Shirley’s Designs & Alterations

My son is being married this summer and I had a very difficult time finding the right thing to wear. Veda has done alterations for my family for years and I decided to go talk with her about my problem. We sat down put our heads together and came up with a design that made me very happy. Yes — it was expensive — you get what you pay for!!! I highly recommend Veda — she is a fine tailor/​seamstress.

Incredible service, Elegance at it’s finest, Simply perfection. My wife and I have been getting our clothes tailored and altered for several years, makes all the difference in the world.
In this case you truly get what you pay for. Well worth it!

Amazing service! The day before I left on the beach vacation of my life only to have the stitching of my very favorite beach hat come loose. Veda and Mary told me to bring it by do they could see if it was something they’d be able to help me with. I got there shortly before they were closing, and when I told them I was leaving for the islands the very next day, Mary had me sit right down and they fixed it on the spot while I waited. All this when they were trying to wrap up a wedding party fitting and get them out the door. I’m so very grateful. These ladies are a class act, very talented, and provide exceptional service. I’ll be highly recommending them!

Veda did a fantastic and rapid fitting on my wedding dress. Very impressed with the fit, quality of work and the turnaround. Recommended.

The owner of the shop was too expensive. Went in to get a price on her making me a dress I have the material fabric and she still wanted to charge me $ 500 too much will never return

This place did a wonderful job on shortening a mid-​calf cocktail dress (from 15 years ago?) to an updated length around the knee. It had a lining as well to shorten. The total cost was $ 38 which I think is a bit high, but my dress looks great and was well cared for! I don’t know what the turnaround time usually is, but I picked my dress up exactly 1 week after I dropped it off and that worked perfect for me.

Her prices are very high for custom made material. If you are a bride on a budget, this is not the place. There are plenty of talented designers in the East Bay who can do the work without charging an arm and leg for basic designs. I found one!

Went to have some pants hemmed and tapered and I couldn’t be happier with the result. Everyone was very warm and kind; exactly the place I had hoped to find. Prices are comparable to any other alteration shop you’ll see. Will be returning again for any further alteration work needed.

A well tailored blazer can change your life. Recently I fell in love with a tweed hacking jacket from Banana Republic. It was a stylish combination of an English shooting jacket and an equestrian riding coat. Classic, rustic, yet refined. Perfect if you want to show up at the office looking like you just got back from a quail hunt on horseback (and I do). However, being a six foot tall broad shouldered woman, I could not find a size that fit properly. I bought it two sizes too big and took it to Veda. She was excited to work on it, mentioning little details that she would add to make the jacket. She listened to my concerns and made adjustments accordingly. She was a delight to work with. A true master of her craft. Within a week the jacket was transformed from a generic cut mass produced piece to a one of a kind couture garment.
Every time I wear it I receive numerous compliments. Someone even asked me to represent them in court, and I’m not even an attorney!
I used to fall in love with men for their potential, now I do the same thing with clothes.

This place is absolutely amazing. When I go, Veda is usually the one who helps me, and I am always more than impressed with her work. She knows exactly what needs to be done with the articles of clothing I bring to her, and always does an amazing job. I only trust Shirley’s Designs and Alterations when I need alterations done on my clothing.

I took a vintage, crochet-​y shift dress to Shirley’s for a quick alteration. One day turn around and the dress fits like a dream! Glad to have found this place.

I found Shirley’s on Unilocal and it was exactly what I was looking for (not just an alterations place but could also a place that create designs and pieces). I had bought a very plain wedding dress and I was looking to add a little flavor to make it my own without losing it’s simplicity. I wanted the top to be a sweetheart neckline with a little of a plunge and a deep V open back along with the usually fitting and helping me add a more hourglass shape to the dress. Not only was making the appointment easy, but I’ve had a dress made before and I was told a couple times «oh, we can’t do it like that» for whatever reason so I was half expecting her to say the same, but instead she delivered beyond my expectations. There was no compromising or something she wasn’t able to do… I just said I want this, this and that, she pinned it and when I had my second fitting about a week later she created exactly what I wanted with no hesitation.
The icing on the cake was that she created my veil. I had to but the lace trim but she did the rest and made the veil I had dreamed of in my head. It was floor length and could drape over my face for the ceremony.
Overall, what made this place extra special was all the little things. She was affordable, she didn’t make me feel like I was asking for a lot, she ALWAYS made me feel comfortable and beautiful, she was available whenever I needed her, I did a last minute appointment and I picked my dress the day before my wedding, she believed in my vision as much as I did and she was passionate about what she does, you could see it on her face which made all the fittings that much more enjoyable.
Below are the best photos I had of the work she did (sorry I don’t have a before photo of the dress and I didn’t get a picture of the plunging V back either).

Veda made my wedding dress and it was absolutely stunning. She is an artist in every respect. I highly recommend her for any tailoring situation.

