JJ Alterations

I had ordered a Victorian era costume dress online and it fit everywhere with exception of being a little snug around the bust and arms.
Caroline took me as a walk in, got a look at the dress, and had it ready for me in plenty if time for the function I was attending. She did exceptional work, was prompt, double checked the fit before finalizing her alterations, and was very reasonably priced, especially as this was not your typical dress (bustle and all)!
I was so pleased with her work. I will definitely come back here or refer anyone who needs alterations to see her!

kind, reasonable, and quick. couldn’t ask for anything more

I had a rush order and they did a great job altering my dress in just 1 day. It’s a little pricey but can’t complain since she gave back the dress on time and it fit me perfectly.

This business is now my go-​to place for all my alterations! Carol is great at fixing anything. She works hard and always eager to please.
I took over a dozen of my business suit pants here and a couple of jackets to be shortened. Very pleased with her work. Her price is a little more than others, but she’s worth every penny. She does excellent work! I didn’t have to ask her to re-​do anything, everything turned out perfect. For the amount of work I gave her, I think she finished the job at a reasonable time.
I also love her friendliness and as mentioned by another Unilocaler… «service with a smile.» Keep up the good work Carol… I’ll be back again soon.

Came in with a bridesmaids gown that had taken 5 months to ship, leaving hardly any time for alterations, right at Christmas time. I made an appointment and she had me try the dress on, we took our time with the details, she delivered on time and again had me try on the dress to make sure everything was perfect. Very easy to work with and highly professional.
To begin with, the dress barely zipped but had a huge skirt so she was able to use that material to add to the bodice. As a professional, she insisted on adding material to each side of the dress which I thought was strange but it was absolutely the right method as another bridesmaid added to only one side and her dress was wonky (not done at JJ).
Living close by, I see that she stays late in the shop and is almost always at work so please pay what she asks and don’t try to haggle!
I would definitely return when i have an occasion to turn the bridesmaids dress into an evening gown :)

Caroline took me (without an appointment) when I had an urgent need to get alterations done to a BM dress because my original seamstress didn’t pull through. So, definite brownie points for that.
She did a good job, and with a smile… the only issue I had was that the alteration job ended up costing more than I had expected (almost half the price of the actual dress)… when I asked her why it was priced so high, she said she had actually given me a good deal because the alteration job required more than just shortening the length of the dress. I sort of wish she had laid that out from the get go so that my expectations were aligned with the outcome. I just wanted a simple shortening job, and I felt that she took it the more difficult route without confirming anything with me.
With all her experience, I’m sure she had made an assessment from the start, which I felt she could have done a much better job at relaying.
Anyway, I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt and update with an added star if I find that her prices are more reasonable the next time around. but I likely won’t return unless it’s another emergency.

Caroline saved my senior prom!
With just a few days notice, smack dab in the midst of crazy prom season, she fixed my dress from a HUGE size ⁸⁄₉ to a size 3.
I ordered my dress from China, and of course it got lost in the mail and finally showed up on my doorstep 4 days before prom. Freaking out, I called her and took it down that same evening, and had it ready for me by prom. I was surprised that she even took my dress on such late notice because she must’ve had AT LEAST 50 prom dresses to fix in just a few days!
Love that she has you come in before she finalizes the hems and zippers so that you can try it on again and see if the clothing is to your liking.
She charged me $ 75; I don’t know much about alteration services prices, but I was happy with that because I gave her 4 days notice and she brought my prom dress down 4 sizes.
Their hours are very flexible– I came in at 10 pm once!
Highly recommend JJ Alterations!

Caroline altered my size 4 long gown to a size 0. The work done on the gown was quite complicated (e.g., moved the zipper, took it in on both sides, hem, pockets, pleating in front and back), and I am very happy with her work and how the dress turned out– it fits me like a glove! I will definitely be returning to Caroline for my alterations most especially when I find pieces that I just cannot pass up at sale prices.
Btw, it is prom and the beginning of wedding season so give yourself more than enough time to drop-​off of your piece for alterations. To give you an idea, the turnover time for my gown was 2 weeks.
Thank you for sharing your gift, passion and talent with us, Caroline!

JJ Alterations take pride in their work. this is an old fashioned family business with a commitment to exceptional work… the finished result is a step above any others I have tried. Also, prices are reasonable, they complete work by agreed pick up date — it truly wasa great find! that I plan to return to over and over with all my alterations. Thanks JJ…
Fiona Fitzgerald, Foster City

So John sold this business a while back and now this place is under new owners. They still do a decent job, but the customer service isn’t quite the level that John provided. The women seem to always be stressed out and very busy. I asked about getting some work done on an unique garment and the short version is that I left and went somewhere else to get the job done. She just didn’t seem to have any interest in tackling my job. That’s fine by me. I’d rather find somebody else anyway.

