my wedding day and will continue to do so as long as I live in A2. And I have a stack of pants and shirts and skirts myself that will be landing on her sewing machine pretty soon. She has a customer for life.

Nonpareil Studio is a terrific resource in our Ann Arbor community. Michelle Moenssen tailored my Lea-​Ann Belter wedding gown that I had purchased at The Gown Shop. There was quite a bit of work to be done as I had lost weight after I had ordered the dress. She also worked with me to design straps for the gown and made a shawl. She was very accommodating. Additionally, my daughter-​to-​be, who lived out of town, came in just days before the wedding and needed her dress hemmed. Michelle accomplished this for us in a one-​day turnaround at Thanksgiving time. I plan to use this studio for all of my future tailoring needs. The staff is wonderful — and, oh yeah, they really are talented tailors!

Did an average job lengthening my men’s coat sleeves. Too many loose threads and over lengthened resulting in a weird «v» shape where the lateral seam meets the sleeve end. Otherwise nice and helpful, and did a good job my fiancées graduation dress.

Very good tailoring; accommodating to your schedules; It is NOT cheap– jeans taken in can easily cost $ 20 – 25. However, if you like an item and wants alteration done right, I would recommend this place.

I attended Nonpareil because a friend was getting her wedding dress altered there and felt Michelle was not listening to what she wanted. When I tried to help, I found Michelle down right bullying her. It was clear she did not want to do the work and instead of saying so, she attacked my friend’s wants for her dress. Her words were derogatory and aggressive. She physically glared at me when I opted for a compromise of events — asking «if I wanted to do the work?» and then came after me verbally. I do not recommend this place.
In addition, we later found out another friend of mine had a similar experience. I question why she is rated so high? The way she treats her clients is horrible.

I got to know this place when I moved here about 2 years ago, I got a bridesmaid dress altered here. She took too much in and I could barely breathe and it was $ 80 to take in the waist a bit and bring up the hem. Kind of expensive.
I got my wedding dress altered here last year and in rush of planning I didn’t have time to drive out to Bloomfield to get it altered there. The woman that owns this place, Michelle isn’t very professional or friendly, she told me I had an extreme hourglass figure and «this was going to be a problem.» I was frankly shocked, who says that to a client? If you don’t want to do the work, just tell me, I’ll find someone else. She did an ok job, it was still too big on my wedding day, but thankfully my hips made sure it didn’t fall down. She also put in snaps rather than ties to hold up the train, which kept coming undone so I had to stop dancing more than 6 times to have my maid of honor resnap the dress.
I thought it was just me, and just wrote it off as I won’t go there again. But a friend told me she had a similarly unpleasant experience where she was downright insulting. Not sure how she stays in business.

Great service and great results. Recently lost weight and needed to get my clothes altered to fit. Michelle has redone suits and pants for me making them fit better and look better on me than they did when I first got them. She’s a pleasure to work with and always ensures your clothes look good on you.

So I am only giving this place 4 stars for now because I have not received my dress yet that is being shortened, but so far I highly recommend this place. I had to get a dress shortened for a formal dinner since it was too long on me and I went to the alteration place under Biovouac and the lady there said it would cost $ 35… just to shorten it cause «it was a stretchy material and was difficult.» I was like no way am I paying half the cost of a dress just to get it shortened and wear it only once! So I went to nonpareil and the lady here told me it would be $ 15! That is a while $ 20 difference which is ridiculous. I was very pleased with this price so hopefully when I go pick up the dress I can give it a full 5 stars depending on how it turns out. The lady here is also very nice and helpful.

Excellent work, able to finish things on a quick timeline, reasonably priced. I haven’t had her do the sort of complicated things other reviewers have, but given how well she’s taken care of the smaller alterations I’ve needed, I would certainly go to her for anything. Once when I left some clothing with her two weeks after she’d already altered it, she called me to let me know she was going on vacation in case I was planning to pick things up while she was gone. A super-​nice touch. Additionally, the shop is welcoming and spacious, which is definitely not the case with lots of tailors. I would recommend her to anyone for anything!

Michelle is simply fantastic — can’t say enough about her. Bring anything to her and she will make it fit you like a glove, she’s incredibly talented and has a great eye for fit as well. Her prices are reasonable and she gets things done on time. She’s done suits, bridesmaid dresses, jeans, jackets and more for my boyfriend and I. I’m short and so I’m used to getting things hemmed, and she did a better job then anyone else I’ve ever visited in all the places I’ve lived!

Where do I begin? This place is the greatest! I have had not so good experiences with alterations in the past and this had made me avoid alterations overall. Then I moved to Ann Arbor, lost some weight and suddenly had to either alter my work pants or go on a shopping spree I could not afford.
And then I found this gem through Unilocal and have been amazingly happy with Michelle ever since. She has altered many of my work pants, some shirts and a bridesmaid dress with amazing results each time.
If you are in need of alterations, look not further!!! I completely recommend Michelle and Nonpareil :)

Nonpareil hosts a (free!) BYOB sewing circle. That, my friends, is as good as it gets.
I’ve been looking for a sewing class in the area, not so much for instruction but for the regular motivation to actually finish long-​overdue projects. I was browsing the classes at Nonpareil and wondering if this place was my style when I read the description for Crafts and Cocktails:
«Bring some friends for a BYOB open sew! Make gifts, start a new project, finish an old project you’ve put aside, and get professional sewing advice. 21+ please. This is not your grandmother’s sewing circle!»
Bingo.
I felt a little like a teenager sneaking out to a party as I carried a brown bag of beverages into the sewing studio, which is in a converted house right down the street from the Fleetwood. Michelle, the owner, was a fabulous host, providing not only the space but also delicious snacks (brie and jam baked pastries!) and professional sewing advice. All the ladies in attendance were friendly and chatty, and I actually finished hemming a dress that was started two years ago.
I had such a great time that I signed up the next day for an alterations class in May. If you’re an Ann Arborite with crafty inclinations leaning in the sewing direction, you have to check out Nonpareil.

Michelle is amazing. I am working through my second class with her and learning «sew» much (no pun intended:-) She went out on a limb with me to instruct me on a box pleat skirt instead of the standard a-​line which was the goal of the class. So far, so good. She helped me through all of the steps and made suggestions along the way from choosing suitable silk fabric and underlining it with organza to hemming hints. I highly recommend taking a class from Michelle, she ROCKS!

I just took my first class at Nonpareil today, Garment Alterations. Michelle made learning how to adjust hems and perform other basic modifications to garments seem incredibly easy.
I look forward to taking more classes with her in the future, and having her perform alterations too advanced for me to tackle.