I recently had some alterations done here. Hemming, taking in pants, repairing clothes. Everything was done beautifully and professionally. Even a t-shirt I had shortened was sewn with a double seam like a new one. I have had excellent dressy clothes alterations done in the past as well. Also, Carolyn is a kind, sweet woman to work with. Highly recommended! read more

Through the years, I've I've had an excellent outcome at Designer's Tailoring for every kind of tailoring problem--from the remaking of a man's suit to hemming of women's pants to making designer pillow cases. Designer's Tailoring is the best! read more

Terrible customer experience. Similar to other reviews, the tailor was hemming my dress (I had been in there for 4 minutes) when she started complaining when I asked her to hem all the way around to get an idea of the length. She said she was too busy and this wasn't worth her time. It's literally her job to pin the dress and then cut and hem it. It was absurd. I've been coming for years and have never been treated so poorly. Fortunately I found an amazing tailor in Mountain View. Better pricing, better work product. Everything worked out great! read more

They are very sweet. They do amazing work for a reasonable price. I'be been going to them for years. Their location is a little out of my way, so I tried other places that were more convenient, but the others' work was either shotty or too expensive. I'm 4'10" so I need a lot of alterations. They are the best by far!!! read more

Love is not a strong enough word to describe how much I love, love, love Carolyn! She is both an angel and a miracle worker at fixing anything! She's helped remove the sleeves from my bike jerseys so I'm not so hot when I ride, she's taken in the sides of multiple dresses that were too big, and I can't even count the number of dress straps that she's shortened that were too long. She's disguised as the gentlest, most soft-spoken woman who is incredibly kind and helpful but she's truly a super hero who rescues people from ill-fitting clothes! I cannot recommend her more highly!! She is the absolute best!! read more

Carolyn did an incredible job tailoring my dress. I dropped off my dress in the morning and was able to pick it up the same day. Highly recommended this gem! read more

I called two days before a wedding with my bridesmaid dress in need of a hem. Carolyn said that if I came in that morning she could get it done. She also reminded me to bring my shoes. When I came, I changed and put on my shoes and Carolyn pinned the two layers of my dress to match my height. She said $60 and said cash or check only. I left the house at 9:40 am that morning and was home by 10 am! I picked up the dress and paid the very next day! AMAZING!! Carolyn and her store have been in town for YEARS! And she does excellent work, she was recommended to me by a friend. And I highly recommend her, too! Support this local business! read more

This owner is wonderful. The work is superb and prices are reasonable. I've been going for more years than I can remember.

I had a wedding to get to and needed some clothes tailored a bit for a better look. In addition, I wanted some other clothes a bit more fitted for work. Overall, I asked for two shirts and four pairs of pants tailored. Carolyn was super nice and really good about being transparent with what she would do with the clothes and explaining how some items can't be as tailored as others because of fabric, style, etc.; very informative! Prices were very reasonable for items of clothing that are investments for me. Turnover took less than a week and there were no problems at all with drop off and pick up. It's a relatively small shop so if there's lots of people, you can expect a bit of a wait. But every time I went, I never had to wait more than 10 minutes. No doubt recommend Designer's Tailoring and would use their services again in the future! read more

I needed some trousers hemmed in a hurry and she was able to do it. Very professional and quick. I don't know anything about her ability with wedding dresses, but it looked like she knew what she was doing! read more

So I'll have to out myself as having clothes customized in order to write this but WTH. My favorite T-shirt from Japan (advertising the Hanshin Tigers baseball team) became my favorite shirt that didn't fit after I washed it. And my WWDC 2010 zip jacket wasn't getting much use after the conference. So I decided to try a mash up of the two - putting the logos from the shirt on the jacket. No way was I gonna attempt this myself so I check Yelp for a tailor and boom there is a 4.5 star tailor reviewed by one of my friends already. I take it in, the lady is like "no problem," they turn it around in a couple days, and $30 later I've saved my favorite non fitting T shirt from the donation pile and created the most unique piece of clothing I own. When I decided it might be time to retire my tourist kitsch Soviet T-shirt from Prague, I ran the same drill and this time it was even better. They cut out the embroidered lettering and logo from the T-shirt and sewed it onto an American Apparel zip jacket for $25 and the result looks like I had to kill a Russian gymnast from the 80s to get it. Nice work Designer's Tailoring! Cash or check only, btw. read more

