Alterations By Alice

Alice is the best of Fremont! She altered my wedding gown, my bridal party and many more dresses over the past decade.

I went to Alice for my wedding dress alterations because my best friend used her and had a decent experience. Alice is nice enough, I didn’t really mind the location of the place.
I told Alice I needed my dress bustled and the hem lifted as most wedding dresses need. I also needed the waist let out a little, the strapless top part taken in some, and I wanted cups put in for lifting. She was also going to steam the dress.
She quoted me $ 350 (holy shit, but I knew nothing about wedding dress alteration costs) and said she was going to let out the waist but was worried about leaving too big of a gap between rhinestones since my dress has a sewn in belt. She said it would leave a little gap but it wouldn’t be too noticeable which I was completely fine with.
When I came back for my first fitting I immediately noticed the cups weren’t sewn in, when I asked about it she said, «Oh! Well I put them in SOMEONE’S dress!» Once I was zipped up I looked to the waist of my dress to check how the rhinestone placement turned out because it felt like nothing had been let out. She told me «You wont see anything because what I did was steam and stretch it instead of cut it.» I asked if that made my price different because she «stretched it» instead of cutting, sewing, and replacing stones and she said «No because I still did work.» She showed me the bustle which was a tiny fragile loop sewn onto the back of my dress which attached to a button toward the zipper of my dress to loop it onto. The button didn’t match my other buttons and was in a random spot on the dress on the opposite side where the other buttons were.
I left with her saying she would sew in the cups and she asked me to «Call the Monday before my wedding to remind her to start steaming my dress.» As if I didn’t have enough to do the week before my wedding but worry about her remembering to do her job. I wrote out a check for half the price ($ 175) and would give the rest upon my dress being done.
I left upset and asked my mom to talk to her about the charges which I felt were unreasonable (my friend had similar work done for $ 200). Alice told my mom «I did let the dress out but only on the inside» which isn’t what she told us in person. She also told my mom the reason she didn’t sew in the cups was because she didn’t have them pinned in place, but in person her reason was that she basically forgot about them. She told my mom if I was unhappy then I could just come pick up my dress with no charge. That night she didn’t answer her phone and the next morning my $ 175 check was cashed. At this point I was extremely upset, she did nowhere near that amount of work to my dress. My mom told her she was going to pick up the dress and Alice told her she was leaving the office, my mom went anyway and she was there, upset that my mom showed up. She gave my mom the dress and had sewn in the cups (upside down) and when she inquired about Alice cashing the check she said «I told you I wouldn’t make her pay the rest» which is again, not what she originally said.
I took my dress to another alterations place who told me that the bustle was not going to hold my heavy dress the entire night and it was already tearing, the cups were the wrong size and upside down, whatever was done to the Rhinestone belt it was put back unevenly so that the ends don’t match up where it meets in the back. She also told me I don’t need my dress let out because it will stretch to the perfect size throughout the day. She will be charging me $ 50 dollars total to fix everything Alice did for $ 175.
I know there have been great experiences with Alice and she does a decent job when she takes her time, but I felt as though she was overwhelmed with work and maybe took on too many projects at once. A girl showed up during my appointment and Alice told her «Oh, I didn’t know you were the Stacy coming, I thought a different one was coming.» Not the most comforting thing a bride wants to hear.

I have been to Alice many times. She has altered my cousins wedding dress, sisters wedding dress and 3 bridesmaid dresses for myself. She is WONDERFUL! she takes her time to fit you in the dress properly, goes over what it will talk to make the needed changes, and gives you a fair price. My sisters wedding dress was covered in A LOT of tulle. She had to go back to Alice 4 times before the hem and bustle were perfect. Alice took her time and made sure the dress was perfect before letting my sister take it home. She also steamed and pressed the dress. My sister and I love her and will be going back for all of our alterations.

Long overdue review. My sister had to have some alterations done to her wedding dress and after asking around we were referred to Alice. Her shop is located at the back of her property and is as you would expect a seamstress work area to look like– pins, fabric and tulle all around. She does get straight to the point (pinning, suggestions, etc) but wasn’t rude to us in anyway. And her work definitely speaks for itself. The wedding gown turned out great! Would highly recommend her to anyone looking for affordable alterations.

Alice is fantastic! I don’t understand the negative reviews. Are people hiring a seamstress or their brand new best friends? I’m not really one for small talk, I absolutely hate the hair salon talk. LET’S GET TO BUSINESS. And Alice did. yes it’s true her shop is in the back of her house, but so what? It wasn’t that hard to find. I found Alice to be a little like me, she isn’t overly friendly but she is absolutely lovely once she warms up to you. My dress was rather complicated and lacy and Alice was a pro. My mom came to my second fitting and had a million and one requests and modification and Alice did everything she asked for. I thought my mom was being a little much but Alice had absolutely no problem respecting my mom’s wishes. I really liked Alice and she was definitely a lifesaver for me. I had forgotten all about alteration until a month before my wedding. Alice totally saved the day and had my dress ready with weeks to spare.
ALSO, I ran into Alice a few weeks ago and she totally remembered me. She was absolutely kind and friendly. My husband and I chatted with her husband for quite a while. I think she’s absolutely lovely. Not sure why the reviews say she had a nasty attitude. I found her to be very courteous, straight forward and a joy to work with. I most definitely recommend her.

