I was in a pickle, not knowing where I could take my wedding dress on relatively short notice. I contacted Sally, and she came to meet me right away, assuaging my concerns and short timeline. When I had trouble arriving at her North Liberty shop, she literally ran out, barefooted, to help me navigate. She knows what she's doing. If communication is an issue, just make sure to contact her along the way. But if you're worried about the quality of her work, DO NOT. read more

I scheduled an appointment online for a bridal fitting. She texted me a few days beforehand to confirm, and when I went to my appointment, she was incredibly kind. I felt really good leaving and was told my alterations would take 2-3 weeks. Four weeks went by and I hadn't heard anything, so I reached out. I didn't receive a response, so I followed up the next day. She responded quickly and we scheduled a time for me to come in the following Saturday at 10 AM. Unfortunately, the lack of communication already had me concerned, especially after I looked at some of the other reviews. Then Saturday morning came, and at 7 AM I received a text asking to reschedule due to a family emergency. Because of my wedding timeline and the concerns I had already seen in other reviews, I declined and told her I would still be there at 10. My sister and I arrived at 10 AM and could not get ahold of her through her business phone or text. After I mentioned involving North Liberty Police, she eventually responded and we agreed to meet at 2 PM. 2 PM came, and once again, I could not get ahold of her. I contacted North Liberty Police, and an officer came to the business. He told me that they had actually been there the night before and that there were four other women waiting for their belongings. He also told me that one of the women was getting married that day and had not received her dress. Unfortunately, I was told there was nothing police could do because it was a civil matter, and I was essentially left to wait around and hope she came to the business. A few hours later, my fiancé's brother and his girlfriend came with me. They went inside pretending to be interested in her services, and she let them into the building. I was then able to come inside, tell her who I was, and ask for my dress. She asked me twice to "please just let me finish it," but at that point I declined. I had spent the entire day crying and stressing over something that should have been incredibly simple: getting my wedding dress altered and getting it back. I got my dress back--and after having it for FIVE WEEKS, absolutely nothing had been done to it. She also smelled strongly of alcohol when I retrieved my dress. I am not interested in judging or shaming anyone struggling with addiction, and I genuinely hope she gets the help and support she needs. She was very kind to me during my initial appointment, and based on other reviews, it sounds like she is capable of doing beautiful work when she is able to operate reliably. Unfortunately, that was not my experience. My wedding is in three weeks, and I am now scrambling to find someone who can alter my dress on extremely short notice. I am incredibly fortunate that my fiancé's brother and his girlfriend were willing to help me get my dress back. Without them, I genuinely don't know when or how I would have gotten it. I understand that emergencies and personal struggles happen. What I cannot understand is continuing to accept customers and their wedding dresses when you are not currently able to reliably complete the work or communicate with them. It should not take an entire mission plan to get your own wedding dress back. I truly hope she gets the help she needs, but until she is able to consistently communicate with customers and complete the work she accepts, I would strongly encourage other brides to think twice before trusting her with their wedding dress. read more

I did not have a good experience at Clothworks in North Liberty. I did not feel comfortable leaving my wedding dress with Sally as it was a very disturbing and unprofessional experience. I would not recommend her business to anyone. read more

Tl;dr: If you can afford the steep prices/you need really complicated alterations/you're working with a quick turnaround, this might be your best option. The establishment is kind of run down. I was a little surprised given the commentary on Sally's excellent work. I put on my dress in a messy bathroom, and she pinned it in the bathroom as well. Then again, even if it's a little dingy, a big part of the mess is the overabundance of clothing waiting to be altered or to be picked up, which speaks volumes about her abilities. People clearly like and trust her. As she was pinning it, she commented on how it was "so easy" (I just needed my dress hemmed about two inches), so I was a bit surprised by the $50 she quoted me. The dress itself only cost twice that! But I know that the mesh top layer can be difficult to hem, and I didn't really have any other options, so I went ahead and bit the bullet. I'm pleased to say that the quality exceeded expectations. It seriously looked like it came straight from the factory. Not to mention, her turnaround time was a matter of days, which I truly can't even fathom given the number of items in the store. I ended up paying $47 with tax, so I don't know if she knocked it down $5 when she saw my aghast face or what, but hey, I'll take what I can get. As for Sally herself, when I brought the dress into the store, she seemed kind of standoffish, but she was much nicer when I returned to pick it up. Do note that you'll want to make an appointment, you'll need to call her. It seems she typically works 10am-3pm. So, in short, I hesitate to give 5 stars because it still was a much higher price than I was hoping to pay, and because the establishment itself can be a bit off-putting. That being said, her work definitely speaks for itself. read more

Sally did a great job getting a bridesmaid dress altered for me, within a quick time frame, and very competitively priced. Her store is super cute, and she was very pleasant to work with. I will be recommending her to anyone who needs alterations. read more

I would not trust my garments with anyone else! Quality work every time! Our family has had wedding dresses, bridesmaid dresses and formals all altered and they have been perfect!! read more

I was not going to write a review, but once I saw the most recent one, I decided it would probably be best if I did. I took in a bridesmaids dress 3 months before the wedding, and asked if it could be hemmed and have the bust taken in. After taking a long time to hear back, a week before the wedding, all that was done was hemming and the cups taken out, nothing to make the bust smaller. I was thankfully able to get Sally to take the straps in so the dress was good enough to not show too much at the wedding, but it could have been much better. The dress returned to me was wrinkled, snagged, and not as good as it was when it was brought in. Not only did I have to return twice to get my dress, but when I returned in the late afternoon, I found her asleep on the couch, watching tv, and the store smelled like booze. It appears based on the bathroom and all that she lives in her store. When I woke her, over an hour after I was set to arrive, she ushered me out of the room she was sleeping in to throw a blanket over something in the corner. For what this job is and requires, and the precision I would never bring anything here again. I have a lot of empathy for her, but hope that things improve for her, because she seems to care about her job, but my entire experience was so unprofessional and disturbing. read more

