I rarely write a poor review, and it bothers me to do so, but I am writing this review to alert others to this tailor's appalling behavior toward a customer. On May 22, 2025, I called Nora of Tailor Shop West End to ask if she would be willing to sew two ranking stripes on my martial arts ranking belt. Seacoast Sewing recommended Nora to me. Nora gave me an immediate yes, and to come over. I was there in 5 minutes, as I had been driving on Islington St. I showed Nora what I needed done. The ranking stripes must be straight, and they were already pinned to the belt for her convenience to the area where they needed to be sewed. My first red flag was that the floors of the shop look like they have not been vacuumed in a long time--Thread and sewing debris everywhere, along with a cluttered shop. The second red flag was that Nora repeatedly made a disgusted grimace, bearing her upper teeth, as I was talking with her and while she was looking for thread to match my stripes. I gave her the benefit of the doubt. She set up the sewing machine and a phone call came in, which she accepted. Rather than finish her call before she started to work on my project, while distracted, she began to sew. I could see that the stripe was about to be sewed on crooked, and I gestured and said, "Ma'am, I need it to be sewed on level to the edge--straight across". I tried to speak low so as not to disturb her call, which was on speaker phone. Suddenly, Nora aggressively rips my martial arts belt, which she had began to stitch, out of the sewing machine, snapping the threads, and tossed it across the table in my direction. I was shocked, but again, I gave her the benefit of the doubt, as she seemed to be discussing an injury with a healthcare provider. So, in a lull in the conversation, I showed her on the belt that the stripe needed to be sewed straight, and I set the belt near her sewing machine. Nora looked at the stripe, picked up my martial arts belt, and threw it at me, sneering, "Go somewhere else!" The belt landed all snaked out on the table in front of me. Had the other stripe not been pinned to the belt, it would have gone flying and landed in the piles of her fabrics and possibly lost. I stood there staring at my belt, absolutely shocked and appalled! To disrespect a person's martial arts ranking belt is considered insolent enough; to treat a customer in such an aggressive manner is inexcusable. While I empathize with the fact that Nora may have had an injury earlier that day, she could have said to me, "I'm sorry, I'm not able to work on this. I recommend you go somewhere else", and respectfully handed me back my belt, after properly cutting the threads from the sewing machine. Again, it troubles me to leave a bad review for anyone, however, I believe it is warranted given the disrespect shown to me and to my martial arts ranking belt and stripes by this tailor. read more

A life saver! I had a slight tear in the pocket of my full length mink fur coat. I have moved to Florida and no longer have a need for my coat so before I gave it to a friend I wanted to have it repaired. Not only did she repair it quickly, it was perfect! No one would have known it was there. The best part I received a quote from another tailor for $80, her price $8. She has altered clothing for me in the in the past when I lived in NH and I have always been more than happy with her work, prices, how quickly she works. A very pleased customer! read more

Totally inept at tailoring - used a heavy needle and thread to fix a zipper on Armani fine fabric - totally ruined the pants by breaking the fabric. Used a long basting stitch as a finished stitch. This is basic sewing 101. AVOID THIS VENDOR. ALSO KNOWN AS BOUTIQUE CHEZ MOI Also only accepts cash on tailoring? Tax man where are you? read more

I gave Nora a difficult assignment: a leather jacket. Other tailors wouldn't touch it because leather is a difficult fabric to manipulate, but she took it on and did a great job. Price was very reasonable and she finished the project very timely. It doesn't fit *perfect*, hence the 4-star instead of 5, but it fits much better. She did a great job. Remember: people rarely will review when someone in this profession does well. So there will naturally be more negative than positive reviews. read more

I was visiting Rye for a family reunion and now I cannot believe I did not check Yelp before I went. I bought a pair of True Religion Jeans at Neiman Marcus and wanted the original hem put back on (to make it look like it was never hemmed). This is a common practice here in Los Angeles. It costs a little more, but when you pay close to $300 for jeans you expect to have them done right! Nora said "no problem". I went back that afternoon and she had not put the hems back on and claimed I didn't tell her!! I own about 8 pairs of TR jeans and have always had them done that way!! She was belligerent and rude. Next day, they were not done correctly, seams did not line up, I was upset and just wanted them back. What really pissed me off though was a young mother walked into the store with a stroller and a new baby. Nora immediately screamed from the back of the store at the woman and said, "you cannot be in here with that carriage". The young mother was very embarrassed and confused. Nora said again, get out of the store with that carriage, it leaves black marks on the floor". I took my jeans, gave her the $20.00 and left. I have grandsons and if she'd have ever said that to my son, I may have stuffed those hems in her mouth. I hope no one goes in and buys her clothes or has the same experiences I've and others have had with Nora. She is disrespectful to her customers, to the industry and incompetent. Rick, Los Angeles read more

