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    Donna's Tailor Shop

    4.7 (136 reviews)
    Closed 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

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    Response time

    2 hours

    Response rate

    65%

    Services - Donna's Tailor Shop

    Clothing alterations

    Clothing mending and repair

    Clothing reproduction

    1 More Service

    Custom tailoring

    Donna's Tailor Shop Photos

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    Recommended Reviews - Donna's Tailor Shop

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    Hanh N.

    Donnas tailor was highly recommended to me from a friend of a friend - word of mouth is strong ! I do not live in the Encinitas area so a Yelp search for where I live in the SD city wouldn't have yielded this shop. Anyway I drove 20-30 minutes each time, depending on traffic, to see her to alter my wedding dress and boy -- it. Was. Worth. It!! Only "Con" but it's not really one - she is extremely busy. Each time even with an appointment there is a 10-15 min wait and a line out the door. Good for business but for anyone who isn't used to their tailor being that busy, just be a kind human and super patient. I went a total of 4 times. First time to get fitted/measured, second to try on with the first set of major alterations, and the third time to try with all alterations excluding the bustle, and fourth to pick it up. I think the process dictate that you try it on and pick it up as close to the wedding as possible, for me I picked it up 2 weeks out. You can see my before and after pictures here. She added ribbing or some form of cage to the top part of my dress to give it structure, tucked in the bra area since it had straps before she cut it, and so it's not crazy up top, and then tapered in the sides to give me a shape (I'm as straight as a pencil for body shape) -and then finally hem and bustle pin was added. I would definitely reccomend Donna again and if I were to do it again, would wait all the times since she's worth it. Thank you so much for being a big part of my wedding process and day.

    The material is cut so jagged that I wouldn't be able to hem the item longer in length
    Keva O.

    I brought in a few garments for work that needed to be altered and hemmed. When I picked up the items today I realized the hem was cut too short, which was my mistake. I asked the tailor if I would be able to release some of the material at the end to increase the length. She told me I would, but when I got home and released the seams the ends were cut in an irregular shape (as pictured). I understand that the issue of the hem being too short was my responsibility but I don't appreciate that I was lied to and told that I would be able to release the material to add length when it wouldn't be possible. The garments are now unusable.

    The top of the item on the left was  frayed and torn. (The other is a concealed-carry pouch for size comparison.)
    Jane U.

    After 20 years of hard use, my fanny pack needed repair. The zippers and seams were fine but the cloth had worn out and that section needed to be replaced. Two other tailor shops, with whom is done business, laughed at my request and showed me the door. Very rude. I brought the fanny pack into Donna's. I showed him the problem and the replacement material I'd brought along. He took it into the back and returned saying it would be very expensive and take a week. I was thrilled with the repair. $30 and a week. It'll be good for another 20 years! I'm bringing all my clothes to Donna's from now on. Great people and service.

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    4 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    4 years ago

    Amazing work, and very fast and reliable. I highly recommend Donna's Tailor Shop. My go to place now!

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    8 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    7 years ago

    This is the best place in North County to get anything altered. Everyone is so friendly, the quality is amazing, and they work fast!

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    7 years ago

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    13 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    8 years ago

    Expert and Exceptional tailor. Every piece I brought in was perfectly tailored. I wont ever go anywhere else!

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    10 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    5 years ago

    I always bring my clothes here to get them to fit "personalized" and they always do a great job :)

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    8 years ago

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    13 years ago

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    7 years ago

    She's an amazing, lovely, hardworking woman. I've tried others but she is the best. Always a smile on her face and helps with suggestions!

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    5 years ago

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    8 years ago

    Donna was awesome. She hemmed up a bridesmaid dress that was too long and sewed a hole in a button-up shirt. Fast, affordable and easy!

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    10 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    7 years ago

    Wow. What a find. This tailor shop is amazing and a joy to work with. ...Fair prices, great workmanship and pleasant. Thank you!

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    11 years ago

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    Page 2 of 4

    Ask the Community - Donna's Tailor Shop

    I need my son's and husband's suit pants hemmed. What's the typical price for that?

    Hi , they’re cost $15

    Hi! Phone number isn't working. Are you able to do a quick alteration on a bridesmaid dress? The wedding is Saturday, but I just got my dress and I need it to be more modest.

    Hi Shophia, I can do that for you

    Do I need an appointment to bring my wedding dress in for alterations?

    Yes, I would like to make a appointment for that

    View All 5 Questions

    Review Highlights - Donna's Tailor Shop

    We LOVE Donna, the entire staff, their attentiveness, effort to accommodate, creativity in figuring out clothing solutions.

    Mentioned in 3 reviews

    Read more highlights

    You might also consider

    Kim's Alterations

    Kim's Alterations

    4.7
    (367 reviews)

    I purchased my dress 3 sizes too big and contemplated buying another one (I looked like I was…read moreswimming in a curtain) before deciding to try to make things work. It was scary handing off my wedding dress to get tailored, but I'm glad things were put into the hands of Kim's Alterations. Kim is very experienced and had photos of brides from the last years plastered across the shop walls. She was firm in what was possible and what wasn't and I was able to get the dress to fitting like a glove after two fittings, while maintaining the design's original integrity. Things are done old-school here and I had a bit of a snafu with payment processing, so be sure to keep receipts and get cost estimates written down on paper if possible. Kim's Alterations has been around in Encinitas for years and it was clear that it's her craftswomanship keeping the lights on.

