Alina’s Tailor Shop

While it looks as if she has done great work in the past, my recent experience was far from any cited. Find another place.

I am short and stocky and conventional dress sizes don’t fit me well. I’ve watched What Not to Wear and realized that most of their makeovers depend heavily on clothes being taken to a tailor. So for my daughter’s wedding I chose two dresses that I really loved, even though both had fit problems, and took them to Alina. She was very sympathetic and supportive. One dress needed the bodice completely remade. She also took out the pockets and made the skirt less poofy (and more flattering). On the other dress, which had a sequined bodice, she raised the shoulders so the neckline would not be droopy, and also changed the shape of the sleeves at my request (they were long and fluttery). The dresses looked fabulous and flattering at the wedding events. I think people were a little surprised to see how good I looked! (They are used to my ill fitting off the rack choices). The cost of these repairs was not inexpensive, but I did not expect them to be. These were not simple hems but real tailoring requiring dismantling and reconstructing the dress. Most people probably don’t need this. But if you do, come see Alina. She also really had a grea attitude and made me feel I looked my best. No credit cards, btw.

This is the second of two reviews I’ve been needing to write for a while. The first was for another tailor that completely screwed me over and who I will never trust again. Names do not need to be brought up, but I just wanted to make sure to write this review because Alina is absolutely amazing. I’m a guy who likes to have his jackets, coats, pants, etc. a little more slim fit. When I first approached Alina’s shop, I was a little worried. It was a little on the feminine side (if that’s the correct word to use). All those worries went away however when I actually got to speak to Alina, and even more so when I got to see the results from her work. She is a true professional. I just moved to the area for school, and as long as I’m in the area, this is the only person I’ll be bringing my clothes to. In regards to that other tailor as well. Alina actually fixed a problem created by the other tailor (a nicked pocket [I wasn’t even able to put my keys in my pocket]) without even telling me and without charging me. That right there, ladies and gentleman, is a true tailor. Or is it tailoress? I’m not sure?

Alina is magical! Absolutely wonderful!
First of all she a pleasant, kind and relatable person.
Secondly, she saved my fashion life literally 4 days before my engagement ceremony/​party (which for my big fat Indian family was larger than most aveage American weddings). I was the victim of an online scam and my Indian fusion dress didn’t arrive. That is another story. Anyway, my hairdresser Sonja at The Salon up the street, after hearing my sob story, told me that Alina could probably help and sent me her way exactly 1 week before I needed a dress. I wanted something that had all the elements of an Indian outfit, but in a high-​volume ball gown style, that was day-​time and outdoors appropriate and could be worn with Indian jewelry in a mixed Indian /​American crowd. Very tall order!
I walked into Alina’s that Saturday, showed her a picture of what I had ordered online, and asked if she could make something like it. She said that there was definitely no time to do all the beadwork and embroidery of an Indian outfit, but we brainstormed together and I went off to buy a sari on Devon Ave that she could use to make the dress. It was Tuesday evening before I could be back to drop it off, asking for it back by Saturday!
Beyond that, Alina did everything. She even happened to have the perfect lining on hand. And until she discovered that lining, she sat there on the phone with me while I walked around multiple fabric stores! She designed the most beautiful dress with me. It is simply exquisite. She came up with inventive details like using the detailed sari end in the back of the dress, instead of the front — which is very offbeat. The whole thing has the most romantic feel, which is just what I wanted. She perfectly achieved the exact look I was going for, and the result was an exquisite piece far better than what I had originally ordered.
My wedding has come and gone — and for those of you that know Indian weddings, I wore about 10 outfits after that for my wedding events. This dress is still my most favorite one, and I wore it for our official photo shoot, too.
Alina, I owe you pictures of me in that dress, but I still have another dress with you being altered so I will show you when I come to pick it up!

Alina did a great job of tailoring my coats and blazers to a more slim fit.

Alina custom-​made my wedding dress, and did a beautiful job! Her craftsmanship was incredible, and her service was wonderful. She literally constructed the dress on me, which made for kind of a lot of fittings, but also ensured it turned out exactly how I wanted it to look, which was quite a feat seeing as my mom and I showed up with a couple rough drawings and big visions, and Alina worked with us to make them come true.
She does regular tailoring jobs as well, and handles all of her customers (even the really annoying ones) with good humor and grace.
She was also reasonable in her pricing. My mom and I now go back to her for any difficult alterations and special occasion custom outfits.