I hate it when people say prices are "reasonable" and then fail to list them in their review. So here we go with the full disclosure. The shop doesn't offer any student discounts or new customer discounts, fyi. Fixing the hem of my work pants (with lining): $14 Taking in the waist for a casual cotton dress: $15 She told me to come back in two business days to pick both items up. So I'm not sure about the instantaneous speed that others have mentioned here. While the prices are nowhere near outrageous, i wouldn't call this "incredibly cheap" either given the simplicity of the work. The pants came back in great condition at the exact length I specified. No problems here. The dress also came back in good condition.. it didn't quite fit the way I wanted it to, but I'll leave things as they are. Not sure I can get it fixed again because when they took in the waist, they got rid of the excess material. The ladies were very nice and honest. If they can't fix something, they'll tell you up front. They make you try on your clothing and wear it in front of them so they can see how something fits on you, which is definitely a good thing! Also, as luck would have it, one of the straps of the dress I was wearing on my drive over completely snapped off. They kindly fixed my dress strap for free (a very easy and quick sew) while I was going through the items that needed alterations. Good service. I'd come back. read more

Entering Designer's Tailoring feels like a little a time warp back to the 1950s... or at least back to my ill-informed picture of an old-school, hole-in-the-wall tailor. The owner is there every day and handles everything personally. Cash only. The inventory system means piles of clothes with a few hand-written notes to designate who owns what. If another customer is there before you, you are just going to stand and wait until s/he is done. If the owner wants to go out for lunch or run and errand, the store will be closed. And for all that -- maybe because of all that -- I find myself loving it. I've had probably 10 pairs of pants hemmed and 4 sport coats altered, plus a few other items repaired here over the last couple years. In general I've been happy with the work and keep coming back. I would say that the pant hemming has been 5 stars and the sport coat fittings have been more like 3.5... I've gotten more perfect jacket fits elsewhere, but keep returning here because I like these folks and the work is predictably solid. read more

I am surprised by all of the positive reviews from several months ago and am wondering if management has changed because I had a terrible experience today. I called ahead and then brought in my backless bridesmaids dress that only needs bra cups sewn in. When I arrived the woman told me she does not actually carry bra cups and told me I could go to Joann Fabrics 20 minutes away to get them. I've had many dresses altered with bra cups before and never had to do this. She did not advise me on what kind to get even when I asked if she could give me specific instructions. Timing is an issue as the wedding is in 2 weeks so I drove the 20 minutes to Joann Fabrics and purchased bra cups. The people there were very nice and tried to help me but there were like 15 options and it was hard to know what to buy. When I returned back to Designer's Tailoring, the woman told me she did not know if the cups I bought would work. She had me put my dress on and then told me to hold the cups where I want them and she would just start tacking them on. Again, I've NEVER had to do this with other dresses, as other people have always told me where they think the cups would look best and attach without issue. Then, she started tacking the cups through the outside of the lace dress and I had to stop her, as it was clear she did not care that the cups were asymmetrical and I was having a hard time holding them in the right spot while she tacked. She did not even apologize and just walked to the back of the store when I said I was concerned that it wasn't working - so I left. Very bizarre and frustrating experience, to say the least. read more

This review is for 2014-2019 - I've since moved out of the area. I took numerous garments to this place, and every single one of them was tailored so impeccably, you'd never know it was touched. I had everything from a simple jeans hem to a bridesmaid dress that needed -tons- of work. If something couldn't be done or would be difficult, she was very clear with me to set expectations. I was thrilled with everything she did. Try to give her as much time as possible - she'd always ask when I needed a piece back would smile and sigh in relief when I said, "next week is fine." She's a total pro. I would trust her to fix anything. read more

