Excellent seamstress in Noe Valley. She tailored a tuxedo after I lost over 50 lbs. She also tailored a dinner jacket which was much like a sports coat. Also tailored my Cashmere house coat where I had torn the silk interior shown here. In addition I had a down winter jacket where the zipper had been stuck. Unfortunately I had to take it back two weeks later to be replaced again. This time she charged me $30 when it should have been free after I took it back. Not happy that this had a charge. read more

Michelle's Tailor - Michelle in her shop. - Sewing & Alterations Near Me - San Francisco, California

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I feel like Michelle fixes anything and everything--jeans (hem to match the existing stitching), pleated skirts (taking in the waistline whilst matching up the pleats), patching sweaters (even after 2 other tailors told me they couldn't do it), skirt hems with the "invisible" stitching, .... Great turnaround time. Prices are very reasonable. Check and cash only so plan ahead. She's not super warm and chatty, but I'm not one to need that because she'll do a great job. Lots of legit street parking plus Walgreens lot across the street so please don't double park. The hours are temporarily restricted but she's planning to resume normal hours when she's able. read more

Michelle's Tailor - New temp hrs (taken 7/18/2025). Michelle is a sole proprietor & had a "thing," so taking it easy until she can ramp back up. - Sewing & Alterations Near Me - San Francisco, California

I've had Michelle work on many things from restructuring a blazer to easy hemming and her work is excellent every time. I trust her with everything. Her pricing is very fair for the quality she provides. read more

My husband had a good experience with tailoring services and got a jacket fixed which is why I am not giving them one star. However, I would not recommend their dry cleaning services at all. He brought two of my dresses in and one came back smelly and the other without the requested stain removed. He returned with the dresses and they stated they would not be able to remove the smell from the one dress and could remove the stain from the other dress. They willingly took both dresses back to launder but upon return of both dresses, the smell continued on the first dress and the second dress was more stained than when it was dropped off. No refund was provided for the lack of care. Needless to say, we will not be using any services going forwards as customer service was rude throughout the exchange and left a bitter taste in our mouths. read more

I needed a linen sport coat altered and my dry cleaner (Sea Breeze) recommended Michelle's. I took the coat in, got fitted, sleeves and letting out the waist area. Great work, great price. I would return. read more

I left $200 pair jeans to be shortened and lost my ticket. When I went to pick up the jeans, she said she couldn't find them. I had already put $20 on her counter to pay for them while she looked. She picked up the $20 and I didn't realize it until I was outside. She denied having picked up the $20, so I'm out $220. And she wasn't very nice about it. Go somewhere else. read more

I've always had excellent experiences here. I've taken garments to be taken up, taken in, and each time it was beautifully done. I would highly recommend Michelle's Taylor. read more

We had two alter two important special occasion outfits for my children (aged 11 and 14), Michelle was professional, friendly, prompt and the work was done very well and on-time. My children aren't used to going to a tailor and she was warm and made them feel comfortable as she pinned the adjustments needed to their garments. I was so happy to find a reputable tailor locally here in Noe and would definitely use her services again! read more

A true tailor. She's taken up very expensive slacks for petite me, and adjusted Armani suits for the sports-big guy. Have been with her for 20-25 years because she is an expert and pro. Recommend! read more

Michelle is a FANTASTIC tailor, for 25 years, I've used her for the most complicated alterations I have of family heirlooms, and she's been a superstar every single time, and has always delivered on time as well. Michelle has been through a lot as a single mother and immigrant business woman, some of the people on yelp are just awful whiners. read more

The rudest person I ever met in my life! Came in for alterations of several pieces of clothing. One of the pieces was a jumpsuit, that needed to be shorten. Her price board stated $15 to shorten pants. She tells me $28 and walks away before I can even respond. I'm still standing there, thinking she'll come back ( couldn't believe at first, that somebody could possibly be that rude) . Another customer walks in. She comes out to talk to her. When customer asked her if she is done with me, she says " yes, because she doesn't want to pay!"... WTF! read more

I wanted to like this place since it's in the neighborhood and convenient by location. Very snarky service. I received a pair of pants back after the requested repair and it looked like they were repaired by someone who did not have experience. Yikes. I'll cut my losses and go somewhere else next time. Also, don't forget your hand written receipt for picking up your item or you'll get scolded and charged an additional fee. read more