I went to Alice for alterations for my wedding gown. I admit my first visit with her she wasn’t overly friendly, but as I said I went to get my dress altered, not audition to become her BFF.
I will say that with my follow up appointments she really warmed up and is a lovely lady. She was very courteous to my mother and I. Her work on my dress was great! We tried out different things, experimented with the bustle, and in the end I was very pleased! She is very knowledgable with her work.
Tip: her business is BEHIND a home, without any signs from the street, and a little tricky to find. Look hard!

I went to Alice to alter a gown and the experience was awful from the very beginning. I don’t usually post negative comments but I would much rather spare any future potential clients the awful experience I went through.
First of all, her home looks abandoned and is old and junky. I was nervous pulling into the driveway that is all the way in the back of her property. The surrounding area looked like a junkyard with cats roaming around. Anyone who sees her home would assume no one lives there so I called to verify the address and she snapped at me as if I had insulted her. I had my one yr old son with me and as I was walking to her shop she never greeted me or made eye contact and then proceeded to say hurry up even though I was waiting on my son to finish walking.
Once inside, I felt so awkward because she never once acknowledged my presence aside from asking me what was wrong with the dress. I complimented her shop and asked how long she had run her business, to which I received a response along the lines of «Longer then you’ve been around» with no eye contact.
In the end, she wasn’t able to fix my dress (which was perfectly fine with me) so I went to the nearest seamstress and told her about my experience. She said she had worked with Alice a long time ago and had quit doing favors for her because of her nasty attitude.
Beware of Alice!

Alice is absolutely amazing. She is a dress lifesaver! I love her work and I will continue to give her my business for any dress alterations I have in the future.
I first went to Alice to have her expand my wedding gown because I am pregnant. I was so worried that I was not going to fit my wedding gown on the day of my reception, but she made it work. She did such a beautiful job with my wedding gown. I couldn’t even tell she worked on the dress because her work is so flawless and it fit me perfectly with enough breathing room. The second time I went was because I was having a dress emergency with my evening gown. It was one week before my wedding reception and I needed work done on my evening gown and Alice was so kind and took me in and made my evening gown beautiful. Everyone was complimenting both of my dresses at my wedding reception.
I am so happy to have found Alice on Unilocal.I highly recommend her. She has been doing alterations for a long time and is a PRO. She definitely does not disappoint. Also, her prices are reasonable!

I definitely would NOT recommend Alice to any of my friends or family, not only is she cold and curt with her customers, I question her quality of work after my first & last fitting with her.
My appointment was at 130pm. I arrived at 132 (no joke), I ended up passing the location about 3 times as it was on a Main Street and totally obscured, not to mention I figured it was an actual store.
As soon as I walked in I said «hi, sorry I’m late, I had trouble finding it» (2 minutes, mind you). Her first words… «Most people call» she said– extremely rude. In my head I wanted to say «MOST professionals tell you when their „store“ is residential and hidden by housing» but I didn’t. I gave her the benefit of the doubt that maybe she was just having a bad day, not to mention she is an elderly woman and I always show respect.
So I try on my dress, which was about 2 sizes too large and she begins pinning away. By the way she did not exchange any formalities, despite me being cordial.
When se finished her pinning I realize the gown is pretty low, not to mention the dress w/​built in cups is not supporting my boobes, rather just covering them as they «free style» lol. I show her where I want the dress, which is up much higher (Bc I do not want my boobes hanging out during the wedding nor do I want to have to continuously pull and hold the dress up the entire evening.
She completely gets defensive at my Nicely meant preference. Hastily removes pins (refusing to even work with me!) and says that she can’t do it, will NOT do it! Bc my waist is longer (I’m tall) and therefor it has to go lower. Wow! She just totally throughout the baby with the bathwater. Completely irrational, as I stand there sort of perplexed and vulnerable barely dressed. I quickly change and when I come out, I kindly tell her that I respect her opinion but I am going to have to seek a second opinion because I would truly prefer the dress higher, and if it really is totally impossible to bring the dress up higher then I will be back and make an appointment for her to alter. I thought my words were nice and non confrontational until she quickly retorts «well, I won’t take it!» Omg. wow!!! What a … Rude lady (and that’s saying it gently).
Btw– I went to another seamstress, guess what?! They pinned it right where I wanted it (without even giving directions!). Well well well! Whatya know alice. Never again! I’m gonna post a pic of the dress where Alice insisted it be… You can judge for yourself…
Btw after reading all the positive reviews I am as confused as ever. Which leads me to the mysterious notion that perhaps Alice is not really Alice anymore and perhaps the store is being run by her son Norman… Seems plausible right?

