The Art Alterations

If you want to look good in your clothing, do not come here. If you care about the condition of your garments in any way, go elsewhere. If you have any understanding of silhouette or materials, this is not the place for you.
I am not surprised to see good reviews for «The Art Alterations», as it accurately reflects the low standards of dress in Austin, TX. No, the capital is not know for its fashion. Half the people here run errands in their pajamas. I gave this place many chances, a few hundred dollars in business, and have never been so disgusted in all my life of dealing with «professionals». These people are not professionals. Not sure if it was a language barrier, maybe they didn’t like me personally (I don’t smile much), their incompetency, or a combination of all of these things, but looking back over their work, they did really poor work on each one of the garments I sent to them. In fact I have had to bring all garments, one by one, to a real tailor (Triana Tailor). Each time it’s explained to me just how crappy or careless the pervious work was done.
Rather hypocritical of The Art Alterations, considering they push christian literature at you. It seems like they took my business as on opportunity to train someone entirely inexperienced or perhaps lacking some hand-​eye coordination. Again, if you understand what a tailor does, don’t waste your time here.

Got alterations here on a bridesmaid dress. She did a great job on most of it, but there was one section I wasn’t completely okay with. I think it was a language barrier. It also seemed a little expensive, but she did do a lot of work.

I had heard of AA because a friend of mine got her wedding dress altered here aa year ot wo ago when no one else in town was willing to touch it [and the few that were willing to also wanted to charge an arm and a leg] However, Yolanda was not only willing and able to alter said wedding dress, but did it beautifully and for a great price.
That in mind, I brought in a bridesmaid dress that I needed altered to have material taken in since I had lost weight after ordering it. Despite that it also needed bodice altering to be able to take it in, Yolanda and her assistants took a look and said that it would be easy-​peasy. Sure enough, it was able to be altered in a quick/​timely manner and without breaking the bank. She does amazing work, I couldn’t even tell where she did the altering! Once I went to pick it up, it fit me perfectly. Everyone involved was/​were friendly and willing to help, and did an amazing job. After being told about them, I’ve already sent a friend to them for her own bridesmaid dress, and will continue to recommend them to anyone and everyone looking to have alterations done.

My review and my rating should NOT prevent you from trying their business. Just read my review so you are prepared:
Summary:
— 2 Stars for my recent experience which prevented me from giving them my business again, today.
— Their quality of work deserves 5 stars. At least Yolanda’s work merits that rating, anyway.
Tips:
— Ask for Yolanda. If she’s not there, don’t go in. Her work and her service, is 5 stars.
— Parking kind of sucks
— You are required to PAY AT DROP OFF
—
There is a woman named Yolanda and she is awesome. She does fantastic work and is incredibly nice. Her turn around times were fast and she was always willing to meet you in the middle if you needed a specific garment sooner rather than later.
The last time I had a piece of clothing altered was about 1.5 years ago. Prior to that time, I had, on average, 2 – 4 pieces of clothing altered there, per month, for about a year.
Wednesday, September 2^nd:
— I walked in and was met by another woman who was not Yolanda. She was younger. I was the ONLY person in the store at this time. She asked me what I needed and proceeded to explain…
— I had FOUR shirts that I wanted altered, but knowing the long weekend was coming up, I explained that I needed ONLY ONE altered by Saturday.
— The alterations on each shirt, the same: Take in the sides for a slimmer fit
I was told:
— If I dropped off 4 shirts, this was impossible.
— What about dropping FOUR shirts off, and picking up only ONE by the end of the week? Nope, not possible.
— Fine. May I leave TWO shirts and pick only ONE up? YES, on Saturday (wtf?)
I didn’t care to explain how that didn’t make sense, but whatever, I just wanted to get a shirt tailored. So, okay, cool… TWO shirts, ONE for pick up asap, the other next week. Each one getting the sides taken in to make them slimmer fitting.
Then another couple walks in and she proceeds to speak with them for about 5 – 7 minutes about what they need. At least acknowledge that you’re going to help the nice couple out, and you’ll have my total in a moment. Whatever…
She comes back, and verbatim now, «Okay, here is your total. You have to pay now.»
$ 101 and some change, due at drop off.
Well…that sucks. I’d pay that anywhere if the quality of the work is worth it. But there are other tailors in town that charge the same, sometimes more, that do quality work, but with better customer service.
Quality service and reasonable price kept me coming back there repeatedly in the past. The abysmal customer service is what prevented me from giving them my business again, today.
Yolanda…I miss you.