Michelle is truly an expert tailor. If you have a very special item of clothing that you're worried about bringing to your corner dry cleaners for alterations, I highly recommend trusting Michelle with your garment instead. I brought her a very $$$ Rachel Comey dress in a size 8 to be sized down to a 4 and it was absolutely perfect just from one fitting. The dress was long sleeve and very fitted, plus it was lined and the fabric has stretch, all of which make it much more difficult to tailor. I've also brought her simpler items, such as straps and hems that needed to be shortened or seams that were coming apart. Michelle is expensive, but her expertise is worth it. I've wasted lots of time (multiple fittings, schlepping to inconvenient neighborhoods) and money with other tailors and even custom dressmakers in San Francisco, only to be disappointed when they use the wrong color thread or do something that compromises the integrity of the garment. With Michelle, you can trust that she will be honest with you about what's possible based on seam allowances, fabric types, and garment construction. She'll help you look the best you can in your clothes, making sure lengths and angles are the most flattering they can be. And she'll make the alternations to exacting couture standards - no cutting corners or sloppy workmanship. read more

I had a horrible experience at Michelle's cleaners recently. My 18 year old daughter and I went in to have her prom dress tailored. We'd previously brought a similar dress to Michelle's a year ago. When my daughter came out of the dressing room, the tailor (I think it's Michelle herself but I'm not certain) said "I can't help you because last time you complained about my work and refused to pay me" or something to that effect. We were completely taken aback because that never happened. In fact, we were impressed with what a good job they'd done on my daughter's dress last year. I immediately and good naturedly said, I think you're mixing us up with someone else because that didn't happen. In fact, I can show you a picture of the dress you tailored from last March. She seemed to believe us because she was somewhat willing to alter her new dress. Nonetheless, she was shockingly rude to us for the following 5 minutes. We should have just walked out with the dress, but it was already late in the day, and my daughter's schedule is impossible, so I wanted the dress altered asap (besides, as I mentioned, they do very good work). We never lost our tempers with her and continued to be pleasant with her despite her egregious rudeness. In retrospect I wish we'd left with the dress. My daughter was really upset about how rude Michelle was and thought maybe she was crazy. It really was an awful experience. And, in closing, I think I've written maybe one other bad review of any business in my 30 years of living in San Francisco. But I write this hoping to save someone else from such rude treatment. read more

The owner is always warm and nice to me. She does excellent seamstress work.

Tailors are like surgeons - you don't visit them for their sparkling personality but for the results they deliver. If you are looking for entertainment, go next door to Hamano Sushi and sit at the counter. If you are looking for an excellent, dependable tailor, this is the best tailor in San Francisco. read more

Do not go here at all! Michelle is a rude person and she is very short with people that are new to her business. I called and asked her if she can alter a dress and she said no she is able to do it . I said how long does it take? She said a couple of days. I said is there a price to expedite the service? She yelled and said NO! I guess she doesnt want my business. For Noe Valley that is not the normal type of customer service that is provided in a friendly neighborhood like NV! read more

Expert tailoring and repairs. Give them time to do your repairs properly Things I've brought in: - alter silk dress (waist, torso, straps) - maintained blouson shape & micro pleats - hemlines - multiple dresses, slacks & denim - repair moth-worn vintage silk dress - delicately patched & repaired throughout - repaired sweaters read more

I used Michelle's for letting down the hem on a pair of pants. She did a great job, was quick, and upfront about what could be done in regards to length. I'll definitely bring more clothes to her for future alterations. One downside-cash only! read more

Over the past year I've gotten many items of clothing altered here; jeans hemmed, tapered, taken in at the waist and in the butt; dresses hemmed, taken out, and taken in. I've been without fail completely satisfied with every single item. Most recently I took her a dress from Reformation that was gaping where there was a keyhole back, not even sure what could be done to fix it. She took about 30 seconds adding a couple pins and when I came back to pick it up a few days later the dress fit exactly as I wanted to! I'm happy that I live within walking distance and will continue to bring her all my ill fitting clothing to be custom tailored to my body shape for reasonable prices! read more

Do you want expert alterations or a best friend? She does amazing work at fair prices. read more

I had an excellent experience with Michelle last year. She hemmed some pants for me. I get it. She's a bit brusk with certain people, but she was nothing but warm to me. I understand people like Michelle - they're artists - who are very good at their craft. Artists don't like to be rushed, controlled, and definitely not talked down to. Unfortunately Noe Valley has undergone such dramatic gentrification that the snobby folks talk down to the service people in the neighborhood. I'll bet this has something to do with Michelle being somewhat defensive when people begin to act that way. I don't blame her. If you know what you want done, have your items ready, and respectfully deal with Michelle, you will be quite pleased with your experience. read more

