Alva Graciano Tailors

I’ve always said: «it’s so hard to find a really good tailor!» …until I found Alva. So happy I did. Talented and wonderful to work with.

You should only bring your clothes to Alva Graciano Tailors if you appreciate clothes that fit properly and you want your clothes to have a custom fit without having to spend your life’s savings.
I have been a client for nearly four years. Their work is consistently good, they are extremely friendly, they set realistic expectations as to what can be done with the clothing as well as the time it will take to complete. The collective talent and experience of this everyone that works here is second to none.
Mention that you read this review or that Anthony sent you. They will take good care of you!

The low review primarily comes from asking me to tip the tailor to adjust the pants they didn’t do right the first time. The audacity to ask me to pay them more money when their work wasn’t satisfactory in the first place is kind of ridiculous. For the price, simply not that good of work either. In a city like this you can simply find better workmanship for equal or lesser price.

I 100% recommend Alva Graciano Tailors! I was on the hunt for a reliable but affordable tailor to alter a very ill-​fitting bridesmaids dress, which basically required a total rework of the entire bodice and straps. All fittings were quick, I was in and out in less than 15 minutes, and they didn’t stop making alterations until I was satisfied. It took three fittings to get it just right (again, a dress totally not made for my body type), and I was so confident in their abilities after just two fittings that I brought in another dress for a more simple alteration. I thought prices were fair and the staff was friendly.
I recommended Alva Graciano Tailors to a friend and we’re both excited to finally «have» a tailor in the city!

Another year of excellent service from Alva Graciano. Niki, Fernando, and their talented team go above and beyond to ensure that you leave with polished, perfectly-​fitted garments.
This year they outdid themselves; in addition basic alterations, they also repaired my raccoon coat, took a size 50 IT evening dress down to a 40, reworked my grandmother’s wedding dress, and performed transformative alterations on my own Lanvin wedding gown.
There’s something wonderfully reassuring about having found artisans this good – I know that a deeply discounted, off-​the-​rack purchase can always be made to fit like a glove, that my vintage and heirloom pieces can be given new life, and that my special purchases are in good hands.

I will reitierate what danielle T and tiffany o said below– I took a bridesmaid dress here that needed to be taken in. the dress was strapless and would not sit up higher on my chest it also would fall a bit because the waist was not tight enough. they told me it was not possible to fix the height without more fabric– fine– they also told me they couldnt take in more than an inch on each side– fine. i pick it up and it fits a little better than when i started but still looks awful. they convinced me there really was nothing they could do and i believed them… FAST FORWARD day before the wedding we take the dresses to get steamed and the seamstress there says that they can in fact fix it and will do so in time to pick up before the wedding. turns out the sides needed to be taken in at an angle (imagine hourglass figure) and not straight down which is what they did. i will not be returning… total cost was $ 118 for bra inserts (which were fine), hem (which was fine) and the shoddy take in job

Seriously as good as it gets in expert tailoring, customer service and finding solutions for my challenging wedding dress. I made the mistake of letting an inexperienced seamstress at another shop work on my dress and it ended up being a very costly mistake. The ONLY stressful part of my wedding was this other shops horrendous mistake. Enter Alva Graciano Tailors… they seriously saved the day and my sanity in the days leading up to my wedding. After my dress had been hacked by the other shop, they took it in, diagnosed the issues and fit me in whenever they could to continue to work towards a solution as it wasn’t a simple fix.
Nikki and Fernando are true professionals, exceptional tailors and have earned a loyal customer for life. I can’t thank you two enough for working miracles on my wedding dress, I felt amazing on wedding day!

They do good work, but be prepared to pay through the nose (does anyone else use this saying?) I went to have a dress altered for an event and was given attitude about the amount of time it would take and how busy they were. I had about two weeks until the event and wasn’t looking for anything crazy. They seemed concerned about the lack of time, but not enough to tell me they couldn’t do it, just enough to charge me extra. For the amount of money I paid, I could have purchased a new dress (something I was trying to avoid). I had another black tie event and needed another round of alterations to a formal gown. I went elsewhere and was much happier with the turn around and the price.

Don’t go here if you just want a small job done. Its super overpriced and the chick didn’t even do what I asked her to.

I came here because I saw all of the amazing reviews and felt very confident leaving my black tie dress with them, but it turned out awful and butchered. However, I do feel bad leaving a terrible review as the people there were beyond friendly and nice.
I was charged $ 30 dollars to shorten my straps (which is $$$$ for this alteration) and $ 30 to take the zipper in and neither were done properly. I asked her to take out some material in the chest, but she said that was a completely different alteration and couldn’t be done. I also asked if the dress should drag about 1.5 inches on the floor or if it could be hemmed and she said it was best to leave it since it was a black tie and since there was a slight train. When I went back for my next fitting the entire chest was caving in and the straps were still too long and they didn’t take enough in at the zipper, so it was sagging and you could see straight down to my underwear. I told her I didn’t think the dress looked correct and she told me that’s just what it was going to look like after the types of alterations I had done. So I felt like I pretty much paid $ 65 to have the dress destroyed.
I was disgusted with how the dress looked on and refused to wear it to my event. I ended up taking it to another tailor who immediately pointed out everything she saw wrong with it, which was exactly what I pointed out before. She pinned the entire hem to make it even all the way across, tightened the straps which lifted the material in the chest and stopped the sagging and took in the material around the zipper. Picking it up today and crossing my fingers it fits better!