I really trust the women at designer's tailoring. I started a new job last year and I quickly realized that I needed to look more polished, so I had my clothes tailored. Since then I've brought in at least 10 shirts, 4 pairs of pants, 3 skirts and a dress. Some of the work they did was incredible. They've shortened, lengthened and even tapered my pants. The dress I brought in had almost completely fallen apart (it had delicate detailing) and it's even better now than it was when I bought it. I really trust them, they'll give me recommendations that are spot on. It's so nice to bring my clothes to someone I trust! Update: I've been taking my clothes here for 4 years and they're still the best!! read more

Quick, affordable, and kind! I came here despite some negative reviews and they were really helpful with my needs. Would recommend for quick fixes / tailoring-- they sewed up some difficult holes in clothing items I cherished. I'd come back again! read more

I lived in Palo Alto for 5 years and would bring my dress shirts and pants for tapering because of how convenient and close Designer's Tailoring was to my apartment. I have since moved to Daly City and I go out of my way to travel 20+ miles because of Caroline's fantastic work and her hospitality. She is the sweetest person ever, and I am saddened that I haven't been able to visit because of COVID-19. I look forward to the day I can bring my clothes in for more of her outstanding tailoring. read more

I brought simple alterations here many times. They always did an amazing job and charged ridiculously low prices. Then I made a tear in a designer coat. It was very tricky to mend, but the choice was basically throw it away or at least attempt to fix. So, I brought it to Designer's Tailoring - and they fixed it so the damage was completely invisible. I wore the coat for years after that. Thank you, thank you for your amazing work. read more

The reviews are accurate! What a gem! I needed an alternation done with a quick turnaround. I went to 4 different places and was turned down. Not only did she get it done, her prices were the best. I will be coming back. Great find! read more

Great service for both men's shirts and suits. No appointment needed, walk-ins are what most people do here. First time: I had 4 shirts tailored. Sleeves shortened and brought in the waist. They are fast and helpful! Ask for their opinion as they are the experts in this stuff! I almost got my sleeve too short if it weren't for listening to their advise. Second time: I tailored a business suit, shortened the sleeves of the jacket, and hemmed the pants. Also very easy! I would definitely recommend this place for suits as finding a good tailor for that can be challenging. Also fast turnaround time. Oh this place is cash or check only! read more

This was the worst tailoring experience I've had. The tailoring work itself was bad and the customer service was also not great. Unprofessional attitude: when I showed the tailor what I wanted done to my pair of pants (the waistline taken in) she initially refused to pay attention to a sample I'd had tailored in the same manner previously. When I finally got her to agree to examine it she was wishy-washy about what I'd shown her. In addition she tried to help the next customer in line while she was talking to me. When I went to pick up my pants she expected me to pay before trying them on. Unable to follow instructions: I asked her to take in the waistline of my jeans in a specific manner (hiding the seam behind the rear belt loop in a manner I'd had tailored previously at another tailor). I brought in a sample showing the exact alteration I wanted on another of the same exact pants. When I received my jeans back however the alteration was not done like this. Not a professional job: she took the waistline in by basically gathering and roughly sewing bundles of fabric from the back of the pants roughshod resulting in really ugly seams along backside of the pants. In effect these pants are unwearable now because of how sloppy and visible the alterations are. I've had many pants taken in and this job was by far the worst. read more

Carolyn did a beautiful job hemming my bridesmaid dress. The price was less than at other places nearby and the turnaround time was very fast! read more

This is our family place to go to get our dresses and pants tailored. They are always very friendly and timely. Most of all, their work is great!! While I was getting my dress fitted, they quickly helped some other walk in customers. Highly recommended for you and your family!! read more