Just had two $500 suit coats ruined by this hack. When I showed her the crooked sleeves and crooked buttons she agreed the job was not done right but somehow blamed me saying I asked for a rush job?!?! She then got very defensive and argumentative in front of other customers. Let this be a warning everyone, I should have gone to Karl s. read more

Just got back from Nora's. It's my fourth trip to pick up a jacket that needed to have a zipper replaced. she did a horrible job that's why I had to keep going back. Even this time she had finished it off by folding it over, seams were uneven and already pulled apart in some places. She was fixing it while I waited. She started to complain that she wasn't making any money on me as she had to fix it three times, like it was my fault. Started insulting me, said I was picky and had nothing else to do with my time. I wish that were true, I'm a caregiver who works 24/7 for no money. She actually swore at me. I left with the jacket, in the parking lot, I pulled on a thread and the whole zipper came out. I got totally ripped off. I didn't go back in as I knew a fight would ensue. She is in Market Basket Plaza now, not North Hampton and is moving to downtown Portsmouth, don't go to her. She is nasty, mean and a butcher of a seamstress. No receipts, cash only, she's not legal. read more

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BE AWARE - Terrible experience!! Nora is unreliable, you never know what you'll get and her attitude along with her work are both unpredictable. She spilled her lunch on my Burberry coat lining. Then she proceeded to clean it with soap and water even though the tag says dry clean only. The food stain did not come off so I politely asked her if she could bring it to cleaners and she said yes as she was rolling her eyes at me. When I called to see if I could pick it up, she said it came out great from cleaners. When I came to pick it up, the lining did not look the same! To my horror, she never brought it to cleaners and decided on her own without asking me to cover the original stained fabric (the entire upper back) with a cheap polyester piece saying she liked the new color better anyway and expected me to be happy over her horrific alteration/cover up she did. She took zero responsibility and threw a fit as I couldn't believe what was done on her end and how she ruined my Burberry. There were other previous encounters with her that I would classify as alarming. To say that she's not professional, dishonest, sloppy, disrespectful, and lacks any kind of awareness would be an understatement. Please, be aware and find yourself someone else to work on your clothing, someone who is trustworthy, professional, and cares about her work and you as a customer. Nora is anything but that. read more

Beware! Nora's shop has now moved to 1500 Lafayette Rd in Portsmouth, NH (Market Basket Plaza). Do NOT let her touch anything of value to you. I have now made the mistake of letting her ruin 2 expensive pieces of clothing. The first time it happened was at her shop in North Hampton. It was a simple hem job on a high end pair of dress pants. It is true that she cannot sew a straight line nor can she hem both legs to the same length!! One leg was at least 2 inches shorter than the other and the pants were absolutely trashed. Of course, as I am now discovering is her standard MOA, she blamed me for having one hip higher than the other. This is ridiculous as it is not true at all. The quality of her work is horrible as well with it looking unfinished, crooked and like it is about to fall apart at any moment. She doesn't even use the same colored thread as was used in the rest of seams on the same garment! The second time I was duped as I didn't realize the new tailor shop that opened up in Portsmouth was her as well. I am so disappointed that I let her alter (I mean ruin) a very pretty Free People sun dress that I spent a lot of money on and was really looking forward to wearing this summer. She didn't do what she said she was going to do and took way too much fabric off so that it will not even fit me any more. Along with her work looking like crap, I got the dress back with huge pin holes all over the back of it that wont close up. Please, stay away from this place. She is a horrible tailor and a rude person. read more

Definitely avoid this place. I went in there once with an item. Nora is very snobby and rude. Especially with a small store or business, I only spend my money in places where the owner is friendly and customer service oriented. On a side note, Nora parks her company car right in front of the store instead of leaving that space available for a customer or perhaps someone handicapped. It should be noted here that the address is on Lafayette Street, in Portsmouth, in the Market Basket Plaza. Not sure why the address is listed in North Hampton; presumably there are 2 locations. read more

