These guys are absolutely fantastic. I had an elegant special event with ambassadors and Saudi princes at the mayflower hotel. No other tailor would take me in! Yeah, because I needed it done in 6 hours. Melvin and his crew took my oversized tuxedo and made it fit so well, I've never looked so good. Thank you guys! You saved me from looking like that half grown man trying to fit in his grandpas clothes. Oh and they were so WELL and FAIRLY priced. Not to mention the great attitude and friendly service. Needless to say, I will be coming back for all my tailor needs. read more

Melvin's Custom Tailoring - Sewing & Alterations Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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The guy does fantastic work, but he's unreliable on everything. I brought him something on Monday I needed for an event Saturday, meaning I needed it Friday night. I came in one Thursday. He said to pick it up Friday at 7. I came in at 7, he had only started it. I sat with him until 2am. I missed Friday of the event but had it for Saturday. Charged $225. Fine. I brought him another item, the same item in a different fabric, Wednesday the week before for an event Saturday in another city, meaning I needed it Friday night. He said would let me know if he could do it. He didn't look at until Monday and got snippy when I called to ask if he could do it, given his previous inability to adhere to a schedule. I came in Thursday, he said it would be ready Friday night. Friday night came and went. I called and he said he was currently working on it. I had to leave the city. Saturday morning, at 7:30am, he called and said I could pick it up. I was out of the city, and the event, and did not have what I needed for the event. I picked it up this week. He charged me $371. Not only is it almost twice what he charged before for the same item, but I missed an event that I spent money to attend because he didn't have it ready despite having plenty of time. His work is great. His attitude, timing, and prices are not. I contested it on my credit card, it seems he will put in work to keep your money but not to finish your purchase, as they sided with him. read more

Overpriced and EXTREMELY RUDE! Not sure of the quality of work, because I refuse to spend my money at establishments where people are rude and ornery for no reason. (His wife is a sweetheart. He should let her handle customers) read more

Really enjoyed talking to Mr. Melvin and his assistant. They were very helpful and really cared about my vest that I brought in. The turn around time and pricing is amazing. I felt comfortable off the break of entering their store that my item would be in good hands. They asked when I needed my vest, I asked them if the next day would be ok, they said no problem. I dropped it off on Monday at 1:30 pm, got a call from Mr. Melvin at 6 pm Monday evening telling me that my vest was ready. All 6 patches (large and small) were placed. I will definitely be taking any kind of alterations or sewing needs back there. read more

For starters, Melvin is a good guy. A veteran and very personable. Secondly, I went to him the same day and said I had a wedding I had to attend and really needed help. He did everything in a day, was honest about the things he could do and couldn't do (and didn't just provide services to make $) and did great work. I basically know where to go from here on out. read more

I took in a bridesmaid dress to be hemmed at this tailor. Alice had me try on the dress in their "dressing room" which is also used as her break room. She marked off on the bottom of the dress where she would hem it and also told me she wanted to take out some of the seam in the rib area as it was fitting me tight and that the zipper would most likely break the day of the wedding. I gave her the benefit of the doubt and agreed to the rib alteration as well. I mentioned to her multiple times that while she is taking out the rib area to make it slightly bigger to please stay away from the front chest area as it fit perfectly there. Coming back to try it on the ribs fit the same as before going to the seamstress but the chest area was gapping huge. She asked me try and set my chest in the cups that the dress has built in to resolve the now bigger chest part and I let her know my chest does not move like that (I am a 34A) after I told her that she said "shame on you!" I was humiliated by my body type for her not fixing the dress correctly. I had to coax her into fixing the chest part as she was only focused on the rib area saying I gained weight and that is why the ribs still did not fit. She said I should have started dieting the second I was asked to be a bridesmaid or at least once I had tried on the dress and felt that it was tight. I was speechless and horrified. She let me know that the new alterations would be done by Tuesday April 24th. I had not heard from her on Tuesday and called her on Thursday. She said she was still working on a portion of the dress and for me to come in at 12pm. I arrived a little early and she yelled at me "I told you to come in at 12pm!" I said I had a work meeting rescheduled to that time and she just told me to come after it. I came back at 1:30pm and she was still working on the dress. I told her I wanted the dress back even if it wasn't finished. I needed to take it somewhere else to get it fixed or just not have her work on it any longer as it kept on getting worse and worse in her hands. She refused. I tried it back on and: Chest area was fixed but the top fabric does not lay correctly. There are twos stains on the front of the dress. The back hem is uneven and shows the bottom layer. There are snags all over the dress and now fits even worse than before I had it altered. I tried to argue with the price and get it to be lowered. She told me "I am told the customer is always correct but I am giving you a massive discount on this." I honestly did not want to pay for any of it as she had now ruined the dress but I still needed it back as the wedding is in less than two weeks. Over all my complaint is that this seamstress has a terrible attitude and does not know how to speak to clients. On top of that her work is terrible!! She spoke of my body weight as if that was the problem and made me feel so terrible about myself. She refused to give me the dress back and when she did it was ruined. While I was in there the third time a new customer came in the Alice nor Melvin even acknowledge her. Sher heard Alice bickering with me and blaming me for the dress not being ready on time and not fitting correctly and once I was dressed I suggested to the new client that she would find better service else where. It had been about 10 minutes and neither Alice nor Melvin even spoke to the new client. Over all the worse treatment I have ever experienced. Now when I put on the dress all I can think about it this experience. The dress is even more uncomfortable than before and I was weight shamed by Alice. read more

