Eltsa Custom Sewing

I went to see Margo because of all the good reviews online I read. When I made my appointment, I specified to see Margo but they informed me upon arrival that Margo doesn’t physically do the alterations anymore. Regardless, Margo has a great eye on how to make the dress work when another seamstress at Eltsa said «it’s impossible.»
I had my dress taken in, boning added to keep the fabric from bending at the top of my strapless dress (which required ribbon to be added), and bra pads added. It was a bit more expensive than I had anticipated but they were good at keeping me informed of all additional costs.
Overall I’m very happy with the dress; hope I can breathe and sit in it the day of! Definitely would go back again!

One month before my wedding I had to find a new seamstress to alter my dress. As well as being conveniently located for where I live, Eltsa Custom Sewing was able to arrange an appointment for me the same evening I called, and didn’t even blink an eyelash at the short turn around time. The seamstress I worked with was lovely, super funny, and very friendly. She gave me great advice about how to decide what length we should hem the dress to, and made recommendations about other alterations I might want. The dress turned out perfectly and the cost was extremely reasonable — they removed about 3 inches of lace from the bottom and made the sleeves smaller, all for under $ 200 and in about 3 weeks. Would recommend for anyone who needs alterations done, but especially for bridal alterations!

I took a maid of honor dress here for alterations. They were fast, professional, very helpful, and reasonable! Flexible with scheduling, too.
At first (to my untrained eye) I thought I just had to have the hem taken up a few inches. The staff who was helping me pointed out other adjustments she could make and how it would fit my body better, but she was upfront about what the additional changes would cost (very reasonable price) and did not pressure me to make the choice one way or another. I ended up going with her recommendation and the fit was terrific!
They were great about checking the fit at a couple points along the way before I took the dress home, and so friendly and accommodating the whole time. All my appointments were speedy and efficient. The only tricky thing was finding the place on my first visit– it is one suite in a larger building on Woodlawn, so it’s easy to miss the entrance at first.
I highly recommend their services!

For menswear: I think their prices are very competitive and the result looks like you didn’t pay much. If you’re going to the trouble to pay for your clothes to be tailored, that seems like the wrong compromise.
I asked them to shorten three ties, and they did all three for a bit under $ 30. That’s very reasonable. I asked them to do it on the cheap and not preserve the silk lining on the end, the reasoning being that you don’t look at the backside of the tail end of a tie. They folded over and stitched the fabric on the end (imagine a sort of + shape of folded fabric), which is great, but the lines are all crooked. Not straight across, not straight up and down — it’s kind of a hack job, and it looks like I did it myself. I paid someone else to do it so that it wouldn’t look like I did it myself.
While I was in there I saw a guy getting a blazer tailored, and he was asking if the sleeves looked too long or uneven. The seamstress’ response was «I don’t know, it’s preference, it’s up to you». I don’t expect that from a good tailor — there is more or less a correct length for sleeves, and a good tailor should be able to say «yes, this fits you correctly» or «no, these sleeves need to come up an inch».

Woohoo! As good as it gets! I worked with Margo at Eltsa and she was nothing short of amazing. The dress consultants at the wedding shop I purchased my dress from talked me into getting a dress that was much larger than the sample (thinking it was easy to tailor). When it finally came in many months later, I tried it on and cried. It was so large and sloppy looking. The dress was heavily beaded and had much detail to it. I didn’t think it could be tailored to fit me and thought I would have to purchase another dress. Margo worked wonders. After several dress fittings with her, the dress was a dream. It fit so well and was everything I wanted for my wedding day. Margo — Thank you so, so much for everything!

Stressing the dress? Go here. They are magicians. You’ll get realistic advice from skilled and experienced professionals — plus they try to save you cost where they can, in our case by suggesting we insert our own bra instead of paying for ribbing to be created from scratch. Our alterations were completed on time and beautifully, with last minute changes done by Margo on the spot. Now the dress fits so much better in many subtle ways and it’s the perfect length. It looks gorgeous. Thank you, Eltsa. Note: Allow extra time for parking — it’s always busy here and spaces are in demand. Also Eltsa is a little hard to find — it’s in a little old school place upstairs. Look for the sandwich board on the street which marks the entrance to the staircase.

Nice little establishment. I had a bridesmaid dress that needed to be hemmed. They made it look great & I’m really happy with the job. Only downside is they’re not super cheap. It was a pretty simple job & I was charged about $ 60.

