Austin Alterations & Cleaners

Brenda is a skilled tailor who is kind, helpful, and most important of all honest.
I’ve not used this place for cleaning (I used to do Reid’s same-​day, now I do Rick’s just because it’s so cheap) but have come back here for YEARS for alterations because it’s the best around. Simply put, the best tailor I’ve ever been to. Period.
They’re not the cheapest alterations place (nor the most expensive, honestly) but Brenda does high-​quality work that looks great and stands the test of time.
I have lost significant amounts of weight twice in my life — once during college, the other time after — and brought in some pants and suits to be hemmed, taken in, or tapered as a result throughout the years. Brenda advised me on what would look good and what wouldn’t; and combatted my stubbornness (wanting everything formerly large to become super-​skinny) by being frank that some of my stuff just wouldn’t look right, no matter what gets tailored.
Some people go into a tailor wanting something more than a simple length hem, and it’s in these cases where a smart, instinctual tailor is important (this applies more for men than women, I think, as men are used to the simpler hems). Brenda is one such tailor. I know what looks good, and I stay abreast of fashion, but sometimes a better ‘eye’ is needed to see what will look right beyond my simple articulation of ‘make it skinnier’ and pointing at my pants.
I bought a really bitchin’ pink suit for a trip to the south of France for the Cannes International Film Festival, only to find the jacket oddly tall (and long in the arms) and the pants all kinds of tight-​and-​loose (somehow) in different areas. I took the suit into Austin Alterations about 10 days before my trip and talked through with Brenda how I wanted the suit to look really slim (being in Europe, and all), but still fit my big frame. She pinned a few things and told me to ‘trust her’ for the rest of the alterations on this ill-​fitting suit, and I came back a week later, stunned. The suit looked great. In Europe, my formerly ‘disposable’ pink suit turned heads and got compliments from many a Frenchman — a few of whom mistook me for Italian on account of my style.
Fast forward to a few months (and a few pairs of slacks tailored) later and this is still my favorite place to come back to. I can take cheap (er) slacks or chinos here and know they’re going to look much more expensive once the tailoring is done to make them perfect.
There may be cheaper places around, but Brenda has skill that I trust and will stick with. It’s just not worth going anywhere else. Even little things, like moving buttons on the sleeve to shorten a jacket’s arms, are done so well you almost can’t tell they’ve been re-​sewn.
5/​5, any day of the week. All the other ‘haters’ on Unilocal just haven’t been to another tailor, I guess, because this one’s the best. Tailors are people, not magicians.

Great, reliable and friendly service! I have been a regular here for over 3 years. I get dry cleaning and alterations done here. Dry cleaning turn around time seems to be a little slower than other places. The attention to detail in with alterations is great. I’ve had simple hemming to altering evening gowns done. The owners are flexible with getting things done faster, if you’re in a hurry. Also, I appreciate that it’s a small family business, and prefer it over going to large chains.

Warning: Do not let them clean your garments!!! I gave them a $ 140 tie with a makeup smudge in an otherwise impeccable condition and it came back ruined. In ways it’s hard to imagine how this could even happen by accident. The material of the tie was frazzled, when before it was impeccably smooth. The tie was ironed with creases and it didn’t form a triangle at the tip anymore. Not sure how that’s even possible. I didn’t have my original receipt so there’s nothing they could do. I understand that. But on top of the ruined tie, the lady in the store (Brenda) basically implied I was lying about the prior condition of the tie. Something I couldn’t have proved even with the receipt. So, if you don’t want to go through the hassle of having your garments ruined and fight for reimbursement in the first place, and then find a new piece you love, save yourself some time and grief and go somewhere else. For example, use Quickdrop. They take pictures of all your items before they clean them. No more arguments about before vs. after condition.

They did a great job with the two jackets I dropped off a couple weeks ago. I bought one of them from a thrift store and the other was new from Kenneth Cole. They tailored them both to look amazing. They are very friendly and personable. The price might be a little higher than a few other tailors around town, but the quality of work is exceptional.

You couldn’t pay me to go back. They have an immediate attitude if you use their parking lot, and go in the back entrance that is LABELED Austin Cleaners ENTRANCE! Drop off and pick up is greeted with attitude and blatant impolite behavior. I think they forgot they need customers.

These people are perfectly willing to take you money (lots of it btw), as long as you don’t have any issue with the quality of their work.
After using them several times out of convenience, I was dismayed that a sweater I brought in for a small repair was returned to me, un-​repaired, apparently dry cleaned and now full of small holes.
As outraged as I felt entitled to be, I wasn’t, but I did expect the original repair (which I had paid for) to be completed and the holes to patched up, but nope, no way, not interested. They were perfectly willing to lose my future business rather than complete the work I had already paid them for.