Love love love this place! We used to live right around the corner from their cute little shop and would frequent them often for alterations. My husband and I have had bridesmaid dresses, skirts, jeans (original hem), slacks and shirts repaired by them and they are done flawlessly and within a reasonable amount of time. Prices are extremely fair. After we moved from Lincoln Park to Lakeview we still go out of our way to bring our clothing to them and they still remember us :)

I went to this place based on the reviews and I am very happy I did! Due to some issues with ordering/​shipping bridesmaid dresses, I was left with less than a week to find a place to take a size 12 down to a size 8 in time for the wedding. They did a great job with the dress, I dropped it off Sunday and it was ready by Wednesday! The customer service is great and they really listen to what you want/​need done.

BEWARE! If you are going to have something simple done, this place MAY be okay. I took a bridesmaid dress here to be taken from a size 8 to about a 4, so it was a big task. I had 3 fittings for this dress! I didn’t even have that many for my own wedding gown! They completely ruined my dress and it is for a wedding that I am standing up in this weekend. They cut the boning out of it, so the material on the tummy wrinkles and does not lay flat. The original quote for all of this work was $ 165 which I thought was incredibly steep. Then when I finally told them (at the third fitting) that this was just not working, they took $ 100 off. I still paid $ 65 for them to completely ruin my dress. Oh, and the hem was still too short. I asked for it to hit the ground about 20 times and it’s still about a half inch from the ground.
I came here because of the good Unilocal reviews and I am so incredibly disappointed. I took my dress to my dry cleaner after and they could not fix it or figure out why this place would do such horrible work. Any big alterations that need to be done– please steer clear of this place.

Had to have my motorcycle pants hemmed at the bottom and knee-​pads moved up. This isn’t your normal hem. This included special material, moving a zipper, moving velcro, and working with a mesh interior. Moving the knee-​pads was also unique.
I really didn’t expect it to turn out perfect on the first try, but it did. They gave me an accurate timeframe, were very friendly, and did a great job. Will be going back and do recommend.

After calling around in the area for a place open on the weekend, I stumbled across Alva. With a little begging (they were booked solid for the next two weeks!) they agreed to a quick pants hem… On memorial weekend no less! The pants were back to us in less then 24 hours– now THAT’S service! Everyone was very nice, great results and it was cheaper than surrounding places. I will be back!

Wow, I took my completely oversized military uniform to Alva Graciano Tailor’s based on Unilocal reviews. They managed to make it look professional without making me look manly; a difficult feat. I uploaded a before and after picture in the photo section if. Military uniform specifications are very specific; the seamstress I worked with went out of her way to make sure she had every detail down and the result s were perfect. They even had my order done a full week before I needed it just in case something had to be altered.
The location is a basement storefront, but easy to find. Inside it was cheerful, clean, and the dressing room was warm. I also really liked the floor to ceiling mirrors. Beyond the physical setting, the customer service was top notch.
To top things off, the sweet woman who rang me up was able to answer a sizing question regarding a bridesmaid dress I had just ordered. Thanks to her advice I was able to avoid ordering another garment that wouldn’t fit me; although if the dress isn’t just right I know where I’ll be going for alterations.

I just had my first experience as a customer of Alva Graciano last week, and I was extremely impressed with them! I brought in a leather jacket that needed to be tapered on both sides. From the moment I walked in the door their customer service was top notch; very professional and friendly. I had my jacket back in no time, and the work they did was impeccable. I was also very pleased with their price to tailor a leather jacket, as these jobs can get pretty pricey.
I have been to several establishments around the north side of Chicago for various tailoring needs over the years. I am very particular about the fit of my clothes, and subsequently I am very particular about the alterations I bring them in for (unfortunately I have been let down a time or two). I am BEYOND happy with the work I had done here, and I plan to return very soon. I give my highest recommendation to Alva Graciano.

What amazing customer service! Fernando and Nikki really saved the day when I was in a bind. I initially went to another place to get my bridesmaid’s dress altered for my sister’s wedding but I was not pleased, as it was still far too big by at least 2 inches!
I turned to Unilocal for guidance and that’s where I found Alva Graciano. In the midst of what is still a very busy wedding season, Fernando and Nikki agreed to alter what turned out to be a very complicated dress. I brought it to them on a Sunday afternoon and they were able to get it to me by Wednesday evening!
In fact, not only did they get it to me Wednesday evening, they KEPT THE STORE OPEN for me an hour past closing time just to ensure that my dress was perfect before my flight the next day.
I will be back with all my important dresses! I highly recommend!

Amazing tailor! I got a wedding dress altered here — at last minute — and the pricing was extremely reasonable (even given the rush) and the service excellent.
I would highly recommend this establishment to anyone looking to have their clothing fitted. They’re prompt, well-​priced, and SO friendly.

ve been going to Alva Graciano Tailors for about a year and a half now and I’ve never been happier w/​my alterations. Fernando and Nikki are the husband and wife team behind this quaint local store front (right across from Parker). They are extremely hard workers and they provide amazing customer service. Not to mention their rates are more than reasonable.
It’s always nerve racking trying a new tailor so I gave them a few pairs of pants to begin with. They were quick and the pricing was reasonable. I saw that they specialized in leather work so I took a leap of faith, GULP, and gave them my favorite Diane Von Furstenberg leather jacket. They shortened the sleeves for me at a fraction of the price that I would’ve paid for any other leather specialist in the city. I then took the mother of all alterations to them… MY WEDDING DRESS! They charged a flat fee and they were meticulous about making sure my dress fit perfectly for the big day!
My husband took a suit to them and needed full alterations in 48 hrs. They were able to accomodate and the suit was tailored to perfection. Bottom line… GO TO ALVA GRACIANO TAILORS! You won’t be disappointed!