I brought in a pair of jeans, and Carolyn did a great job keeping the original hem. Her prices are very fair for the quality of work, and I will definitely come back in the future if I need anything else done. read more

As a long time supporter of this business, it hurts me to write this review. I have been to Designer Tailoring for over 5 years, and have gotten everything from simple hems to more time consuming alterations done. tldr: do not go here unless you want terrible customer service and unreasonable prices. Savannah Tailoring and Jacquie's Sew and Sew are both better options. I went in yesterday in order to get a skirt hemmed. First the owner of the shop began to complain to me about how much work she had and how people wanted too many alterations. I understand being overwhelmed, but c'mon! I asked her to hem the skirt an inch and requested that it be done by the end of the week. She started complaining how this isn't worth her time because its too big of a job and rudely demanded I pay at least $120 for the work. In a fit of desperation I agreed because I needed the skirt altered. As she rang me up, she continued to complain about how much work she had and how it was unreasonable for me to ask her to hem this skirt EVEN AFTER I AGREED TO PAY $120!!! Finally, she took another look at the skirt and threw it back at me saying "this isnt worth my time". In the end, I wasted over an hour of my time and got no alteration!!!! She is only interested in the fast pant hem jobs that make her money quickly and will be rude to you if you ask for anything else. Will never go here again! read more

Owner is very moody. My family took a hiatus in using her services because she carries an unpredictable attitude and can be quite rude at times, but during the pandemic we started to try her again in an effort to support as many small shops as possible. She was pleasant enough and had little work, so items were tailored quickly. She is busier now and is back to throwing around her attitude. Due to her higher pricing, attitude and fair quality, we will go elsewhere. There are other shops in the area with the same if not better quality, lower pricing and no attitude. Time to move on. read more

So I took in my 4 dress shirts to be tailored and fitted. I don't understand why everyone is giving this place such rave reviews. As far as I've seen, its just another old Asian lady sewing shop. I wouldn't call this a tailor. I've seen real tailors. This place is just a normal hole in wall place to get alterations. Had some old Asian lady, who barely spoke English do my fittings. From the reviews, I was expecting something else. Today is monday, won't be ready until Thursday. Wtf is up with people getting same day or two day turn around. EDIT: Wow, simply unbelievable. One of the owners had the audacity to call me, and discuss why I gave it two stars. An hour later, she called back and said they don't feel comfortable altering my shirts. That's right, I was denied service! So, I had to spend two hours of my time, not mention gas, to go pick them up, drive somewhere else, have them pinned up again, and drive back home. This is not how you run a business. When I called her out and said you're denying me service because of a review, she had the audacity to tell me they have the right to refuse service to anyone. I personally believe all these 5 star rates are BS. She said her, and her "staff". Sounds like a big business/firm owns this place, and probably many other places. I'm willing to be a good amount of the reviews here aren't authentic. Upon further investigation, the phone number of whoever called me came from OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, an automotive technology company based out of Sunnyvale. So as I stated, this is ran by some big corporation, who didn't enjoy my review. Further proof that some of these reviews may not be authentic. This is the kind of story the Palo Alto Weekly and SF Chronicle would love to hear about. Headline, "Five Year Marine Corps Veteran denied service after leaving Yelp Review" Never, ever thought a business would deny someone service because of a Yelp review. read more

I have been getting my alterations done here for years now, and I cannot believe that some people would leave a negative review based on some clearly racist inclinations. The reason why this place is so good is that her skill is so much more refined than that of your average "Asian lady sewing hole in the wall". She has altered pieces For me that are designer apparel, for fairly complex alterations, and she has done a stellar job every time and the result is seamless. The clothes afterwards just look like they were made for me. Simple as that. This lady knows her tailoring. If you buy clothes at JC Penney and just need the sleeves or the legs shortened...then you will not be able to really appreciate the skill this lady possesses. But if you have something more valuable and well made, or need some serious alterations, this is the place to go. read more