After moving here from Chicago, I was dreading finding a new cleaners and alterations place. I tried out a couple places, and then saw a review for Austin Alterations – I will be a loyal customer for as long as I live in Austin! It’s a godsend.
I live on the east side of town but I come over to the marketplace area for my gym, whole foods and now this cleaners! It deserves five stars because of the quality of attention given to your items. I’m not sure how much they do one-​day cleaning and things like that, but when it comes to getting tricky stains out, fixing a hole or tear, taking in (or out!) a jacket, pants, blouse, etc., and even cleaning your wedding dress, this place has gone above and beyond every time.
They are owned by a husband-​and-​wife team, and they take running a family business seriously. Occasionally they do shutdown the shop for a few days during a major holiday, or on one occasion, a family member’s death they had to travel for. Of course, they could employ some sort of replacement on these rare occasions, but I think it says a lot that they take ownership and pride in what they do. They employ anywhere from 2 to 4 seamstresses at a time, it seems, and every time I go there I can always see them working in a back portion of the store.
I’m someone who expects a lot from an alterations place, and I sometimes make difficult requests. But I also understand if there some things that just can’t be fixed, and the owner, Brenda, is very gracious and kind about letting me know, on the spot, when she runs across those kinds of situations. If she quotes you a price that is more than you expected (or more than an item is worth to you) she is flexible and will show you the other options, if there are any, from a bandaid solution to a full, like-​new repair.
I think their prices are competitive, and if you become a regular at the store (ie you’ve been there an handful of times and she recognizes you) she often will give you a deal, especially when you’re having lots of different work done. I recently took my lace-​covered, designer wedding dress to her – the hem was tattered and badly stained – and not only did it come out looking almost like new, but she offered to fix the hem basically for free! And her quote was a quarter of the quotes I got from one of the best cleaners in Chicago – and I think she did an amazing job!!!
I tell all of my friends about this place, because apart from some unknown, extremely expensive places that I’m sure put on the white gloves and run a fancy-​pants operation, this has got to be the best in town.

I’d give zero stars if I could. As they say, 80% of life is just showing up. Well, Austin Alterations didn’t even show up. I needed alterations on short notice and fought traffic, heat, and a busy schedule to make sure I was there WELL below closing. . I was knocking at their front door a full 15 minutes before closing time. Not good enough for these lazy people. . the business next door told me that they were long since closed.
If a business won’t even respect their customers’ time, I certainly don’t think they will do a careful job with the work they do.
I had a much better experience at Gazzane a few weeks ago, and thought I’d try out these clowns to save the longer drive. Big mistake. I’ll make the drive next time. Quality people are hard to find.

I was referred here by a friend who said this place saved her wedding dress. I was a little skeptical because of the negative reviews but I know the importance of word-​of-​mouth when it comes to alterations. I had to get a bridesmaids dress completely redone because it was a few sizes too big for me and not only did it turn out fantastic but she even bustled the train for me. My daughter’s flower girl dress was too long but had a pattern at the bottom that didn’t allow it to be hemmed from the bottom. She was able to shorten it and still make it as good as new.
I can’t say anything about prices because I have nothing to compare it to, but I felt it was reasonable for the amount of alterations that needed to be done. She was also nice enough to give me a discount since I had brought in so much business for the wedding we are a part of, including my husband’s suit being pressed and cleaned. I will definitely be using this place for all of my future needs.

Awful service and its expensive for no reason. The quality of the work is poor at best. I had several things altered and on the first wear, the alterations unraveled. I called them about it and the owner Brenda sounded nice, BUT when I went in, she tried to say that it wasn’t what I had asked for, etc. She was rude and would not help me out. I will never return to this place for anything.