I was very impressed with not only how quick they were able to get me in for an appointment, but also how quick they were to complete all the alterations on my dress. They did exactly what I asked of them and each appointment was quick and efficient. I never spent more then 15 minutes each time I came in, which made me nervous at first, but they really know what they are doing! Don’t let the location scare you off — these ladies are professionals and have their act together. As others mentioned, pay by cash for the best price. Four stars only because they ended up charging more then originally estimated, but still within a reasonable amount — also, less then other places I checked out. I would recommend to others!

Eltsa was able to alter my grandmother’s wedding dress from 1946 to make it a little more modern and fit better. Her work was speedy and high quality. I’m so happy I could reuse my grandma’s dress for my own wedding.

I first came to Eltsa with an expensive Kleinfeld gown for alterations but Margo sat me down and was honest with me and said it would be expensive to alter and was not very flattering for my plus sized figure. She was very kind and knowledgeable so I took her advice and due to time contraints could only find a cheap Chinese gown on one of those knock off sites. It was much nicer than I expected and they made it to my measurements so it fit well. Eltsa’s was able to alter the neckline to make it more flattering, remove a belt and add a sash of my own purchase, and alter the train and bustle to make my dress perfect for my wedding day. Margo, Ivanna and the staff work so hard and they are worth their weight in gold. I will be using their business for all my alterations and sewing in the future.

What a great job they did on my bride’s maid dress!
I was on a bit of a time crunch and they turned around my dress in less than a week. It was a floor length chiffon dress with multiple layers. I came in for two fittings for the alterations and they were efficient and friendly each time.
Cash or check only — check will cost you a little more, FYI!

great service. good pricing. i didn’t have a wedding dress to fix, just regular clothes that needed hems, etc. they also finished the work earlier then their target date. i will be back!

I can’t say enough wonderful things about these women. My experience there was so warm, so expertly executed. Margo was so meticulous during my fitting, and Marina did an exceptional job on my dress. The women there make you feel very important, and they understand the importance of the dress fitting you perfectly. I am actually sad that my dress fits me perfectly now, because I don’t have an excuse anymore to be in their company. LOVELY, PERSONABLE, PROFESSIONAL, AND EXTREMELY TALENTED, THEY ARE. They made the year of my wedding just that more special.

I arrived on Eltsa’s doorstep with two dresses, the one I had purchased off the rack and the dress my mother wore at her wedding. It was a very special project for me, seeing as I had lost my mother to cancer a few short months prior to starting my dress transformation, but Margo & Marina listened to my vision and helped me recreate it along the way until my wedding dress was a perfect compilation of mine & my mother’s.
The dress I had originally purchased had a beautiful lace bodice but it had a one shoulder top, full of feathers and flowers… beautiful, but not my style. I wanted that one shoulder dress converted into a halter dress, and the material we used to make that halter transformation happen… the pearl belt off my mother’s dress. Her belt became my straps.
The transformation was physically beautiful, but spiritually it was so impactful to have my mother hugging my neck all day!
Thank you doesn’t even begin to express the gratitude I feel for Eltsa’s staff. They made a dream of mine come true! They do incredible work!

I’m sooo super glad I went to Eltsa Custom Sewing to get my wedding dress alterations done. Margo and Ivanna were both great and pleasant to work with. It took me 5 visits before I got my perfectly fitted dress back, but the many visits were really because both Margo and Ivanna really cared about all the details and wanted to ensure the dress was as perfect and flawless as much as possible. Honestly, when I tried it on my third visit, the dress looked perfect to me already, but both Margo and Ivanna managed to find and point out something that would make the dress look better on the day that any female deserves to look her best. Best of all, they did it without charging anything additionally over the costs they already quoted me on my first visit.
What I love most about this place is how honest Margo and Ivanna were with their opinions. They pointed out different options and suggested what the most cost effective options were if it was them deciding as well. At the end, I can choose to do whatever alterations I want with my dress and they would still do that for me. However, I appreciate their opinions telling me whether that idea makes sense, whether they would look good, or whether it would be cost effective in their opinions.
On the day I picked up my dress, Margo spent some time telling me how to care for my dress and few tips on how to keep my dress look good without having to spend additional $ 100 on dry-​cleaning when my dress didn’t need any additional cleaning or any more significant care.
I really appreciate their honest comments and would recommend anyone who’s looking for great wedding dress alterations skills to consult Eltsa Custom Sewing for their alterations needs. You will love their honest opinions and, best of all, the prices, while not the cheapest, are definitely not out of this world like I’d expect to be milked all my dollars at other places whenever there’s a «wedding» word associated with it.