I only came here because I read the reviews on Unilocal and am 150% satisfied work their service and prices. I had to have 50 patches sewn on shirts in 2 days ands they were the cheapest price around and finished them in 1 day. Amazing folks work amazing work ethics and service !!

I normally do my own sewing repairs on my clothes but I had a few that were made with really delicate material so I took it to Art Alterations. She did such an amazing job you’d never know anything was ripped in the first place! Turnaround time was very quick as well. Definitely recommend!

HANDS DOWN the BEST alterer I’ve ever been to (and I’ve been to at least a dozen). This place is fast, has amazing customer service and always does a FANTASTIC JOB! This is my favorite local business in Austin– I can’t say enough good things. I am so grateful to have found it. Yolanda does INCREDIBLE work at great prices

I’m in love with my alterations from here! I met with Ms. Yolanda on a Monday and she got my dress that was two sizes too big hemmed and taken in by Wednesday. My dress fits beautifully and I can’t wait to wear it out :) I’ll definitely be back!

Flawless work, high attention to detail, and timely turnaround. The woman who runs this alteration studio is friendly and does an excellent job. Look no further for your go-​to alterations stop!

She did a good job on several tops but then I brought her a more complicated silk color blocked blouse that was expensive. It needed the hem and the sleeves shortened, but because of the color blocking she took the sleeve up from the middle of the arm, not the bottom. She took ALL the ease out of the sleeve so now the section above where she shortened it is looser than the lower section where she removed fabric, and the lower section of sleeve is too tight. This is a really basic error in pattern balance that she could have avoided by taking it up from the cuff but by the time I saw the blouse it was too late. I gave her the chance to fix it a different way and it wasn’t any better and I still paid full price for the very expensive alteration after I expressed that I wasn’t 100% happy with the result. I wouldn’t let her touch my clothes again.

Sad to do this but, after writing a glowing review about the customer service and flexibility of The Art Alterations, I must rescind it all because… they almost ruined my wedding dress.
The bodice needed a lot of alterations, and they just messed it all up. The waist of the dress was an inch or two above my waistline, and the straps had been cut too short, preventing the ability of my subsequent seamstress to lengthen them. The hemline was also too long, and super uneven, and the bustle was not centered. It was just ALL wrong, and very unprofessional.
I will say, we didn’t get to do a second round of alterations, which may have fixed these problem, but I didn’t trust them with the dress again.
Sounds like lots of people have great experiences here with small alterations, but I cannot recommend them for major alterations to wedding dresses.

After reading the many positive comments here, I took an item to The Art Alterations. I spoke with a nice lady on the phone. She waited on me after I arrived. There was a short turnaround to pick up the garment. It looked good after they were done with the work needed. It is very convenient to get to. Next to Flaco’s Café & Cantina (now Closed?), SoCo Transmissions, across from Thundercloud’s, a little South of Ben White Blvd., on the West side of S. Congress Ave.

Amazing alteration work! I stopped by with jeans that needed the waist in and a jcrew dress I needed to have let out. I didn’t even think the dress was possible. I was quickly fitted and the woman found a solution for taking out the dress. They had it ready really fast, just a couple days later so I could take the pieces with me on a trip for a wedding! When I picked up, the jeans looked and fit perfectly and the dress was a bit too lose in the bust. They made a quick fix while I waited and had me out the door in 20 minutes. I was always afraid to have clothes altered because I thought it would be expensive and not look very good. This place proved me wrong! Two amazing fixes that made my clothes fit perfectly and look amazing for under $ 80.

