An’s Alterations & Dry Cleaning

I have been going here for over a decade and she does amazing work. I have NEVER EVER had an issue with their work. Dry cleaning, alterations, I’ve even had items completely overhauled. The prices cannot be beat.

Avoid this place. I’d give them zero stars if possible. I thought that 5 bad reviews and 17 good reviews must mean that the bad reviews were from jerks or chronic complainers, but I was wrong.
I brought in a new suit jacket to have the sleeves shortened and dry cleaned. I put on the jacket, and she turned the cuff up a little and said «How’s that?» The cuff was at my middle knuckles, so I said it needed more. She turned up a little more and said «How’s that?’ The cuff was only halfway up my hand. I finally turned up the cuff myself to the proper place and she pinned it. [I should have left since she clearly didn’t know about jacket sleeve lengths.]
Connie told me it would take a few days. I gave it an extra day, but when I went to the shop she said she was behind schedule and it would take another four days. I asked her to call me if it turned out there would be another delay, and she said «Okay.»
Not wanting to make another trip without knowing that the jacket was done, I called on the sixth day [to give her some extra time]. She said the jacket hadn’t been started because she had to get a new machine, and that the jacket would be done in two days. I asked why she hadn’t called me with an update, and all she said was «I don’t know.» I also asked to re-​confirm that the fake buttonholes near the cuff would be redone when she moved the buttons, but she said there were no buttonholes [she was clearly not looking at the jacket]. I explained about moving the buttons and re-​doing the fake buttonholes, and she said it would be taken care of. I told her I need the jacket done by the second day, because I needed it for an interview, and she agreed. [I should have just gone and gotten the damned jacket at this point.]
Today, I called to confirm I could come pick up the finished jacket. Connie’s sister answered the phone, and didn’t know if the jacket was done. I decided this was ridiculous, so I went to the shop to get the jacket. Sure enough, not one bit of work had been done, but they had done the dry cleaning. Who the hell dry cleans BEFORE doing work on a garment??? I told the sister I was taking the jacket because this was ridiculous [it was now nearly three weeks since I’d dropped it off there], and the sister said, «I can stay late today and do this for you!» I said absolutely not and asked what the dry cleaning charge was. She meekly said «Five dollars?» so I gave her a $ 5 bill and left. By the way, the sleeves had NO pins in them, but hadn’t been hemmed — what happened to the pins, and how the hell was Connie going to know where to hem them? Utter incompetence.
Perhaps the positive reviewers are telling the truth about the work quality in this place, but my rating is based on their lack of any alteration service within almost three weeks time, plus their irritating failure to make simple phone calls letting customers know there is a delay.

She hems my pants in a jiffy and has a cute little dog too!

Years later and I still go see Connie for all my hemming needs. She is as good as it gets when you want your clothes to fit «perfectly». We all have different curves in different places so it’s important (at least to me), to look like my clothes are custom made. I’m a bargain shopper so I will find the best quality items at a fraction of full price, bring it to An’s Alterations, so Connie can alter the clothing item so it can look like it was made, just for me. I’m working on a design for my wedding gown so Connie can sew it into perfection!

connie is the best!
my family & i go to connie for everything — alterations, hemming of pants, making of dresses, dry cleaning and so forth.
her prices are fair & she always does a superb job.
please note that this place is cash only!

I just finished reading several reviews in which people complained about An not getting their work done on time or giving pick up dates that weren’t accurate. An was born in Vietnam, so her cultural concepts of time are different from Americans’. I have been told many times by An that I could pick up items on specific dates, but when I arrived, the items were not ready. I am okay with that as I work with people who were not born in the USA. I understand. If you can’t understand the cultural differences that affect her behavior, go to an American seamstress.

I have had her make (1) drapes (2) tablecloth and alter dresses and shirts. All have turned out great! I highly recommend her.