Absolutely amazing to work with in altering my wedding dress! They were great in arranging times with my crazy schedule and providing explanations on recommendations for altering the dress.

I had the pleasure of working with Eltsa’s Custom Sewing to provide alterations on my wedding dress for my December wedding. It was a wonderful experience and I could not recommend them enough.
I had five rounds of alterations that spanned just over 8 weeks. My dress was complicated, read — delicate lace, full-​ruffled skirt, button details, etc. The alteration appointments included taking in the sides, adjusting the chest to fit properly, altering the length, adding heavy bustling, and fitting the lace back.
I could not have been more thrilled with the results, my dress came out perfectly. I was a little apprehensive because I had never had anything (with this significance) altered before and truly the craftsmanship was remarkable — the (heavier) dress fit me like a glove. I did not even notice it throughout the day, never had to adjust it, and I felt amazing. Eltsa’s staff — Margo, Ivanna, and Marina provide exceptional alterations that are quality, listen to your ideas and needs, and work diligently to provide you with your vision.
I would without a doubt use Eltsa’s Custom Sewing for your wedding, bridesmaids, special event, etc. alteration needs. The customer service was great — they offered great ideas and gave honest opinions on my alteration options, had clear communication, were flexible with my scheduling needs, and were upfront about the cost estimate. Plus, they were a lot of fun!
A BIG thank you to Eltsa’s Custom Sewing for making me feel truly beautiful on my wedding day!

Margo and Ivanna made my tailoring experience wonderful! (Thanks for the recommendation, Ashley Z. of the 1÷22÷2013 review.) I took my dress to the shop at the end of July 2014 and picked it up at the end of August. As the first person I saw at the shop, owner Margo answered all my questions with expert knowledge and delightful charm. If someone has never had eastern European friends, they might take her as brusque, but I am used to her type of candor, no-​nonsense attitude, and efficiency. I felt I was in the right hands and really enjoyed her personality!
I saw Ivanna on all my next visits, and I say «all» to point out that she cared about getting things perfect. After the first round of alterations, I could have taken the dress home and it would have been fine, but she really cared about details. She’d notice something that I didn’t – «now that we took in the straps, I don’t like how the neckline buckles on one side of the V” – and ask if I’d like to leave it another few days so she could fix it. The shop didn’t stand to make any more money from these tweaks, but they just want to do a job right. I really appreciated that attitude and help. Plus, Ivanna is a super, super nice person. I could tell she is working a lot of hours and under a lot of pressure to churn out products during the crunch of summer wedding season, but she was always engaged, attentive, and pleasant.
In the end, I loved the bustle they put in, the way they turned my sash into an attached belt so it could leave the dress back open, and the fit of the straps. All the seams and stitches were invisible, which was especially impressive for a dress with thin, beach-​setting material. The price was comparable to what they offered to charge at a large bridal shop, but I am confident I got much more dedicated service at Eltsa.
Note, I’ve been using «they» because, apparently, various people worked on my dress. I didn’t care but, if you do, you might want to be specific about meeting with the person doing the work.
I will absolutely go back to Eltsa and recommend the shop to others!

I had my wedding dress altered by Marina, and she did a terrific job! I went in four weeks before my wedding (although I absolutely recommend getting in earlier to save yourself some stress) and she accommodated my timeline even though there was much to be done. I needed my dress let out at the hips and taken in at the waist, and both tasks required the removal and re-​application of a lace appliqué. I also had it hemmed and bustled. She made all the necessary adjustments to get the absolutely perfect fit. The price I paid was exactly what was estimated before any work was done, and the price seemed very reasonable for the amount of work that went into my dress.
I’m glad I went to Eltsa!

Margo is absolutely amazing. I came in early this year with a crazy idea to make two wedding dresses out of one wedding dress. I brought pictures and explained my idea and Margo was the first person to understand and get excited about my vision.
Visiting her for dress fittings was the most fun I had planning the wedding. She is so talented, has a great eye for fashion and what will work best on your figure, and offered amazing suggestions. I am so thankful I found her, my dress was way more then I ever dreamed of, and I was so happy to work with such a nice, fun amazing person.
Margo rocks, thank you so much :)