Just as clarification: I’ve seen lots of older reviews mentioning names of people who no longer work here. A woman named Caroline does the alterations and runs the shop herself. She is great, but she’s not «John», who is spoken of so highly on Unilocal.Caroline told me several times how late she stays in the evenings and how she spends all of her time there. Pretty sure she’s the only one doing the alterations.
My experience with JJ Alterations was a rollercoaster ride.
First of all, I initially took my bridesmaid dress to Chit Ma Ma in San Francisco. I was measured by a woman who rushed me out of there like it was her job. Somehow in the whirlwind, she told me she was the sister of the woman who actually does the alterations, and that the shop is actually in San Mateo. Not ideal because of travel time and the fact that this was not made known up front, but no biggie.
The following weekend I went to San Mateo for a fitting and to meet with Caroline. I was pleasantly surprised, as she was friendly and helpful and didn’t rush me at all. She listened to what I wanted and seemed genuinely wonderful. I was told to come back in 3 weeks for another fitting.
Forward to 3 weeks later, I returned and the only thing different about my dress was the modesty piece I’d asked for was pinned to the inside of the dress. Length wasn’t hemmed, and the modesty piece wasn’t measured properly so it looked awful. Spent way more time in the shop that day than she probably would have liked, but I was concerned about my dress since the wedding was only three weeks away at that point.
We re-​measured and figured things out. Two weeks later, I returned and the dress was in much better shape. It was completed and exactly what I was hoping for. A bit on the pricey side, however, I know I wasn’t the easiest customer to deal with so I didn’t complain. Plus she made the prices known up front. She confirmed the cost each time I spoke with her, so there were absolutely no surprises.
Overall, I’m happy with the end result of my experience with JJ Alterations. I would have liked a bit more professionalism, however. Not so sure that I’ll return, as I am sure that I could easily find an alterations shop just as decent in SF. But it’s definitely an alright place to go if you’re looking for alterations in the San Mateo area.

They are a true family business and take care of all of your personal garment items like theirs. That’s why they take a little bit longer time for alterations.
I have taken here my brides maid dress, my Burberry coat, my jeans, and dress pants. Highest craftsmanship and I highly recommend them.

I had bought a very expensive «Barn» coat, the fit was good however, not great. The sleeves were just slightly shifted, if you know what I mean. The coat was usually $ 2300.00 but, I got a steal at just a shade over $ 700.00 so, could not pass it up! Anyway, I took it to JJ and OMG Alex did an unbelievable job! He actually, took the sleeves off and then re-​sewed them back on and the coat looks Fantastic!
I just returned and bought several Etro pieces that need to be hemmed and would not even consider going any place else!
My suggestion is if you have anything that you truly value and want a great job done don’t go anywhere else!

Been going to this place for years. Best value for alterations. Great service, friendly staff. Won’t waste time anywhere else. They are great at hemming and fitting jeans, and tailored a formal dress perfectly.

I have brought jeans to be hemmed, shirts and pants to be altered and have been satisfied every time. The lady here always makes sure I’m happy with the final product. It definitely helps to speak mandarin or Cantonese. I have also found that I get the best results if I bring a sample (for fit and sizing) for her to copy.
Be warned that this place isn’t cheap, but having gone to some other tailors and been disappointed, I personally feel the price is worth it.

Update: Ava C is correct — John has retired and the place is now run by a Chinese couple. I do not know what their skills are like as I was quoted a pretty stiff rate to hem a dress and pair of pants and ultimately decided to do it myself. But they seem like nice people so I will keep my current rating until I am able to assess their services for myself.

There is no where else to go to get your clothes tailored! I have been coming to JJ since day, he is SO good at what he does and can do anything! He has a lady that works with him as well, she is worth trusting and is great. They are VERY well priced and are always done when or before they say they will be.
Mark my words, this is the best Alterations place on the entire Peninsula! I travel from Redwood City, I won’t go anywhere else.

John is such a great guy. He has done amazing job for a lot of my alteration, and sometimes even throw in minor fixes for free. When I asked for pants hemming, he saw the belt loop was hanging loose and he’d just fix it.
However…THIS PLACE IS NOT THE SAME ANYMORE!
The other day I went in to drop off some items for alteration, the lady told me John has retired and sold the shop to her. I thought aw that’s too bad but I’ll give it a shot. Turned out, she’s now charging more, I had relative simple hemming and shortening that cost $ 20 – 25 a piece. It took way longer — two weeks! And the job was mediocre. I have nothing against the new owner, and I didn’t want to go look for a new place, but I am disappointed. The only good thing was that she takes credit cards.
Then, while I went back to pick up, a customer walked in and asked for John. The lady told the customer John’s on vacation. Customer asks for how long? Lady says oh like two months. Well… quite a different story from what she said to me last time, no?
I won’t be coming here again and I’m very sad that now I need to find a new place for alteration. But I’m happy for John and hope he enjoys his retirement.

I saw good reviews and bad reviews but honesty, I can’t see why anyone didn’t like this guy, even for new fashionable jeans and hemming. He nailed it on two pairs of Sevens for me and I’ll happily return soon.
Honestly, with this skinny jean phenomenon (loved Kobe’s commentary on Russel Westbrook’s «Steve Urkel» look and skinny jeans the other night), you need some room to breath which means alterations on a size that’s too long.
Worth the $ 15 bucks. Easily.
And a quick turn around. They were don’t by the time I got back from a long weekend trip.

Whenever I get a nice pair of jeans I try to have them hemmed at a well known referred alterations place. Based on the good reviews given on Unilocal I decided to try this place and was disappointed. I chose to get an original hem on my super long Madewell jeans and was shocked to be charged $ 18 bucks! Also, they didn’t bother to ask by what date I needed them by and told me that they would be ready in a week. I don’t know about everyone else, but for $ 18 bucks I would expect them to be done quicker.
I haven’t gotten the jeans back yet, so I can’t say anything about the workmanship, but for the prices they charge, I will not be returning. I am pretty sure there are other places that charge less for original hem that will have the same results.
Also, they accept credit cards but the guy that took my payment was complaining about how they get charged every time someone uses their card so he insisted that I pay cash. Annoying!
Update:
After receiving and inspecting the jeans I was very disappointed because I could see the stitching of where the original hem was connected, which is not what I wanted. I have gotten previous jeans done in original hem at an alterations place in NYC and they did it correctly, so I know it can be done. It’s very unfortunate that I paid so much for them to ruin my jeans. Never again.