I will ever step in this place ever again. I used to be a very loyal costumer. Today she basically told me that she doesn't need my business because she has enough costumers. I drove about 20 minutes to get there and fix a few items. I mentioned to her that in one of her previous fixing that she did (changing the rubber of one of my dresses) the dress got back to me good but it was still a bit loose.. So I asked her this time to make sure that the rubber is tight enough. She told me that she knows what she is doing and that she doesn't feel comfortable doing it. She sounded mad for some reason. Like if I insulted her.. I have no idea why. I told her that I just gave her a feedback and that the fact that I'm there all the way from Redwood City speaks by itself. Then she told me that she has enough business and that she doesn't need me :-( I left there very disappointed. read more

I'm pretty skeptical of all of the really positive reviews for Designer's Tailoring. Something seems really sketchy about these Yelp reviews, considering our experience. We brought my husband's pants in to be taken in around the waist and hips. They were in perfect condition prior to us bringing them in, and also when he tried them on in the store to show them what he wanted done. She spent about 10 secs chalking up the alterations and then said it would be $25. I was a little concerned that she didn't spend more time on it checking the measurements but we were overall OK with it and left. When we went to pick up the pants, my husband tried them on again and there was a hole right near the zipper area. Looking closer it basically looked like they accidentally snipped it while they were doing the alterations. It was a small hole but definitely noticeable, and I would've seen it if it had been there before we left the pants with them. They didn't mention anything and when we asked about it, they claimed that it happens with clothing wearing out (he'd worn the pants maybe 7 times before that) and that they could weave it for us, but it'd be another $15. That just felt like throwing bad money in after bad money to start so we quickly just got out of there. We probably should've made a stink about it but they clearly weren't going to take any responsibility for it. Thank goodness we were just using the pants as a test run for getting a suit tailored. Needless to say we're still on our search for a good, reputable men's tailor in the area. Suggestions are much appreciated. read more

I've been a big fan of Ann at Ann Sew Perfect in Sunnyvale for the last year or so, but my fiance moved out of Sunnyvale to live with me in Palo Alto, so the location just isn't convenient anymore. I had used Designer's Tailoring once a couple years ago and was pleased with the results, so I gave Carolyn and crew another go. I brought in a sixties dress that was gorgeous, but in pretty bad shape. A chiffon cummerbund at the waist was dingy and holey, it had been sloppily let out at the paint-chipped metal zipper, and the hem was coming undone. I had picked up some replacement fabric for the cummerbund in advance. Carolyn triple-checked with me that I understood the color and texture of the new fabric was a bit different from the old, and once she could tell I was totally fine with that, she accepted the tailoring challenge. A week later, I came back to the PERFECT dress. She took it in a little when she replaced the zipper (with a lovely invisible color-matched one) so it fit perfectly, the hem was taken up to the exact right spot, and the cummerbund looked adorable. It set me back $70, but it was worth every penny. It's taken the dress from a regretted buy to possibly my favorite thing in my closet. I also brought in some sailor shorts that needed taking in at the waist, and she did a speedy, awesome job on those. That job was $10, and was basically moving around the 8 buttons on the sorts to make them fit correctly. I dropped off another pair of shorts this weekend, and I can't wait to pick them up and rock 'em while I'm on vacation. These ones will be $15 since she has to actually take in the waist, move the belt loop, etc. I brought in my J Brand jeans to have the waist taken in (noticing a trend here?), and she did a great job with those, too (also $15). If you care about that sort of thing, do note that she took out the J Brand label when she altered them. I bet if you ask her to save it for you, she would. Her hours are great; she stays open until 7, meaning I can actually pick stuff up after work. Bring your checkbook or cash! UPDATE: I've brought in lots more things, and I've never been disappointed yet. She's so sweet, and it always makes me happy to stop by. Someone here was casting aspersions about the ownership of this place. I'm pretty sure that's just the workplace of one of her family members. She mentioned my Yelp review to me in the context of her husband having told her about it, so I'm pretty sure that's all there is to that ever-so-mysterious phone number. read more