I've been holding back writing this review because I have sincere empathy for anyone struggling with addiction and substance abuse. However, I think it would be irresponsible for me to keep this to myself for any longer when your actions so negatively impact your customers. You said months ago you would get help. It's clear that you haven't. Sally, the job that you agree to do for so many brides and bridesmaids is such an underrated one. I didn't realize how important it was until you stopped answering my calls the week of my wedding. You came highly recommended by multiple family members and friends. I dropped off my wedding dress 3 months in advance for a hem and bustle. I heard nothing from you the entire time. I called, texted with no response. Finally, two days before leaving for my destination wedding, I stopped into your shop to see what was going on. I walked into an empty shop and heard loud snoring coming from the back of the building. I jingled the door twice and yelled hello before you stumbled into the front of your shop. My dress wasn't finished yet, but you promised me it would be done the next day. I told you I would be by to pick it up at noon the following day. I had a horrible feeling about it. This was less than 24 hours before driving to Colorado for my wedding. The following day at noon I walked into your empty shop again. To my relief I saw my dress hanging from a chain in the middle of your shop. I once again heard snoring coming from the back of your shop and had to scream hello before you stumbled from the back. You fell into a side table and broke two vases. I picked your limp body off up the floor and offered to call you an ambulance which you declined. I then held you up by your waist while you spent the next 5 minutes trying to get my dress off the hanger. I trembled the entire time because I was so taken aback by how messed up you were. I got out of that shop as fast as possible and when I got the dress back home later that night and it hadn't been bustled. HOWEVER it had been hemmed.... with BLACK thread. The following morning, I called every tailor in Denver to help me with last minute alterations for the dress. I was lucky enough to find someone who came in on his day off to bustle the dress. During that process we discovered that the hem was completely crooked, however he was able to cut enough off the bottom and re-hem the dress straight and with white thread. The tailor told me he had never seen a wedding dress hemmed with black thread in his entire career. If you're a potential customer reading this review, PLEASE LEARN FROM OUR MISTAKES. TAKE YOUR DRESSES/CLOTHING ELSEWHERE. read more

Such a great job on both of my wedding dresses!! Reasonably priced. I enjoy that communication by text is an option as it's so much better than a phone call! read more

I went to Clothworks to have a dress shortened and couldn't be happier with the results. The alteration was executed to perfection and my dress fits great. When I went in for an initial consult to discuss what I needed, the process was efficient, the work was completed on time, and it was relatively affordable considering the tight timeframe. About $20 to hem a very basic cotton maxi dress. read more

Sally does the best job! She was able to alter a very challenging wedding dress. She makes time for you and you are able to put trust into her! I will be seeing her for any other dress alterations I may need in the future. She is wonderful! read more

A little pricey ($45 to hem a bridesmaid dress) but I was so pleased by how quickly they were able to finish my dress. Took it in in on a Saturday and needed to pick it up Wednesday, and they didn't even bat an eye. Much appreciated, especially when it seems they stay quite busy! read more

Sally is smart and helpful, and did a great job with very short notice. Thank you!

This is the best alterations shop in terms of quality without a doubt. I procrastinated and needed a dress hemmed and taken in and they did it for me within 48 hours. Did a great job too, couldn't even tell I had the dress altered. A little pricey, but they did it very quickly so I can get on board with it- the only reason I didn't give 5 stars. Will definitely take any future alterations I need done here - best is Iowa City/Coralville area by far. Make sure to make an appointment though! read more

I needed to get a bridesmaid dress altered for a wedding and Clothworks took care of the alterations for far less than I expected, quickly, and with excellent results. read more

I love Sally!!!!! She previously did alternations for my friend for her wedding dress and my bridesmaid dress. Most recently she did an phenomenal job altering my wedding dress. She was both professional and easy to communicate with while using good humor. I'm so happy with how everything turned out and HIGHLY recommend Sally. We even ran into a surprise when I tried on the dress for the final time and she quickly calmed me then stepped into action to make sure everything was perfect. I know with Sally's help my wedding dress and day will be perfect. Thank to her for everything and will tell everyone to go to her. read more

Slightly overpriced, but easy to work with for repeat alterations. One of the better seamstresses in Iowa City.

I worked with Sally to design my wedding dress this past summer. The dress fit me perfectly and was both flattering and comfortable. I felt like I was really LISTENED to throughout the whole process, and that Sally was able to transform my sometimes feebly expressed aesthetics into what ended up being a dress that I loved. The price was fair, the process was painless (especially for someone who isn't crazy about shopping/trying on clothes), and I received so many nice compliments about the results. Thank you! read more

Sally is amazing. She altered my wedding dress for less than half of what the bridal store's alterations person wanted to charge. Plus, she was willing to make some alterations they refused to do, such as shortening the train and letting out side seams a quarter inch. Sally also altered all of my attendants' dresses. We all loved how our dresses fit and how beautiful we looked. And our wallets loved how reasonable her prices are. And she is so easy to talk to and understands what you are trying to tell her you want, even when you do not know the proper dressmaking term. read more

I've gone to Sally for a few things but most recently and importantly, my wedding dress. I bought an off the rack sample, size 12. I am 110lbs and she did a marvelous job bringing the dress in to fit me just right, while preserving the original architecture. Couldn't have asked for a better experience or result! read more