Michelle is a competent tailor. I have been coming to this store for more than 3 years despite the legendary rudeness because in that time she has saved some great fabric with invisible mending, skills that I can't easily find this end of the city. However I've decided I cannot go back. I went in the store this week having lost my ticket and prepared to apologize - I was accused of having already picked up the items, she refused to look for them, said she was sure I had picked them up already like many customers who come in without tickets, and shouted at me. She told me to leave without the items. I apologized again and eventually got permission to look in the racks myself and found the items in under 5 minutes. She then said I'd misrepresented what they looked like. I'm a long term customer and she just lost my business. Please don't reward this vendor with your business. read more

I moved to SF a few months back and have been going to Michelle's for regular laundry, and have had her do alterations on a number of high-end shirts and jeans. The work has been of high quality and I find Michelle to be professional and friendly. Glad I found a great place close to where I live! read more

Absolutely worst place to get your clothes tailored. Cannot meet deadlines, do not operate the hours they say they do, are not communicative at all, and did not deliver what they said they would. Avoid booking them at all costs. I wish I'd hemmed my clothes myself. Worst experience ever. read more

I just went into this business to have my summer pants taken in by 1 size. They are pretty simple cotton beach pants. The lady behind the counter told me that it's too much work for her and I should just buy a smaller size :) :) :) I asked her: "aren't you a tailor that is supposed to do things like that?" Her answer: "No. Better buy a new one." Haha! OK. I'll go elsewhere. read more

I brought a vintage sharkskin suit in to be tailored. The suit was totally destroyed by Michelle. The pants ended up a full two inches to short, and she cut them so they cannot be fixed. I could not even put the jacket on it was so tight, and her attempts at fixing the problems she caused are horrible. I literally cannot wear the suit now. Back when I brought my suit in to be tailored, this place had a better average rating. She is certainly rude, but the way she destroyed my suit, she should not be in business, stay away! read more

I'm 4'11" and a 00-0 so have to get just about everything altered - skirts, jeans, slacks, dresses, jackets, blazers, you name it. I've been going to Michelle for YEARS and although she appears brusque at first, she's actually nice; just no-nonsense. She does good, fast, reasonably priced work on basic alterations. I don't even live in Noe Valley anymore but she's still my go-to tailor. read more

If I could give it zero, I would. My husband and I have been coming here for years and were always charged the same price for hemmed pants... until this week when she wanted to charge me double - higher than listed on her board even. I told her that I paid half that price not even two months ago for the exact same service from her. "I don't want to talk to you", she immediately said, escalating the situation way beyond where it was. She immediately acted as if I was insane and out of line to suggest she ever charged anything else. After insisting I pay double ($20) or she would not even speak to me, jerking pins out of my pants that she had just pinned, I decided there is no reason to pay someone this awful for anything... or to PAY for abuse. We put up with her abrupt lack of service up till now. But abusive aggression is unacceptable for any service - especially if she wants to be dishonest about her dramatically increased (i.e. shady) prices. There are hard working people in this neighborhood who deserve to be supported (Bay Castle Cleaners, for one - just 2 blocks from Michelle's Tailor - hems pants for $8 with a cuff added for $10! And they're actually nice) - Michelle is not one of them. read more

I have been going to Michelle for alternations for over 15 years. Her prices are really fair, lower than they should be. She gets her work done very timely and within a week. I don't rate people for the bedside manner though she is not a perky or cheerful lady. Let that go, folks. She works hard. Really hard. She has come up with good solutions to ideas I have had when I needed to let out a dress and there was no fabric to work with too!! That made me happy!! For the prices she charges I don't know how she put her daughter through college and now medical school. Of the all the garments I have given her from expensive designer jeans to really nice clothes, expensive clothes, she has done a very good job. Only twice has she taken in a dress too much. I am very petite and everything I buy needs altering. Everything. After using a very nice, chatty and fancy tailor recommended by Neiman Marcus who actually missed delivering my honeymoon clothes to me in time for our flight over 17 years ago, I appreciate people who not only get the work on time & do not have excuses. And Michelle is a no nonsense let's get it done kind of lady. She has never yelled at me, but being from the East Coast, I don't mind brusque. I have actually learned more about her each time I visit Michelle. I ask her how she is and how her daughter is. And I have more clothes to bring her, dresses to get done in less than 10 days for Miami Basel. I disagree with most of these reviews and I appreciate her work ethic and the quality of the job she does. The expensive Russian tailor lady that I tried in Pacific Heights was no warm fuzzy lady either and charged three times what Michelle does. She charged almost more than the dress cost!!! So lighten up, folks. read more