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Terrible service, terrible attitude, prices will vary depending on when you come in and whether or not they will actually write it down (make sure they write it down!) I've gotten several things tailored and dry cleaned here over the past few years just out of convenience as I work near the building. A year ago I was ready to swear them off when I was told a coat would be ready in a week - only to have it take two weeks, and multiple trips where I was told it was "not ready." I went in recently to hem two dresses - inexpensive dresses, single layered, easy to do (and I would at home if I had a sewing machine). I pinned where I needed them hemmed ahead of time. I asked them for a cost estimate and they hedged, only saying it would "not be expensive." Half an hour later I get a call that - they thought I needed a seam fixed, took out the pins, and now need me to come back for them to figure out where I need it hemmed. They called it a miscommunication but mind you, my exact words were that I needed the dresses hemmed - never used the word seam anywhere. After I trek back in the middle of the day on my lunch break, I ask them to clarify exactly how much this will cost me as their hedging earlier had made me uncomfortable. The woman told me $20/dress. I told her I'd rather go elsewhere - very politely - there are places further away that do it for $$10-12 and honestly the dresses were not worth much to begin with. She said to wait for the owner and she would explain the situation to him. Well, 15 minutes of waiting later (during which time a customer came and she very very slowly rung him up) she tells him that I don't like the cost. He rudely says, that's the cost. I was polite and patient with them during this entire time, and it got me an hour of my time wasted and absolutely no apologies for her mistakes - wish I had remembered my previous experiences! If you want to be ripped off and have your time disrespected, by all means, this place is around. But there are tons of better, nicer tailors - and people - in this city. read more

I have been to Melvin's many times but decided that I would never go back. Melvin is incredibly unprofessional and does not seem to understand anything about customer service. I've never seen a proprietor with such a bad attitude - full of sarcasm! To make matters worst, after he alters a garment, he gets angry if it's not to your satisfaction and he has to alter it again. He even has the nerve to tell you that "I don't work for free." His philosophy seems to be that if he alters a garment once and it is not to your satisfaction for any reason, you still must pay again to have him readjust it. He is also quite expensive. So, overall, my experiences were very unpleasant for several reasons. read more

Just left Melvin's and I must say I was more than impressed by the service and overall hospitality of Alice and Melvin. I tore the crotch of my pants running to the bus this morning and was facing the embarrassing possibility of riding out the rest of the day with that issue until I discovered their tailor shop. I explained the situation to Melvin and he had me in and out of there in only a couple of minutes! Talk about one-of-a-kind service. I'll definitely be bringing more business his way from today forward. Thank you! read more

Melvin is very good and very reliable. Does the by work when he says it will be done and does a great job. A little hard to find, but worth the effort - both for men and women's clothing alterations. Very convenient in downtown D.C. Highly recommend. read more

Melvin's isn't the fanciest looking tailor shop but he was able to tailor a bridesmaid skirt in less than 24hrs and it now fits perfectly.

Very over priced. He does a great job and I don't mind paying for great service, but I think the pricing is a little extreme. For example, $35 to hem a jersey maxi dress w/o any frills or lining. I only paid $30 for the dress. He has attitude enough for several people. It's nothing personal, but I will take my business else where. read more

Mr. Melvin and Ms. Alice are amazing! They never disappoint and are always professional. I brought in a heavily beaded gown on Wednesday that I needed altered (it was a size 10 and I wear a size 8) by Friday and they did a great job. They are also conveniently located for those who work in the downtown DC area. read more

Alice was very sweet. I was in a jam and needed a zipper replaced. I couldn't believe that they charged me $175 for a zipper!!! I wish I read the reviews before I went there. read more

Melvin yelled at me when I questioned his pricing method. As the other negative review said, make sure they write down your quote. I paid an exorbitant price for alterations on a dress they had for over a month. Bad customer service and ridiculous pricing and I'm never going back. read more

I have taken all my suits to melvin to get altered because he is a professional. Sometimes slow but perfect. He knows thinks other tailors do not! read more

They do excellent work but they also charge a bit too much for it. Be sure to get prices written down in advance on your receipt before approving the work, as I've had two experiences where the actual prices were 50 percent and 100 percent higher than what was estimated. The woman who handles customers is lovely but Melvin is quite crabby as well. read more

I made a yelp just to post this review- this place is very overpriced. I paid over 70 dollars more than a normal tailor service would have charged me for a simple hem service. The job was done well, but extremely overpriced and a huge regret that I did not go somewhere else. read more

Will 100% come back. Amazing customer service. I needed some suit pants hemmed in 24 hours. I called and Mr. Melvin said no problem. When I arrived, he told me he had been in all night working a rush job. Despite that, he hemmed my pants on the spot in less than 10 minutes for a great price. The other place I called wouldn't even consider a 24 hour turn around. Thanks for saving the day! read more

This is an excellent tailoring shop. I am a petitie woman and Melvin's mother usually assists me. The work is always well done, is ready when promised, and the prices are reasonable. It is a little tricky to find the first time because several businesses are at the same address, but it is on the first floor on the left, just past the guard's desk. It's right across the street from the Metro shops. read more