Crystal Alterations & Formal Wear

Very convenient, one of the few places that will do a last minute emergency alteration the same day. She knows how to do all the military uniforms correctly also. Went to get pants altered, she did them right there in front of me in 10 minutes during the holidays. Located right in the Crystal City underground, easy access to metro, and tons of free garage parking after 4 pm during the work week & on weekends.

I had a very bad experience with the woman who does alternations at the Crystal Alterations & Formal Wear. She did a very unprofessional work, in addition to her rude attitude.
I had a dress that needed to be professionally altered. I just bought the dress for nearly $ 500, while I was trying it on at home, I accidently ripped a small section under both arms of the dress. I wanted to have it professionally sawed, since I paid so much for it.
When I went to pick up the dress, I was very upset with the bad workmanship of the woman. She sawed the holes, but left the entire stitching incomplete so that you could still see the ripped parts of the dress. She also used a thread that didn’t match the color of the dress. When I brought this to her attention, she responded angrily, «well, that’s why it’s $ 8!» When I asked to speak to her manager about this matter, she started yelling at me even more and refused to give me the manager’s phone number. I left the place, wishing I had never gone there at the first place.
I would not take any clothes to be altered there, even if they offer to do it for free. Also, there is no 20% off discount for a first-​time customer, as the previous reviewer has pointed out.

Very affordable prices and excellent craft-​woman-​ship.
The owner changed recently to the original owner, which I’m so happy for. The previous owner was rude and unpleasant. The current owner/​tailorist Lily is so nice and helped me out a lot. I don’t know what the other Unilocaler is talking about, but Lily does not have a limit on credit card purchases. She must be mistaking this alteration shop for another one in Crystal City.
I always go here for my work because I know it is dependable.

Things really must have changed since the last review in 2010, as I wasn’t sure whether to even give this place one star. The only positive I can think of is that they were affordable, but I guess you get what you pay for. I had a cotton sundress that I needed taken in and, not only was the dress still significantly too large after the fact, they messed it up so badly (one side taken in much more than another, shoulders and hem not adjusted at all, etc) I’m now paying $ 90 to have someone else correct their mistakes. Unfortunately, at the same time I also took some pants to be hemmed and not only were they uneven, but they used the wrong kind of stitch, and I probably could have done a better job myself. Even though this place is convenient for those that live/​work in Crystal City, it’s not worth it. Oh, and a minimum of $ 30 to use credit cards.

After visiting numerous tailors in the NOVA area over the years, Crystal Alterations is my favorite. Yes it’s a bit pricey, and they are creepily cash only, but paying the extra amount is worth it for me. The women who do the alterations are professional and thorough. I have brought some heavy duty jobs their way, like hemming and taking in over 2 inches in a formal satin bridesmaid dress, and they did a perfect job. Plus, as a first time customer, you get 20% off, so if you have been putting off getting numerous items altered, bring them in and get the discount!