I loved this place! I visited a few alterations places in austin and was so disappointed until I came here. I originally thought I needed my dress let out because i struggled to zip it but they were able to provide other suggestions that made the dress fit perfectly. It was done in about 3 weeks, and although it was a little pricey my dress is so perfect that I don’t mind at all. The staff was so nice and accommodating to my weird questions and I felt very comfortable while there. Highly recommend!

I was expecting a great experience based on the reviews, but did not have a positive experience at all. I was in a wedding and needed to have my bridesmaids dress made a bit bigger. I called a month before the wedding and the woman I spoke to on the phone told me that would be no problem, I did not need an appointment, and just bring it in a week or so before the wedding.
I took it on a Saturday, the week before the wedding. The woman working did not ask me to try it on. She just looked at it and told me nothing could be done because there was no extra fabric. Holding back tears, I asked her my options and she said maybe the seamstress could rip the entire thing apart and do something, so come back Monday to talk to her about that. Overall, the woman was unfriendly and did not seem interested in helping me find a solution.
A couple days later, I took the dress somewhere else because I did not want to «rip it apart». They had me try it on (before anything else) and did a beautiful job letting it out with just 3 days to work. They said they had no idea why The Art Alterations said that it could not be done, because it obviously could.
I would have saved a lot of stress and tears if I would have just taken it somewhere else to begin with. I would not recommend this alteration service.

This is by far the best place in Austin to take anything, ever. I took a dress here that I ordered online (the shitty «invisible zipper» broke) and she replaced it in 24 hours with no question. About $ 30 — totally fine with me for an instant fix. As far as quality, you cannot tell the dress was ever altered at all!
Part 2 of the dress saga — I take it home & (ok so maybe it was a little tight but not that bad!) the zipper broke AGAIN. this time the party I needed it for was in less than 24 hours…
I took the dress in at 1pm on Saturday (they close at 2) and picked it up at 1:45 looking better than ever, with a bigger zipper on it (which actually ended up looking WAY cooler). They didn’t even charge me for the second zipper. I’m ready for the holiday party with a dress I can try on without fear of it breaking, and have a new alterations place I will go to forever and ever and ever.

This place has a fast turn around & good quality. It seems expensive to me, but I know other chains in town are more. Alterations are just expensive! I can always drop by when they are open, which really helps with my busy schedule — no appt needed!

Took in 2 dresses to get altered. One needed a zipper replaced on the side with an invisible zipper. The original zipper had a fabric flap cover for reasons unknown. The other dress needed to be hemmed up-​vintage short pile velvet with full skirt boxed pleating.
She was really quick and efficient in pinning and marking. I asked if it could be done by the next day. No problem. :)
Picked up my dresses today and I’m very pleased. Hem is perfect and the new zipper is well done. She even added a hook and eye closure at the top.
Priced fairly considering she had it done for me by the next day. I was expecting a week long wait. Total was just over $ 50.
The only downside is the parking.

I found an Armani, made in Italy, jacket at Savers. it fit like it was made for me. SCORE. but I was disappointed to find I can’t afford one new ($ 1300)
then I found a jacket at Macy’s I liked. but it fit me like a box. I have broad shoulders but I’m not a BIG guy. so when I buy a suit off the shelf, I have to get a large to get into it, but the sleeves and chest are too large.
I finally decided to get it fitted.
here is how it goes. I went in and she pinned me up. told me the charge would be $ 84 and would be done in a bit more than a week or so. the charge for shortening the sleeves was $ 35 so I guess taking in the back and sides was around $ 50
the jacket was around $ 100, $ 85 for seamstress… now I have less than $ 200 into it and it fits me like the Armani…

I’m pretty happy so far. I just came here to get the knee of a pair of jeans sewed up. They had incredibly fast turnaround time, were reasonably priced, and you can hardly see the sewing or patchwork as they put it on the inside. Nice!
The patch is a little bulky and may have excessive fabric, but I can’t say I know much about patching to say that they did a bad job.
I’ve got a couple more things I’d like to take to them in the future. So far, I feel like they’re trustworthy.