I was looking for a seamstress to quickly create a jumpsuit that I designed. I read the previous comments and decided to try Veda. I am ecstatic I did. She is not only professional but also personable. She saw my vision and went beyond to create my jumpsuit better than I had dreamed. She is amazing and wonderfully skilled. I’m moving to Atlanta and will truly miss this lady.

I found Shirley through a quick google search and could not be more impressed. This review will not help people looking for complex alterations, I only got some pants hemmed. Even so, Shirley was so cooperative to meet a deadline I needed. She was pleasant and professional when we met at the time discussed on the phone. I went home and told my girlfriend I want to find shirts to bring to Shirley because it was so quick and well priced.
Thanks Shirley!

Mmm; Vada is the best. I don’t know what else to say. She’s an engineer (I mean, she has an engineering degree) and a fantastic eye and sense of style. I’ve had her take in an expensive jacket, shorten pants and sleeves. Fast, efficient and excellent work. I highly recommend Shirley’s (ask for Vada).

They seemed nice and fitted me in on a Saturday, but when I came in to pick up the bridesmaid dress (which I needed the next day for a flight) they couldn’t find it, and when they did, no work had been done on it. None at all, even though they assured me it would be finished by that day an hour earlier. Because it was an easy job (lengthening a hem $ 38) they took it to the back and told me to return in half an hour. I left and decided to write one of my rare Unilocal reviews. I’ll update when I see the dress and the quality they managed in those 30 minutes.

I took my wedding gown to Shirley’s a few months ago for alterations. I had a pretty straightforward job to do (shortening the bottom of my lace gown, no taking in, etc) and they did the work with precision. Veda managed to make my gown look untouched and took her time making sure all the measurements were right. I was apprehensive about leaving my gown to just anyone, but I was put at ease as soon as I walked into the shop.
As if that wasn’t enough, Veda also went out of her way and offered to make my mantilla veil for free as a gift for my wedding. She did an amazing job and I received a great many compliments about how beautiful my veil turned out.
All in all, going to Shirley’s was a great experience. Not the most inexpensive place, but you get what you pay for and I’m glad I found her. I can’t recommend Veda enough.

2 pairs of slacks hemmed. $ 40. Poor quality.
The Grand/​Lake neighborhood is fully of sewing/​alterations and dry cleaning businesses. In my search to find a place to take some slacks, it turned out many businesses where catering more toward female clientele, specifically wedding dresses.
The lady helping me measured the length of the pants but did not measure or even ask about the rest of the fit. The rest of the fit was good, so I assumed that’s what she thought too.
She rang me up for $ 40! For two pairs of pants! I was expecting less than $ 20 at most. While at the register I noticed the printer was beeping non stop. The woman helping me said she had no idea how to fix it. I offered to take a look and I fixed it. Still $ 40 for the pants though… oh well.
I was there on a Saturday and they told me the pants would be ready the following Saturday. I called Monday morning to say I had changed my mind and would like to pick up the pants before they did any work on them. They said it was too late and the pants were finished.
When I asked why their prices were so high, she of course said that it’s because they do a quality job. I said I expected the pants to be amazing. Then she explicitly told me verbatim, «OUR PRICES ARE HIGH BECAUSE WE HAVE EXPENSIVE RENT TO PAY FOR OUR LOCATION ON LAKESHORE AVE.» I was shocked, not that this was the reason for the high prices, but because she flat out admitted it.
If a business charges a premium for its own benefit of a location, that is their problem to deal with, not mine. I don’t care if they’re located on Lakeshore, and I would probably prefer if they weren’t because there is no parking there. If the business was good at what they do, they would be bringing in enough business to cover their rent. Instead, they charge double, which probably hurts their business by driving people away.
On top of everything, I have worn one of the pairs of pants twice, and on my third time putting them on, I noticed the hem is coming undone. The stitches are falling out and my foot gets caught in the fabric, which pulls out more stitches. I will be taking the pants back and asking for a refund.

I had taken two bridesmaids dresses in to Shirley’s the year before my wedding, and being familiar with their work, knew that I would bring my wedding dress to them to get it altered for my big day.
I purchased my dress when I was back home in San Diego for the holidays, but was not able to receive it until two months before the wedding. While that shop said timing was customary, the ladies at Shirley’s informed me that I’d be cutting it close and made my order a priority.
I’m just shy of 5’1, but curvy, so a lot of the dress needed to be cut or taken in. My dress was originally being worked on by a store associate, but after being in the shop during my first fitting, Veda saw the work in progress and decided to take over. Not only did she make sure that my main dress fit me to perfection, she also altered my 2^nd dress for the reception, using a complicated technique to keep my one-​shoulder and backless number in place all night.
All brides know that dress fittings are a daunting process, but Veda put my mind at ease and created two beautiful dresses to complete my perfect wedding day.