Fabric-Flair Alterations

TV shows like ""Yes, to the Dress,"" ""Bridzilla,"" and ""David Tutera Weddings"" feature some of the worst conditions in the wedding industry. I am an ?independent? seamstress and I have been working with bridal parties and prom goers for 30 years. 2-3% of the time something goes wrong in the process. 97% of my customers are very happy. But, the unhappy customers are the ones that make the most noise on the Internet..... Always look for the store owner's side of the story. Read all of the reviews and call me for a consultation before you make a decision about my expertise. I can give you hundreds of references from satisfied customers. And, I can give you information on the customers that have had a problem with my business. If you search the Internet you will find a few bridezillas that have written negative paragraghs about me. Probably, like you, I have an off day now and then. I will share a story about a recent tragedy with an unhappy bride. The ?SIZE 2"" bride from Russia bought a wedding gown in a ?SIZE 12"" at a consignment shop in Ardmore. The gown weighed 20# and had an ?extra? long train pulling the gown down. The bride was stick-thin with very small breasts so there was nothing to hold the heavy strapless gown up. As I tightened the seams, she became more uncomfortable. But, I got all of the blame for the mishap. The bride should never have bought the ""SIZE 12"" gown. Also, the consignment shop should not have sold her a gown that large. The sales staff should have steered the bride to an appropriate size. Cutting a gown down 5 sizes is next to impossible for a reasonable price. I had quoted $350 and the alteration cost should have been $500. Buying a gown a size or two larger is reasonable unless your bust, waist, or hip measurement is extremely large. Gowns can usually be sized down but it is really tricky to expand them up. At times material from the train can be used to expand a gown if all else fails. The clothing industry is not an exact science. Look at a dozen of your friends and there will be a dozen different body types. One of my customers weighs 220# but only wears a ""B"" cup bra. Now you figure that one out about how clothing is ever going to fit her properly. The sales people that are selling wedding and formal gowns should be better educated about what alterations can be done. There are some body types that only an expert like me has the skill to make the proper alterations. I tell my customers: ?Buy cheap shoes, do your own hair, but ?don?t go CHEAP on the alterations.? And, stay away from the dry cleaners for gown alterations. ?A DRY CLEANER DOES NOT HAVE THE SKILL LEVEL TO ALTER WEDDING AND PROM GOWNS.? The highest quality that I find in the people that I have do work for me is that they are WILLING TO WORK WITH ME to get things to my liking. My plumber, handyman, and the woman that cuts my hair all bend over backwards to see that I am happy. I aim to do that with my customers. I have delivered gowns in emergencies, worked late into the night to finish an alteration, and I have spent extra hours, without pay, to make a customer happy. But, no matter how good I am with my people skills and sewing expertise, 2-3% of the time someone is unhappy with me. I am here to please the masses not the asses. I would say 97% positive to 3% negative odds are as close as I can get to a perfect score. more

The reviews are correct that she was very disorganized, in regards to scheduling and neatness of her studio/apartment. I wish I had read these reviews prior to meeting with Jean. I had to meet with Jean four times to get the alterations correct for my bridal gown. I gave her ample time to get the work done as well (over 12 weeks). Of the four meetings we had, Jean had double booked me with other consultations. To be kind, I waited patiently to the side, while the others were taken care of. Though I tried to be understanding, it really wasn't fair to me as a paying bridal gown customer. During the first meeting, I asked her to give me an estimate of the cost of the alterations we discussed. She explicitly said the alterations would be between $200-300. I believed this statement. On the third appointment, she told me that I owed her $400. I got upset, and repeated what she had told me during the first meeting. She told me that she never would have made a statement like that. I don't appreciate being told one estimate, and then being asked to pay double that once the final product is done. It was terrible customer service on her part. more

The wedding dress I bought was a sample gown from the recently closed shop in Ardmore, Suky Rosan. It was several sizes too large for me. The bodice had to be taken in several inches. In order to do so, Jean had to remove the bodice from the skirt of the gown. The skirt of the gown also had a large portion removed. The dress needed a hem and a bustle for the train. I knew that I couldn't trust my dress to just any seamstress. I found Jean and had a consultation with her in which she was very patient and explained to me the VERY EXTENSIVE work that would have to be done. The pricing was reasonable in relation to the work that was done, and she did an EXCELLENT job. The gown couldn't fit me any better. She took the entire gown apart, and worked on it piece by piece until it fit my body perfectly. In addition to her talent, she was very pleasant to work with. She made conversation, and she was always more than kind during our fittings. I would recommend her to anyone that needs any kind of work. Pros: Very experienced, talented, and personable more