    If I could give this woman 100 stars out of 5 I would. In under a week, she saved my wedding dress…read morefrom a total chop job done at another tailor. I had used a very expensive wedding dress alterations lady my wedding dress shop had recommended who kept delaying when it would be ready, and ultimately was unable to finish my dress until **one week** before my wedding. I had gone in 3 times for fittings and she should have started alterations months ahead of time, so my heart completely sank when I went to pick up my dress and saw what the previous tailor did. Somehow when hemming the dress, she had added a horizontal line 5 inches up from the hem that was completely visible throughout all sides of the dress and ruined the look of it to me. The bustle was also uneven and hung from the right side instead of the center. In addition, the back had been too low for my comfort, so I had asked to bring up the back or cover it up & she had just added a plain white piece of fabric that didn't blend with the dress at all & looked like my Spanx was showing. I was heartbroken that the dress I had loved now felt ugly and botched to me, and that I had spent so much money for bad alterations. I called one of my bridesmaids upset saying I didn't know what to do with only one week until my wedding, and she suggested I try Kim's Alterations, which she had used for her wedding. I called Kim and described my situation and she stayed open late, past her business hours, to have me come that day so she could check it out. She examined my dress and told me she would fix it by my wedding, and she did. I was amazed and relieved when I came back only 5 days later to see she had not only gotten rid of the horizontal hemline, but also redone my bustle properly and transformed the back of my dress by transferring pieces of lace from the bottom of my dress onto the back, making it now look like a seamless and pretty transition instead of an underwear line. She also shortened my straps to make it fit me better as she had noticed they were not good, something I hadn't even mentioned or asked for considering she had so little time. To say she went above and beyond was an understatement. Not to mention she barely charged me anything for this work because she felt bad I spent so much already. I genuinely felt she was a very kind and talented woman to help me with this in such a short amount of time when her shop was clearly very busy, and I highly recommend getting your wedding dress alterarions done here!

    Chiyo's Tailors

    Chiyo's Tailors

    4.7
    (49 reviews)

    I have been using Chiyo's for many years and have never been disappointed. Tchu knows tailoring…read morevery well. I believe Vivian and Tara must have gone to a different tailor. There is no dry cleaner next door and they don't take cards, only cash and checks. These are lovely respectful people running a small business in our community and they deserve our support and respect.

    She was hard to understand when I came in for a hem on a small velvet skirt. Simple! Something…read moreabout wanting to use a plastic pin for the hem which I declined because she said it would not be Iron able. I left it with her agreeing that she would hem it a certain way, but then I got a call later that night from her cousin suggesting another way. I did not understand what she said so I said fine, but when I picked it up, they had three layers of velvet tucked into the hem because they didn't want to cut it and do it the right way. Then when I returned to ask her to redo it she raised her voice at me and told me that" her cousin warned me it would not look good" this doesn't make sense. Why would I agree to something that someone warned me "would not be right?" And why would they suggest that. . I don't understand when people are dishonest. I'm not picky. I just wanted a hymn. This did not have to be so complicated. And treating a customer like that after you know, you did a bad job was not acceptable. I will not end up ever using this place again.

    Better Look Tailoring & Alterations

    Better Look Tailoring & Alterations

    4.8
    (210 reviews)

    Great work and even better customer service! I love to support local, family owned businesses so…read morewhen i needed my bridesmaid dress altered, i came across this place! My dress needed the straps to be shorter and my slit was sewed since it was rather high. I also added sleeves to my dress and she did an amazing job! With the extra fabric, she offered to make two pocked squares as well. My sister and I had a very small window in which we needed alterations for her bridesmaid suit and my dress. They got them BOTH done so fast and the work was incredible. Aside from the work, they have great customer service which seems to be hard to come by these days. Highly recommend this place! Would definitely return. More info on cost: I paid $138 for the slit to be sewed, straps to be shorter, added sleeves, plus two pocket squares. My sisters alterations to her suit were nearly the same amount

    I brought two old short sleeve shirts in for very small repairs but the owner grimaced and remarked…read moreabout how horribly they were damaged. "How did this ever happen??!", noticing a buttonhole that needed a small amount of repair. She automatically took the shirts and hung them up on her to-do rack making it somewhat uncomfortable for me to say thanks, but no thanks. It was then I wanted to know how much the bill would be, and she replied $24. I then grabbed the shirts off of her rack and bid her a good day. I have seen this same tactic used at different types of repair shops where the owner overly dramatizes what needs to be done and takes possession of the item prior to discussing the charge or getting approval. In sales that's called the assumptive close, where they act as though they assume you will approve the work and pay their price for the very minimal effort required. Don't fall for it. I have just now received a response from the lady's husband indicating that I must have visited a different shop and mistakenly thought I was in theirs. Absolutely not possible as I've been in several times in the past. Perhaps showing the shirts will refresh her memory and also defend my own. For full disclosure, the green shirt does have a small half-inch rip on the back side.

    Donna's Tailor Shop - sewingalterations - Updated June 2026

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