Tuesday morning I took two dresses there. I was nervous because I figured they’d be a bit more expensive due to the area, but I did need my stuff quickly and it was very close to my work. I needed to add a buttonhole to one of the dresses and to have it ironed, and I needed the other dress dry-​cleaned with a very small tear sewn up. The woman told me they would be ready Thursday afternoon. I was happy, as that was exactly when I needed the dresses by. So Thursday afternoon came and I dropped in, only to be told my clothes weren’t ready yet. The clothes don’t arrive on the premises until 6pm, she said. I pointed out she told me Thursday afternoon, and here it was, 2pm. She then pointed out 6pm was written on my ticket, a ticket that I had shoved into my purse upon being handed it on Tuesday and I never looked at it again. I thought that was a rather disingenuous move of her, because had she told me 6pm I wouldn’t have left my clothes there. And I wouldn’t’ve had to sit at Book People for several hours waiting for my stuff. And who considers six o’ clock the afternoon, anyway? So, when I arrived at 6 to grab my stuff, I wasn’t expecting the price to be that great.
And holy cow, was I right. Almost 50 friggin’ bucks! Only the tag for altering is itemized, and that tag lets me know that adding an extra buttonhole onto a cotton strap is $ 12. Then, to repair approximately a half inch of torn seam was $ 8. And, somehow, to get one damn dress ironed and the other dry-​cleaned added another $ 25+ to the bill. W.T.F.
I can’t even be impressed on the sewing, because really, how much skill can be evident in such minor work? Screw this place. Take your clothes to Nelda’s Tailors instead. The only reason I didn’t on Tuesday was because Nelda’s doesn’t do cleaning, unfortunately. But whatever you do, don’t pretend Austin Alterations is a great place because they altered and cleaned your clothes. Basic competency at one’s trade should be expected, but those ungodly prices shouldn’t be tolerated.

I had my wedding dress altered here (and pre-​cleaned since I snagged an awesome dress at a sample sale) and it was one of the biggest headaches leading up to the wedding.
The alterations, which I thought should be relatively simple, were just mediocre, the process was problematic, and it was pretty pricey.
The alterations were done wrong the first time around and took correcting, including them inserting some structure into the bust area that you could totally see through the silk and looked really awful. And once it was cleaned, it seemed to change the shape and fit a bit, too, which was disappointing.
I found the woman who did the alterations (and who was also the owner possibly?) hard to deal with and very rude and condescending. Not to mention, I showed up when I was supposed to only to not have it ready, so I had to come back yet again. I had to come back and forth so many times total (like six times or more!), my head was spinning. Luckily it was on my commute home, but I ended up spending so much more time here than than I would’ve liked considering how busy I was.
Also, there’s a cell phone shop or something that shares the space and has a door on Lamar, so it’s kinda weird to be parading around in your wedding dress there.
I would look elsewhere for important alterations.

I’ll keep this one short.
Dry cleaning.
2 suits, 1 shirt.
48 hour turnaround.
$ 27.07
Impeccably clean and perfectly pressed.
Friendly staff, and walking distance from my apartment.
What’s not to love? I just found my cleaners!
As for the negative reviews, I’ve never been a bridesmaid, I don’t wear dresses, and I’ve really never needed anything altered except for having pant legs hemmed. If you’re like me and just want a fast and efficient cleaner that won’t break the bank, you should have no problems with this place.

I went to the branch on Spicewood Springs in North Austin. Again, as seems to be common with most of the posts, the quality of their work was impressive, but the customer service was HORRIBLE. I thought the price was reasonable: $ 200 for one skirt to be taken in, one pair of pants to be hemmed, and two pair of suit pants (lined) to be taken in. I had read positive posts regarding the quality so I didn’t think that anything else would be an issue. Unfortunately, I just had a very negative experience.
The thing that bothered me the most was that after paying my bill, I told her that I’d like to give her some feedback regarding the experience I had with her shop and she immediately became defensive, interrupting me repeatedly. The conversation ended with her saying «Good luck finding someone else who can do this kind of work!» I couldn’t believe it!
The following things went wrong with my order:
— My clothes were not ready at the time promised. I arrived at the shop 30 minutes after the appointed time. I got a phone call from the shop as I pulled in to the parking lot that my items would be late.
— They only offered me a 5% discount for the inconvenience: $ 10 on a $ 200+ order.
— When I arrived to pick up my clothes the next day, I was in the fitting room trying on the clothes and the owner sat outside the dressing room trying to explain why they had been late delivering my items.
— The day before, the male clerk explained that they were late delivering my items because someone had called in sick. The next day, when picking up my items, it was MY fault that the items were late because the job was harder than they expected. In fact, she explained (through the curtain of the dressing room), that I was lucky she hadn’t charged me more… even though she was the one who had underestimated the effort.
— They asked me for a 50% deposit upon dropping off my clothes and also requested that I pay cash. I included this in my feedback to her and she said that it is in case customers don’t pick up their clothes on time and in case customers give them a bad check. I find that pretty insulting.
The only positive is that my clothes were eventually altered correctly.

