Kim Dao’s Alterations

I took my wedding gown to Kim to be hemmed, have the top taken in and the lining of the skirt let out. It was not a good experience at all:
–She took in the top in, but just sewed the layers together on the side rather than taking it in at the side seam. It was still too big in the bust but she wouldn’t take it in any more. She suggested I get a strapless bra, which I did but that didn’t correct the problem. The boning in the bust was still sticking out. When I told her I didn’t like it she said she couldn’t take the boning out, that no dress was going to be perfect and I should just be happy.
–When she let out the lining in the skirt and added panels, the new seams could be seen through the skirt, so she had to tear it out. So I paid for something she had to undo.
–She also didn’t properly hem it– a layer of netting was longer than the top layer of lace.
–She never even asked me if I wanted a bustle.
–She doesn’t take appointments. She suggested I come either as soon as she opened or right before close when she would have the most time for me. At my last «appointment» three men came in to have suits tailored and she juggled all 4 of us so I felt I wasn’t getting the attention I needed.
Basically I paid $ 160 to have nothing done correctly. I have taken my dress to another seamstress who couldn’t believe the shotty work Kim did. Kim has a lot of business but it seems to be mostly men’s suits.

Ms. Kim is FANTASTIC! Quick, well priced and so friendly. I take all my alterations to her and recommend her to all friends and family. She knows what she is doing and will not steer you wrong with a suggestion. That being said, she will turn away an alteration of she thinks the quality of the garment would be compromised with the alteration. A friend took her wedding gown in (handmade from Etsy) to have some changes made and Ms. Kim declined because she did not think the garment could hold up to the changes. Although disappointed, my friend completely understood. Ms. Kim is about quality! I would tell everyone to go see her but then I would never get in for my items! As a note, Ms. Kim has a heavy accent from her native language so sometimes that can make it difficult to communicate but she will always make sure you understand what she is doing before she starts working.

She is fast, reasonably priced, and helped me get out of a sticky situation when another tailor really screwed up a bridesmaid dress alternation. She turned it around in a week and fixed everything that was wrong. She advised me to come to her first next time, which I plan to do!

This place is fast and has great prices. My husband and I took over 30 pair of pants and I took a few dresses and we are pleased with everything. FAST FRIENDLY AND GREAT PRICES! If that’s not deserve 5 stars then I don’t know what does!

Ms Kim does a great job with alterations. I have taken several dresses for weddings to here. She is fast and reasonably priced

The second coat I took to her for sleeve shortening was a little messed up. The lining on one of the sleeves was not taken up as much as the other. Consequently, it showed when I put the coat on. I had to tack it in place to keep it from view. I don’t understand this lapse. In the meantime, I will try another tailoring shop.

Kim did amazing work on my expensive wedding dress !! It had about 5 layers and she made it fit my body perfect! She also worked on my sisters dress (maid of honor) and it also came out perfect.
Kim’s prices were the BEST in town. I recommend her to anyone for any work they need done. She also got my dress done in a timely manner. Only had 2 weeks until my wedding and she finished it within a week!

Awful. She never listened to what I needed and was focused on every new person that walked through the door. Several tmes I had to assertively express my concerns as she was clearly distracted. I told her at the time she pinned my hem that I thought it was too long. She told me it would be fine. When I picked it up it was dragging the ground and I could not walk without tripping. She redid but pointed out that it would need to be picked at mid day on a work day for me as she was leaving on vacation. In addition I had asked for a strappless bra to be sewn in to replace that which came from the manufacturer in order to offer better support. She said that I should just wear the bra I brought with me under that which was already sewn in. Let’s just say in the pictures it was not the look I had hoped for. She might be great for a pants hem or loose button– but otherwise stay away!

Place is cheap. So I gave it a try, but you get what you pay for. She also talks back and tells you what you want is too short or too tight. By who’s standards??? Place is also pretty smelly and dirty. I won’t return.

Kim did the alterations on my custom made wedding gown (I drew it out and sent it to a designer on Etsy and she made it & mailed it to me), and she did an awesome job! She is very sweet to work with and might be the nicest/​funniest lady I’ve ever met! (She has quite the sense of humor, which made me feel more comfortable.)
You do have to make sure you are very precise and specific with what you want done. If you just go in and say something like «make it look better» I’m not sure that those directions would translate well because your idea of «better» may be different than hers.
I did end up having to go back to her twice because I didn’t clearly explain exactly what I wanted. Once I fully explained my full vision to her, she made it perfect and her alterations were SO affordable! $ 95 total for wedding gown alterations + changing my mind/​losing weight THREE times? I’ll take it!
Oh — one more tip — bring cash! She’s old school and doesn’t have a credit card machine.

Do not go here. The place is filthy, you risk getting dirt and grime on the bottom of your clothing when trying it on. It’s dark and hard to see detail in here. Lastly and most importantly Kim doesn’t listen to what you want done, and does minimal work. After paying 90 bucks to have a gown slightly altered on the hips, literally taken in with basic seam it was still too loose. Waste of money. Had to take it to another seamstress who might I add did an amazing job. I’ve also taken jeans to her, she did lackluster job. I had taken a colorblock dress to her recently, she said she could not alter it bc of the color block might not match up afterwards. Basically she is grumpy and unaware of any style of clothing other than traditional formal wear of Middle Aged businessmen. Blah lol. Look at my reviews and you will find an amazing seamstress, who by the way, made my colorblock dress fit like a glove! Viola baby!