For the work An’s has done in the past, I would give 5 stars. The problem is the dependability. Several times I have arranged to pick up work — during posted work hours — only to arrive and find the shop empty (lights on, no one home). These were not emergency jobs so it was only mildly irritating. The other day I had an emergency alteration. I arrived at An’s 5 minutes before 9am. The door sign said open but the door was locked. I waited until 20 after and called the store number several times — no one showed up and no one answered the phone. I gave up and went down the street to another shop, which I will review separately. An’s is good but I don’t have the time to play «alteration roulette» wrt will she will actually be around to take my work or give it back to me on time.

She does all our alterations from t-​shirts, to pants, etc.
We love, love, love her and she delivers great work. Definitely recommend!
Tell her BIlly sent ya!

I called and asked if she could measure me because I planned to have my bridesmaids dresses get altered there. She said yes an when I went in and got measured (it took a total of 3 minutes), she wanted to charge me $ 10!!! I gave her back the measurements and left. That sucks because she lost good business.

I actually hesitate to write a review, because I love her work soo much that I don’t want the secret out. Connie has altered slacks, jeans, shirts, jackets you name it she has worked on it for me. 9 time out of 10 everything was great. A few times I had to have something re-​alter something, which she was always willing to do at no charge.
I would give 5 stars, but I’ve shown up without calling only to find my items not ready. Now she is really good about calling me if there will be a delay. Highly recommend this business.

She made me curtains and a pillowcase out of expensive fabric, and did it exactly the way I wanted. I did come prepared with a pattern, so there would not be any confusion. Excellent attention to detail.
** always call to make sure your item is ready for pick-​up! Don’t just show up, you may be disappointed.**

I have 2 boys, ages 6 & 8, who constantly need patches sewn onto the knees of their pants. Most patches are «iron on», but I don’t think ironing on a patch would hold up to my kids rough & tumble lifestyle. So I bring all of their jeans, khakis, etc. to An’s. They charge $ 3 to sew on a patch.
I’ve been coming here for several years now and I’ll keep coming back as long as my kids insist on tearing up their brand new clothes.
I’ve also had her make my clothes more fitted when I’ve lost weight. If you need something sewn by a certain date, make sure to tell her the specific date and then call her on the morning of the day you need your item. Sometimes she just needs a reminder.

Yes the owner is very nice, and does good work. But she has never finished when she has promised. If she says it will be done on Wednesday I’ll wait until Saturday to pick it up, and often times it still isn’t ready. This happened time and again, until I finally switched tailors. If you aren’t in a hurry, and don’t mind having to come back, then the work itself is fine.

The Lady who owns it is a sweet heart! she fixed my True Religion jeans that were to big for me in the wrong places and too small in the extra wrong places. i am a size 31 – 30 which most jeans don’t make but An’s been able to convert all my jeans perfectly!
I also had this really cool limited edition shirt that only 100 were made, i didn’t look and purchased a womens shirt, but An was able to convert it into a mens shirt so it fits perfect!

Being a shorty, it’s hard to find pants that aren’t too long. I always had my mom shorten my pants as a kid, but since I left home many years ago, I was too lazy to go to a tailor to have it done. So I would either 1) shop until I found pants that were short enough 2) shorten then using sewing tape and 3) I have to admit, once I actually MAILED pants home to my mom for her to shorten once. Aww.
So I bought some jeans that needed to be shortened. The jeans sat in the trunk of my car for a month before I finally got around to it.
An’s shop is a little tricky to find. She charged $ 14 to hem my jeans with a hem that matched the original. She said to come back in 2 days to pick it up. I went back 2 days later and she said it would be ready in 30 mins. That was an inconvenience as I’d driven all the way over there to pick them up. That’s why this isn’t a higher rating.
So I went back later that night and it looked like she did a very good job. She hemmed them in a way that if I ever wanted to make them long again, I could (growth spurt?). Also I think she did something to make the bottom of the hem look a little worn, as it should… which was cool.
So the quality was pretty good… I would go back… but CALL first to make sure it’s done before you make the trip over there!

I love Anh’s work. I’ve had everything done here including hemming, dress altering and complete dress creation. I brought her a pattern and fabric and she made me a stunning dress in a week. She could have done it without the pattern too. She can make wedding dresses just based on your ideas. I wish I still lived in the area, I might save all my alterations just to bring there once a year. Prices are middle ground, $ 10 — $ 15 for hemming seems average to me.

