Full disclaimer: this was my first time getting clothing altered. I have no experience with tailors and don't have a benchmark for comparing Kim.
My maid of honor dress was too long and too big, not befitting or flattering of someone with the 'maid of honor' title. (It was my first time being a MOH! I wanted to look nice for my good friend's wedding!)
Yelp led me to Kim at Kim Dung Tailor, located on El Cajon Boulevard. I had called to see if an appointment was needed, and to verify hours, and Kim said to just come in during her business hours. There's green curb parking right in front of her store, but there's also parking in the residential area, on Winona, just around the corner to Kim's shop, or on Winona across El Cajon. I did not have issues finding parking when I dropped off and picked up my dress.
When you first get to Kim's shop, you may think it's closed, but the sign will say "open," and the door will be locked. That's because she's the only one who works in the shop all day! Once you meet her, you'll understand -- she's a petite, sweet little old lady (totally makes me think of my grandmother).
Kim asked if I wanted to have the dress taken in a bit, to which I vehemently wanted (despite my perpetual fluffy winter coat, I wanted to give *some* semblance of a figure!). She measured, and asked if I was planning to wear heels. I made the mistake of not wearing heels to the fitting, because it didn't give an accurate representation of how long the dress was actually going to be on me when I wore it.
Thankfully, Kim had some pairs of high heeled sandals ready. We figured out that I actually did *not* need to shorten my dress, even if I wore my itty bitty 2.5" heels. The dress, after being taken in, and with a pair of heels, would fit perfectly and *not* drag on the floor. Huzzah! The zipper that came with the dress was also very weak/cheap, so I asked Kim to replace it for something more durable and effective.
Kim did not try to upsell me or alter unnecessarily for my dress. My dress had multiple layers and pockets, so she explained that hemming/shortening the dress would be expensive, basically needing to charge per fabric layer that needed shortening.
I dropped my dress off on a Wednesday, and the dress was altered and ready the next Saturday, so, a 10 day turnaround. Really fast! And the dress fit beautifully. In total, it was $70 to change out the zipper and take my dress in. I tried to tip Kim, but she did not accept it, and stated that she has never accepted tips.
Kim seems to be a sweet little lady who does honest work, not wanting to rip people off or charge or alter unnecessarily. read more