Made an appointment to get my wedding dress altered. The morning of my appointment, Alice’s son calls to tell me that she’s sick & we’ll have to cancel.
It’s been almost 3 weeks now, and I thought she would’ve called me by now to reschedule. I don’t know whether she’s still sick, or back working, but I would have appreciated some follow-​up in regards to my canceled appointment.

This review is long overdue, however I just put away my wedding dress and I remembered the loving work Alice did to make my dress JUST PERFECT! Alice was recommended by a bridal boutique and I was a bit nervous at first because it’s the most important dress EVER, but as soon as I met Alice she was so professional and knowledgeable i felt relaxed and excited. My wedding was in February 2013 and she had me come in for 2 fittings and my dress was ready on time and looked amazing on me. she did exactly what i wanted. She is such a sweetheart she also steamed my dress and veil and my green ceremony dress which is a cultural custom to wear a green dress before the white :)
I tell everyone about Alice, she can do anything from Couture to simply chic. Trust me you won’t be disappointed. :) I was a very happy bride thanks to Alice.

Best experience I’ve ever had anywhere. Alice is knowledgable, friendly, accommodating, quick and did my alteration SEAMLESSLY.
I came to her with a very last minute alteration on my bridesmaid dress. I was surprised when my dress came in from David’s bridal too big after I tried on so many sizes! But there wasn’t enough time for DB to alter my dress, so I looked around locally and SO GLAD I DID. My dress fits my like a glove now, perfect, beautiful, amazing work by Alice. I will always take my bridal evening where nowhere else but here.
Support your local businesses!!!

I was referred to Alterations by Alice by the store I purchased my bridesmaid dress (Trudy’s). I found Alice to be rude and unfriendly. I would be ok with the rudeness if she did a good job, but the hem on my dress was poorly done with sections being uneven and not sewn properly. Additionally, she charged more than other alterations places for a simple hem alteration. I will not be coming back here again…

The best! Alice is so sweet and knowledgeable. She clearly knows her work and I couldn’t be more pleased. I had my dress made with my measurements and shipped to me, although it fit quite well, I took it to Alice to have her add a bustle, let the waist out a little, and bring the hips in a little. Before I said anything she had already begun to gather fabric in the areas that needed the work. She was also reasonably priced and I would recommend her to anyone looking for a wedding gown alteration. She is fantastic!

I loved working with Alice! I had a very complicated dress situation – I had a lace covered wedding dress with little beads embedded onto the bodice. I wanted to make the dress more of a sweetheart cut, and most seamstresses I talked to said that it would be too complicated for them. They would need to remove the outer lace, undo the beading, take the dress in and resew the lace and beading back on. When I explained that it was what I wanted to Alice, she told me that it would be no problem.
Also, Alice used to make wedding dresses from SCRATCH. Thus, her sewing skills are impeccable, as my hero Tim Gunn would say. She is very experienced, easy to work with, and really wants the best for your big day. With that said, she is a little more expensive than your run-​of-​the-​mill alteration shop, but you pay for what you get.

This is way overdue! Alice did an awesome job with my wedding dress that I bought from Trudy’s!
I love how she added breast padding and French bustle was amazing!
Thanks Alice!

5 stars! Alice is so sweet and wonderful! I came in during one of my fittings with a dress that I wanted to wear to my bachlorette party. There was a small tear where the strap was coming off. In the time it took for me to get into my wedding dress, she already had my bachelorette dress fixed! Afterwards, we were asking her for some tips because the zipper was getting caught and she pulled out this wax pen and started rubbing it on the zipper and VIOLA it was fixed! She even ironed the dress for me!
I can’t wait for my final dress fitting because I know my wedding dress will look gorgeous on me all thanks to Alice!

I went here to get a bridesmaid dress altered since it was close to my house and had great Unilocal reviews. How I wish I had gotten my wedding dress altered here instead! Alice did a great job on the dress, it fit me perfectly when it was done. The price is a bit on the high side but worth if if you want the job done right.
I would highly recommend Alice if you are in the market for an alteration for a wedding or other formal occasion.

Alice altered my wedding dress and my maid of honor’s dress. the bustle came out great on my dress, I was a little worried because my dress is asymetric, and I’m picky– but I loved the results. Also, we went to her kind of last minute with the MOH dress, and she was able to take care of it, no problem. both dresses fit really well after the alterations.
give yourself extra time to find her though, she works from a shop behind her home, and I drove past it twice before I figured out where to go.

Alice altered my wedding gown as well as 2 bridesmaids dresses. She did a fantastic job on all of them, with one of the bridesmaids dresses being an ao dai (traditional Vietnamese dress). Her pricing is very reasonable and she made the most beautiful 5 point bustle on my wedding gown.
I would recommend Alice for any local brides!