Only good with very basic and simple alterations. Anything that requires thought or time she won't even consider. Get your pants hemmed here, but don't go in if you need an item taken in or anything more than hemming. read more

This woman is amazing! Not only because she's a cute, small, asian woman that reminds me of my own mom, but because she's truly running an honest business and provides a great service. I trust her with all of my alterations, some of which she may even turn down if she thinks it's too expensive for me to alter and won't turn out looking the way I imagine it would. Turn around time is excellent, will never get anything tailored anywhere else! read more

I needed to get a t-shirt custom fit for my robot (yes, robot) and they didn't hesitate to help! Not only that but the nice woman tailored it while I waited and only charged me $15 for the highly unusual and rush job. Very professional, very nice, possibly the first robot tailor on the planet. Note: Don't forget to bring cash! read more

The women here are just miracle workers. I must have used them 20 times in the last three years for repairs, alterations and tailoring. They are just fabulous. Nothing is too big, too small or too complicated. I'm very particular about the sleeve length on my sportscoats and suit jackets, and they always, *always* get it right. I'd trust these folks with my most precious and important stuff. The only thing they've ever turned away is my very favorite J Crew wool and cashmere crewneck sweater. Both elbows popped out after years of wear and tear. Now of course it's impossible to repair that. But I took it in anyway, just because. She looked at me like I was crazy. I told her I completely trusted her to make it right, but she wouldn't have it. Silly me. Believe me--- if she'd taken it, it would have looked like new when I picked it up. Everything else has. Prices are totally reasonable. Cash or check only. read more

I have been to Designer's Tailoring three times now and each time I have been very pleased with the quality of work. In total I have had 2 dresses taken in, 1 skirt taken in, 2 skirts hemmed, 2 pairs of jeans with rips patched, 1 men's dress shirt taken in and 1 jacket pocket that was ripped resewn. For the most part the prices at Designer's Tailoring are very reasonable. For the dresses, skirt and men's dress shirt I wanted downsized they each needed to be completely taken apart and resewn. Each of these items only cost $20-$25 which I think is very reasonable for the amount of work that takes. For the jeans with holes that needed to be patched it only cost $5! For these patching jobs I was very impressed because you could not tell where exactly the rip was before. The quality of work was so phenomena--you cannot tell the jeans were ripped :-) I was not impressed with the prices for simply hemming two of my skirts however. It cost $15 each for these skirts and I thought that was a bit excessive since the hem was just a basic straight line. In the end the fact that Designer's Tailoring does excellent work on items that require extensive tailoring will keep me coming back. Also FYI--Cash only so be prepared. read more

From a guy's perspective, this place is fantastic. I've had some clothes hemmed, which anyone can do. But where I've been really impressed is taking in shirts. My chest measures 47" while my waist is 34". This ratio means that even slim-fitted shirts can sometimes hang off of me like a poncho. I've taken several shirts here, and they've done a great job every time. Overall, this shop charges competitive prices, has impressively fast turnaround times, and has consistently done exactly what I have asked them to. That's all I could ask for! One last thing worth mentioning: cash only! read more

Wonderful. Great work, cheap prices, quick turn around. This really is as good as it gets. I'm too particular about how I tailor my clothes - so I often take measurements at home, and let them know what changes I want. The lady who helps at the front desk listens to everything and does it all perfectly. Only downside - make sure you have cash! read more

I brought in about 80% of my shirts including a couple of sweaters. It wasn't like I was asking for much to be done on them really, just brought in at the waist but they did such a great job! My shirts feel brand new. I brought 3 Brooks Brothers dress shirts that were way too big on me. When I came to pick them up, the folks here got me to try them on. The shirts were still a bit too big for my liking, but they made them to my liking on the spot! Not something they could probably do all the time, but still, it was really really appreciated. I love wearing those shirts now. It inspired me to buy second hand clothes and just bring them in to get them tailored! :) Thanks! read more