I took a beautiful silk dress in to have an invisible zipper put in. This "tailor" who is an older female was awful. I have never seen such awful sewing. She said the job would cost $35 dollars and be ready on Saturday. Saturday arrived and the dress was not done. She said come back on Monday. I called her Monday at noon to check on the progress, she said she was working on it now and it would be done by 4pm. I turned up at 5:15 pm. The first thing I noticed was the collar was uneven. The zipper was not invisible and was not sewn straight. The fabric lining was jagged. She said she would fix these issues. Needless to say she didn't do a good job and charged me $48. I told her I would only pay the $35 as agreed. She then grabbed the dress and told me I could not have it. I told her to let go and she wouldn't. Finally I let go as the dress is silk and I did not want it further damaged. I told her she was a terrible tailor. She then proceeded to comment on my attire and that I did not know how to dress!!!!! Nora is rude, has no pride or skill I n her work. She never apologized for ruining my dress. Beware do not use this tailor!!! I give no stars. read more

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Yesterday, I went to have my True Religion jeans hemmed. When I went to pick them up, I said to Nora that I was surprised that the hem was not straight. There were two lines that didn't even line up let alone remotely look like the other parts of the jeans. She became so irate that she grabbed them, took scissors and cut out one part of one of the sew lines. She ended up cutting through both hems. I told her she just cut through both lines. She made me pay if I wanted my jeans back. I was so shocked I actually paid her. She folded up the jeans, threw them at my face, called me OCD, told me I shouldn't care what the bottom of my pants looked like, and called me a b*!!! I can't believe she can run a business. Go to Nora's if you want a two year old with anger problems to hem your pants. read more

She can not sew in a straight line! I had my citizen jeans hemmed and they were uneven and the hem line curled...? Like all the other reviews, she was irritated when I brought them back to show her. So I just took my jeans and left. Will never go back. Pay the extra and get it done right elsewhere. read more

I brought her my $400 prom dress for a hem and alteration, I also asked her to replace a bead and add a hook to the back. When I got home with the dress there was a run on the side. I was given half of a hook and nothing to hook it to. I paid $100 for her alterations. The strap does not fit me, which she said she could easily fix initially, she sewed half of the strap to the cup and it looks awful. I'm canceling the check and never going there again. Awful. Even the hem looks terrible. read more

I think she's fantastic, the woman is extremely hard working and has always done a quality job on alterations and repairs on my clothing. I've been going here since she was located on Bartlett Street in Portsmouth years back and I still only go to her. Other than my pants and shirts, I've also had pillows and curtains worked on. Highly recommended read more

This woman is disorganized, and has no idea what she is doing. We asked her if she could do my wedding gown and she said that of course she should. (I only needed the top taken in). She pinned it on me and it fit like a glove... then she UNPINNED it and had me get out of it. When I went to pick it up the FIRST time, it was almost five inches off the ground! I asked her to take it all out and start over. She re-pinned it and actually left the pins in that time, but when I picked up again, it was loose I couldn't make it fit with three padded bras. She ALSO hadnt lined up where the back met on the sipper. It was off by about a half inch. I was mortified and took it away from her and had to have someone else fix it. DO NOT GO HERE! read more

poor excuse for a business. unbelievably rude and inconsiderate. she called me to discuss something she messed up but was talking as though the matter was my fault. she told me to shop around and to pick something else out that I liked because SHE messed up. I tried to talk to her about what happened to the original dress and SHE ended up hanging up on me. AVOID! read more

I brought her my $500 prom dress. It only had to be taken in very slightly. It was almost perfect how it was until she got to it. She acted like it was an easy fix, which it was, and went very quickly while taking measurements. She was very rude. My mom walked into her store later and saw her working on it while drinking red wine! When I picked my dress up in a few days and tried it on at home, it was extremely tight and uncomfortable and no longer fit me near as well as it did. I called her and asked her if she cut it, and she said she didn't. When I took it to another tailor, they said the dress had been cut. She cut my expensive dress without even asking me! And her fix-up job was messy. Now to get my dress fixed, the tailors have to cut from the bottom of the dress to get more fabric for the top where it. was. cut. I am so mad and sad. I loved this dress. It was my dream dress. And it is now ruined possibly beyond repair because of this nasty woman. read more