Worst experience ever! The lady is god awful and probably the meanest person I've ever met. Rude beyond words. Can't believe she's still afloat. I will never go back to her and would highly recommend you don't either! I had a baby and had a few clothes I needed resized. She pretty much told me I was too fat and to buy new clothes- all the while looking quite disgusted at me. One of the most unpleasant experiences of my life! If it's just alteration you're looking for, just head to sea breeze cleaners next door. Decent people who deliver promptly. read more

Lordy people. Simmer down all you 1-stars. Michelle is great! She does really really good work. Clean, simple work and hems cost $12 to $15. That is not a lot of money for hems! YOU try hemming pants. It's hard. It will take you all day, probably, Mr. Lee-John (and btw - insert "white" everywhere you say "vietnamese" and see if you're still not feeling racist). I've been coming here for years. I'm OK that she doesn't crack a smile. Who the hell knows what her story is. Maybe she lost someone she loved. Maybe she's just sick to death of all you uppity, well-heeled Noe Valleyites. She does excellent, precise work. And of the 30+ times I've used her - she's never lost a thing of mine. read more

Michelle was so incredibly pleasant and professional from the "Hello" as soon as I walked in to the moment I picked up my finished curtain panels. She listened well and communicated cleary about what I wanted done, made some great suggestions and the work was super! I had some very sheer, thin fabric that could easily have been a mess in teh wrong hands. Quick turn around, very fair pricing (cash only!), and a clean, organized shop right in our neighborhood. read more

Yikes. Not much to say here except... Service: 1 star. They ignored me for several minutes, first off. Then they were rude and didn't understand me when I said slowly (not loudly; slowly) several times that I needed my bed skirt (in my hand and clearly ripped) mended. Promptness: 1 star. This was a 2 min. job and they took a week to do it. Not losing my stuff: 1 star. I gave them my name and they couldn't locate it. They thought they lost it, but then I saw it hanging and pointed it out. Yikes. And not to be petty, but they have this creepy model in an odd red dress in the front window. It's been there 2 years and it just creeps me (and my friends) out. Eeeewwww... read more

Michelle has a straightforward manner (I do not find her rude), and the work she does is excellent, careful, and conscientious.

Let's say I would give her a 0 or a negative star if I could. I've been to Michelle about 4-5 times over the last year mainly to get jeans hemmed. She was always tolerable and like many of the reviewers here I just ignored her unfriendly attitude in order to get quality work. That said, I just had a horrible experience with her and will for sure never be going back. I went to Michelle to get a floor length a.k.a maxi dress hemmed. She made me try it on and put the pins in to check for the length. I wasn't sure of the length the first time so she had to adjust the pins. I wasn't sure how high the heels I would wear would be so I asked her for her opinion on length. Apparently bad idea. She first walks away and start sweeping the floor and picking up hair/lint/dirt/dust from the floor and then comes back and touches my dress with the same hands. Sorry but that is just not acceptable when it's a $200 dress. I'm like whatever and ask her how much the alteration would be. Comes up to $50 because she has to take in one small teeny strap in at the shoulder and the hem. At that point I'm getting pissed since not only do I get shit customer service but also pay a high price for it. So, I very politely asked her why it was so much. To which she looks at me like I'm some stupid dumbass and say 'if you can't pay that much, you just get one of the two altered (shoulder or hem) '. I then lost it but still VERY politely removed the pins from the dress (she'd walked away again) and told her that the only reason I wasn't going to give her the dress was because she was so rude to me. To which she says 'GET Lost'. WTF. Ok, so I'm all about supporting local businesses and tolerating average customer service but asking a customer to get lost? Seriously? I don't see why anyone should tolerate that kind of an attitude. I understand that people can't be cheerful all day at work but this was just outright insulting. I did tell her to F* off and walked out and for one, I will never be going back in there again. read more