Everytime I’ve gone to An’s shes made it happen for me, it’s san diego’s slice of alteration heaven, down of Adams. Skinny jeans to Altered Suits. They make the magic happen!

My daily world is hemmed in (heh — hemmed. In a seamstress review. I crack myself up.) by the limits of my footmobile, so imagine my delight when I discovered a fairly highly Unilocal-​rated alterations shop within walking distance. *
So off I trucked down Adams Ave, wedding dress in hand (now there’s a mental image for you), to get the sides taken in. The work was completed quickly and professionally and well — it fits me like a glove, now — and she left the extra fabric sewn into the lining so that I can let the dress out «once I have a baby»: her words, not mine. I nearly choked on my gum at this point, but she looked as though she could Heimlich with the best of them and she probably wouldn’t even charge extra.
* As an aside, I’m not sure that my current dependence on Unilocal is such a good thing. Seriously — I can’t do anything without confirming that it is Unilocal approved. Does this speak to a deeper rooted insecurity? Is there some kind of support group? Do I need an intervention?

I wish I had a glowing review, but unfortunately I don’t. I went here because I went by the previous reviews about this place and to me it sounded like a safe bet.
I brought four pairs of pants there on a Wednesday at about two in the afternoon. Two pairs were jeans and two were slacks. All needed to be taken up, a couple needed to be taken in at the waist and butt and one needed the legs more tapered. She told me to come pick them up on Monday.
I went there Monday at around two in the afternoon and she told me my pants weren’t ready yet and asked me if I could come back in two hours. I wouldn’t have minded this if she had just called me on my cell phone to tell me. The number was written on her ticket/​invoice. But she didn’t call and the fact that I spent my lunch hour driving to her shop to get my pants that weren’t ready did not sit well with me. But I figured all would be forgiven and I’d be over it as long as the work on my pants was good. The work was fine on the slacks, but the jeans were not good.
One pair is still too long, they hit the floor in back and I never wanted that. The other pair she didn’t match the style of stitch and she didn’t match the color. The stitch should be a «jean» style stitch where there’s space between the stitches. But the job she did there’s no space at all… it’s just one long, continuous, uninterrupted line. Also the color is totally wrong. The stitching on my jeans is a very pale, faded blue and she used a dark navy. It’s totally stands out. So now I have to get the alterations fixed and I’m not happy about that. I spent a total of $ 62, which certainly isn’t discount prices. So I expected high quality work and attention to detail. To have half of the work wrong is unacceptable to me.
I wish I could give her a better review because she seems like a very nice, warm woman. But some things can’t be overlooked.
1÷15÷08 UPDATE: IN AN ATTEMPT TO ALLOW AN’S TO CORRECT THE SITUATION I HAVE CONTACTED CONNIE AT AN’S AND TALKED TO HER ABOUT MY JEANS. SHE TOLD ME TO BRING THEM BY TODAY AND SHE WILL FIX THEM. SO WHEN I GET THEM BACK I WILL GIVE YET ANOTHER UPDATE AND MAYBE I CAN RAISE MY RATING DEPENDING ON THE CUSTOMER SERVICE I GET AND THE QUALITY OF THE REPAIRS. WILL LET YOU KNOW.
1÷18÷08 UPDATE TO THE ABOVE UPDATE: I’M ACTUALLY WRITING THIS MUCH AFTER THE FACT. FORECLOSURE WILL KEEP YOU DISTRACTED AND TIED UP. OKAY, SO I WENT BACK TO PICK-​UP MY FIXED ALTERATIONS AND WAS MUCH HAPPIER WHEN I SAW MY JEANS THIS TIME. EVERYTHING WAS RIGHT THIS TIME AND WAS EXACTLY WHAT I HAD WANTED. SHE WAS APOLOGETIC AND DID NOT CHARGE ME SINCE IT WAS AN ERROR ON HER PART. SO I GIVE A HIGHER RATING FOR THE WILLINGNESS TO FIX THE ERRORS AND APOLOGIZE FOR THEM.