I had Jean do 2 bridesmade dresses - it cost $368.00 to have them hemmed and one taken in slightly. It took forever and she was late on the due date - had many excuses. Cons: Expensive, takes a long time, not quality work more

If you want a good laugh read the comments by bridezilla and groomzilla. Chrizanne Designs Pros: Expert alterations since 1982. Cons: None - more

BUYER BEWARE!! Do not use this seamstress. She is completley unorganized, insane, & untalented. This woman had my wedding dress for several months and now 2 months before my wedding decided she could not handle my alterations. Which are pretty big alterations. I should have realized from the begining that she was not a great choice because the APARTMENT where she meets with customers is a mess. You have to manuver yourself around other peoples orders, furnature arbitrarily placed around a room, stacks of magazines, etc in order to try on your item for her to look at, place pins in, and never do anything to in the long run. She ruined my wedding with this DRAMA. She pushed my fiance out of her apartment when she forced us (during work hours) to pick up my wedding dress (forcing me to take a half day off of work to figure this mess out). She now sends me INSANE emails accusing my fiance of threatening her. All he asked was if everything was in the garment bag she threw outside her door (literally she threw it on the floor). DO NOT go to this seamstress, she is possibly senile, needs to go to a rest home and not put peoples weddings in her hands. Pros: NOTHING Cons: EVERYTHING more

This woman had my dress for 6 months.....2 months before my wedding decided she couldn't handle my alterations. Up until TODAY 7/29/09 she acted completley fine about my alterations, today she acted like she couldn't handle it, hung up the phone on me 3 times when I was completley kind to her, pushed my fiance out the door when he went to pick up my dress...the proper authorities are being notified as WELL as the borough of west chester. I am 99% sure they are unaware she is running a business out of her apartment. Cons: CRAZY SEAMSTRESS more

I walked into this ""store"" and turned around as quuick as I came in. Is this place a joke? Pros: nada Cons: dirty more

In Feb. my fianc? dropped 2 dresses, a slip, fabric and lace off to Jean. Our wedding is in Sept. Twice Jean called my fianc? and told her that the dresses (one for the wedding and one for the rehearsal) were completed. Both times they were not, this was because Jean got us confused with someone else...! Last weekend Jean called my fianc? and asked if she could come in, Jean explained to her that she had forgotten what she wanted done with the dress and needed to know. My fianc? was a little worried with this but still everything went well enough. However, today (7/29/09) she called my fianc? and told her she must come pick up the dress immediately and hung up on my fianc?. I called back and told her my name and asked what was wrong and she told me she couldn?t talk because she was busy working on dresses and hung up. I left work in King of Prussia, PA and drove all the way to West Chester, PA to pick up the dress. When I walked in she had a giant smile on her face, until I told her I was there to pick up the dress. She said it?s outside the door. I asked if she could give an explanation as to why she had not done anything with the dress during the 6 months it was in her possession and she immediately started to scream ""GET OUT!"" I was amazed at how crazy she sounded as she screamed at me. I have never been treated this way before in any store or business (then again, her store is an old cluttered apartment). I calmly asked if everything was in the bag and she started to push me towards the door. I asked her if she could refrain from pushing me and then she jabbed me in the ribs with her elbow. Although I could easily overpower her if I wanted to (because she is a little old lady) I walked towards the front door. At the front door I placed my foot in between the door as she tried to shut it. I asked again calmly if the slip, 2 dresses, material and lace were in the bag. She did not answer but started to scream ""Help, John...John...Get out! Get out!"" A boy came to the door but did not do anything (probably because he could see that I had done nothing wrong). I will be pursuing every possible avenue that I can to try to get her shut down. No one else ever needs to go through this type of treatment. You may assume that I have left pieces of this story out, but I assure you that I have not. Do not take the chance, I wish we had seen some of these reviews before we trusted this wicked old woman with what will surely still (regardless of this situation) be the best day of our lives. Cons: Angry, Rude and quite possibly insane or senile more

I made an appointment for a consult for my wedding gown alteration. The room where she met me was very disorganized with boxes filled with old magazines and books everywhere. Pros: ? Cons: rude more

Jean Swisher is an excellent, very experienced seamstress who works on designs like an engineer or architect. She worked on my complex wedding dress alterations, carefully deconstructing it bit-by-bit and putting it back together in painful detail. She is an artist and just a great lady! You won't be disappointed in her work, she did a great job at a reasonable price. Note: She has moved to Miner Street, call for directions. Pros: Highly experienced seamstress who takes the time to do everything right. more