I find it disturbing how people defend her outright rudeness because prices are cheap and she works so hard. This is the type of business that would flounder, if it wasn't for the fact it is convenient and located in a neighborhood that quite frankly is too wrapped up in their own world to let it bother them. I am not necessarily bothered by non cheery people, but I am bothered by disrespectful people. My first interactions where such that I surely wont defend it by saying it's just "who she is." Screw you too lady. Our family will be taking our business elsewhere. read more

I have come here a bunch of times to get dresses taken in and out. The tailoring is expertly done even with a ton of sequins or silk that shows every imperfection. I thought the customer service was fine. Respectful albeit curt and to the point. From what my dry cleaner who referred me here said it sounds like the owner doesnt speak much English. I interpreted the directness a result of that. The high quality of the work and the low cost is worth it to me. That being said if you have a special request or a time constraint and are willing to pay more for that then maybe this isn't the place for you. read more

Pretty cruddy laundry service. All my shirts are still pretty wrinkled. Boooo! No credit cards either, cash only. Boooo! There are other choices less then a block away! Yaaay! I think I will try Sea Breeze next.... read more

If I had only listened to my co-worker ten years ago... When asked where to take some items for alteration ten years back, my co-worker said, "Michelle's in Noe Valley-she's rude, but she does fine work." So I went in and was so turned off by how rude she indeed was, brushing me off, not really giving me the time of day, and charging double to what I can get as equal work with at least a smile, that I turned around like Gloria Gaynor and walked out the door. This time, ten years later, this past week, I now had a wedding dress. Well, not my actual wedding dress, but the satin dress and matching jacket that I would put on instead of my wedding dress for our late night dance party. I had already been to Vietnam and lived in Asia for two years, so I knew a thing or two on how to work a cultural difference. Since my dress & jacket were so precious (and trust me, I'm NOT one of THOSE brides. I'm chill), I decided to bite the bullet and take it in to Michelle for alteration since she does do a good job, even if she is grumpy. Our interaction ten years later (last week I went in, this week I picked up) was cordial. I could woo her with my, "I lived in Asia..." speak and it worked. She was all smiles. Who knew?! Then came the downside... I came to pick up my handful of items, which included the satin bridal dress with jacket. For 2 pants hemmed, 1 t-shirt strap fixed, 1 dress altered, the wedding dress altered, a hole on a sweater fixed, and a few of those items dry cleaned, it was $144.00. That seemed really steep to me, but I bit the bullet once again. Bad idea... When I went to pick up the items the other day, she explained that it was cash only. There was no sign on her door and no sign saying that loudly as most places tend to do. I asked her if that were legal. She didn't laugh. So I left & returned today with cash. When I looked over the pieces, they seemed fine. Then, when I got to my car, I saw that they had safety pinned, not once, but twice, some sort of dry cleaning tag on the wedding gown. IN THE SATIN! So now there were two holes in the back of the jacket where the safety pins lived. They poked holes into satin on a new dress. I was shocked. I had told her it was my wedding dress beforehand. So I went back in and said to her, "Hi. You know, I'm wondering why they put not just one, but two, safety pins in this jacket with this tag? That seems really unnecessary and now there are holes in the satin." She says, "Oh, they weren't supposed to do, sorry. You see, usually tag here, so they always pin on the tag" (she points to where a tag would be on the inside-top back of the jacket) I said, "But it's satin. You're never supposed to pin on satin, it shows and ruins the fabric. I'm really disappointed. I told you this was my wedding dress." Trust me. I really am not that kind of bride (i know, I've said this twice, but trying to make a point, I guess). I like to think of myself as someone who floats through San Francisco, giving most, if not all, of my business to locals because I like the interactions, being friendly, and supporting our 'hoods. I've been here 15 years and I value the relationships I've built in the community. But at this point, I'm a bit pissy inside. So she grabs the jacket from me and says, "Fine. I fix," and she starts ironing where the holes are. Ironing satin? I'm confused. I walk over to her and calmly say, "You know, I appreciate your hard work, but I'd really like you to do something for me. This was a special dress and I told you so and now it is damaged. I'd like to not pay for the work you did on this jacket." She says, "Fine! $3.50" I say, "Well, let's look at what it cost on the receipt, please," and I walk over to her counter to check. She says, "I KNOW PRICES! It $3.50!" Turns out the dry cleaning on the jacket was $4.00, which I happily took back from her, told her I would be writing this bad review, and promptly left knowing that I should have listened to my co-worker long ago. read more