Like others, I do not want to comment on the quality of the work, just the cost and customer service, which was appalling.
I took a bridesmaid’s dress in to be fit. Everything went well, until I turned up after they had made the alterations and I was making sure it fit. The dress fit great, however, I was charged $ 100(!!) and the only alteration needed was for the bust to pulled in and a clasp for the train. The tailor tried to reason with me that she did an extra special job and that I could wear the dress again and again. Believe or not, I do not need to wear the strapless, floor-​length brown and purple gown again and again. I need to wear it once before I turn it over to Good Will for some college freshman to wear for Halloween.
What most aggravated me, however, was the fact that I had agreed on the $ 100 price tag because 1) I didn’t know any better and just needed the dress fitted, and 2) thought they were going to complete all the alterations we had agreed upon (which they didn’t).
I argued that we had agreed that they would put the hook on so I could attached the train to the dress. It didn’t happen. I was pretty devastated that they hadn’t done it as I needed to leave the next week for the wedding and after confronting them they said they had no knowledge of putting the clasp on. To further aggravate the situation, when I asked if they could do it over the next week (even though I had already paid for this to be done) they said it would be another $ 100!!!
I went down the road and had it done for $ 20. I should never have gone to Austin Alterations. They are overpriced and don’t do the work they agree upon.

Brenda, the owner, is awesome; she is so kind and more importantly she knows what she is doing! We’ve had to take things in to her after another alterations place botched the job and she did a great job fixing it. I love that she always explains exactly what she is going to do so you are clear on how she’s going to fix something.
When I took in my wedding dress to be altered, a few months back, I was very impressed that she saved me money by suggesting adding padding for my lack of boobage and it saved me some serious money on unnecessary undergarments! Hoorah! The alterations also weren’t as expensive as I was expecting and I was beyond happy with how my dress looked on me when she was finished.
I also love that she runs a family owned business and you can tell she really wants her customers to be happy.

Don’t go anywhere else! I took my wedding dress for alterations after reading reviews on Unilocal.The woman who helped me was great. She has a great eye for fit, and she makes honest suggestions with out being pushy. I was very pleased with her work on my dress which included creating a new neckline, hemming, and a few other minor changes. She was friendly and very helpful. I believe her pricing is very reasonable, not cheap, but well worth the quality. Hands down the best alterations experience I have ever had, and being very petite, I have had quite a few!

Whether or not you go here should depend on what how complicated your alterations need to be. I have had several things altered here — all fairly simple, straightforward alterations such as hems on pants or taking a simple A-​line dress in a bit. Let me make it clear that the alterations have always been high quality. However, the prices are exorbitant! I was unaware of the going rate for alterations and assumed that the expensive prices were just the cost of proper fit. However, after asking around quite a bit I feel like I have basically been gouged by this place.
Most recently I took in the above mentioned A-​line dress. It needed to be taken in evenly on both sides and have 2 darts in the back taken in a little. The dress also had some very cute pockets. I was quoted $ 100.00 for the simple alterations if I wanted to «save the pockets» because she would have «reconstruct» new pockets. I understand that reconstructing new pockets would take more work, but $ 100 was way too much. So I asked how much it would be to skip the whole pockets business and was told $ 65.00. I paid this b/​c I was unaware how outrageous this was, but now would never pay that. There is no way the dress took more than 30 minutes worth of work. So in the future I will take my simple alterations elsewhere. If I had something that was very complicated or special occasion I would consider this place, but still be cautious of the cost.

Important note: Austin Alterations has closed their far-​North Lamar Shop and is now at 700 North Lamar (Suite 150), right next to Eclectic Accessories.
Austin Alterations is an absolutely wonderful, friendly, family-​owned and super-​convenient store with overwhelmingly kind service, fair prices, and free parking. It’s not just your basic hem-​and-​press operation, either; the priprietess has been sewing for longer than most of us have been alive, and according to her card can (a) make you custom clothes and (b) deal with serious ball-​gown/​wedding-​type alterations as well.
Hemming lined suit-​pants with cuffs ran me $ 18 per pair. I’d pay significantly more for the kind of service I got — personable, chatty and careful to get everything right. If I’ve got to pay a midget-​tax to have every pair of pants I ever buy hacked down to a reasonable length (including purportedly «petite» but nevertheless 30-​inch-​legged trousers made, apparently, for your taller-​than-​the-​national-​average «petite”-type woman) — I will always, gladly bring my midget-​tax dollars here.

Good, solid, affable cleaners and alterations. I don’t know how they do with de novo tailoring, but the proprietress got me out of a «Oh crap this suit doesn’t fit anymore, and I have an interview in 2 days» situation. The rush charge was an exorbitant $ 3 or so: Sweet!
For dry cleaning/​laundering: clothes are always clean and starched per request. It is a little more expensive than the $ 1 laundering places, but I have never had buttons disintegrate, stains not come out, etc. like other places.