I really needed my suit altered and I had no idea where to look. After doing a little research, I noticed Kim Dao’s Alterations had some good reviews, so I decided to give her a try — and I’m so glad I did!
Kim is wonderful. She altered my pants perfectly (without taking measurements either, which impressed me even more!). She’s very funny and nice to work with. I talked with her for about five minutes, dropped off my pants, and a week later, picked up a pair of pants that fit exactly right.
One thing to note: she only takes cash (She refers to herself as «Old School.») Gotta love it. Whenever I need anything else altered, I’m definitely going to Kim’s.

This place is within walking distance from my work, so I’ve taken my clothes there twice to get them hemmed. They did a good job and the price was very reasonable.

Kim is very talented and provide exceptional service and work. Reasonable pricing and gets the job done quickly. She can even do crazy cuztomizations. I highly reccommend her for all your alteration needs!

Too lazy to trek to my go-​to seamstress I decided to try Kim Dao’s based on my roommates recommendation.
I went to Kim’s initially for a bridesmaid’s dress alteration and brought along a dress and a skirt just to check pricing.
Kim greeted me in such a welcoming and familiar way it was as if we were family (maybe it’s because we’re both asian though? I dk). I tried on my clothes in the dressing room which my one complaint would be the lack of a sufficient mirror (it literally is fit for a midget, not that it matters because you go to the big front room to be pinned, but c’mon!)
My bridesmaids dress literally just needed the one strap altered which would’ve only taken a couple days but she was going to charge $ 15 for! It’s literally a 2 inch strap of fabric, so I told her I’d try on my own and if I fail, I’d take to her. I had a J. Crew dress that needed major work– sleeves, bust and hem were too big. It literally sat in my closet a year because of awkward fit but I couldn’t part with it cause it was so cute. I’m thankful for Kim because it now fits like a dream, the lining and everything, and now I can’t wait to wear it. I also had a wool J. Crew skirt that was kind of awkward too and she immediately pulled it in for a much better fit and now it fits amazingly as well. She just makes your clothes that already fit, fit better.
I gave her my items the week before Thanksgiving and she had them to me that the Friday after, just a little less than 1 week turnaround.
4 stars for Cash Only and the sub-​par dressing rooms. Very pleased with her work and she is just an adorable little lady, I will definitely be back!

I have been to many tailors and she is by far the best. Her work is fast and charges a very reasonable price. I have gone to her for simple hems to complicated suit fittings. She has done everything I have asked. Recently I had a zipper break on my favorite jacket and she was able to replace the zipper on the spot. I do not know anywhere else you can get that kind of service. As a bonus she is nestled on court street so if you are working downtown it is very convenient.

My experience with Kim’s involves a charcoal bridesmaids dress with complicated pleating at the bust. Kim did SUCH an amazing job. She paid very close detail to how the dress fit and showed me how the dress could be taken in to give me a slimmer frame. The best part was how she meticulously folded each pleat so that it gave the most flattering shape. This was no easy task. It was the oddest pattern! All in all, Kim’s patience and expertise (FYI did you know she was a full time seamstress and taught women to sew in Vietnam before the war?) resulted in an amazing gown. I compared my pleated top to the other bridesmaids and my dress by far was the most beautifully done. The other dresses looked awkward and laid funnily over the other girls’ busts. Kim is just amazing!!!

I gained an additional 6 inches in my waist from buying my bridesmaids dress to wearing my bridesmaids dress. in 1.5 weeks she did 2 fittings and managed to at the additional inches so that I could be in my sisters wedding… not only is she a great tailor, but she is also so sweet and pleasant to work with… thank you so much!
Rachael H.

Honestly, Kim is fast. She is friendly, she is all that other good stuff.
But she TOOK MY POCKETS!!! I would have definitely given her 5 stars if it wasn’t for the pockets. I took one star for each of my pockets.
I brought in a bridesmaid dress. a lovely floor-​length gown that just happened to have pockets, which were honestly the selling point in getting me into an over-​frosted cupcake dress. (Yes, I know I helped pick it out. I was THAT EXCITED about the pockets.)
I know I can’t complain too much because I didn’t give her a lot of time (much like many of the other reviewers on this page) and she was able to turn the dress around for me in just 8 days. It needed to be taken up several inches and was 3 layers, and for the first time in my life, I was convinved to have the dress let out an inch or so.
Okay, I was already really depressed about that… but I told her how excited I was about the pockets. I didn’t notice right away when I tried the dress on in thte shop– she was so busy taking pictures of me in it, and I had to get back to work.
When I went to show the woman at the salon my dress, I noticed that the pockets were missing. When she told me she was going to be able to let it out, she did not mention that the pockets would have to be removed, and she also didn’t mention it to me when I picked the dress up.
I would think that she would share that info with me when she was doing the fitting, just so I’d be aware of it– or even when she was doing the work and realized that she would have to sew over them… but no mention was ever made.
I was HEARTBROKEN. I know it’s such a silly thing to be excited about, but I really was. Come on, I was going to put my flask in there! ;)
Also good to know, is that she requires you to pay in cash.
At any rate, I will probably take more business back to her. She did do a great job, the dress fit well, and it looks fantastic. I am just really upset about the pockets. I would recommend her to anyone, but I would say that if there is a feature about your clothing item that you really love– be sure to ASK about it.

Being just under 5’0″, hardly anything fits off the rack. Kim is the reason why my pants don’t drag, why my sleeves don’t cover my hands, and why I don’t look like a child in adult clothing. I enjoy coming to her shop with challenging projects — brainstorming and troubleshooting our way through darts, pleats, chopping off sleeves, adjusting shoulders, slimming torsos. She is wonderful to work with, and most importantly, is very honest about what is workable or not. I’ve had other tailors who have ruined expensive pieces of clothing by trying to power through a tailoring job that was too complex or required equipment or skills beyond what they had. Kim can do just about everything though — and well, too.
Kim’s prices are also very reasonable for the quality and the service, and she works quickly!