Chit Ma Ma Alterations

Well, who can I blame, but my own laziness… –_​_​_​–
So I got one of those David’s Bridal generic bridesmaids dresses for my sister’s wedding, but it was slightly too big. Having tried on [smaller size] (hey, hey, a lady doesn’t reveal her dress size for all of the internets to see… I’ve gotta maintain some airs of mystery. =P) at the store, I decided I quite liked breathing, so I ordered the next size up without having tried it on because David’s Bridal didn’t have that size in store. Unfortunately, the one size up dress was a bit too big and I couldn’t gain the weight to fit in it, I’m talking about boobs here.
Anywho, approximately 1.33 months before the wedding date, I decided I should probably look for a tailor. My sister knew someone who could take it in at a discounted rate of $ 20, but that tailor was all the way in Vallejo. I really didn’t feel like going to Vallejo just for an inch or so of fabric, so punch in my zip code a la Unilocal I did.
This place popped up immediately, had a decent amount of good reviews, with a price point that was not too bad. This store front is actually a hair salon place owned by the sister of the person who does the alterations. The tailor actually works out of a San Mateo store and I never met her. When I got to the salon, I was directed into a smallish broom-​closet sized fitting room to put on the dress and have the lady fit me. At no point in time was a measuring tape ever used though, which confused me. The salon owner clamped the dress and put in pins marking the areas to be cut. After being «fitted» to size, I was told it will be $ 35 to take in the dress from the zipper rather than from the sides (i.e. remove zipper, lop off extra fabric, put zipper back). I decided, what the hey, this place is nearby and I’m sufficiently lazy, so I left my dress with her.
Two days later, I get a call from the tailor who said that her sister quoted me the wrong price and that it was actually going to cost $ 45 because there is a zipper and a clasp. Okay… what formal dress nowadays doesn’t have both a clasp and a zipper? Shouldn’t the salon owner know this being her sister’s right-​hand-​woman? Ugh, fine, whatever, $ 45 it is, but there had better not be anymore hiccups and the dress had better look effing fantastic and it better fit like a damn glove when I get it! –_​_​_​–
Eighteen days later, I’m expecting to pick up the dress the Friday of that week. Thursday night, 11:06 PM, I get a call from the tailor who says that she’s terribly sorry, but forgot to look at her schedule and has not yet completed my dress. Hasn’t even started. She wonders if it will be okay to pick up my dress a day later on Saturday instead and she will work on the dress that night. Now, I feel like I’ve been pretty patient up until this point, but first you change the price on me, then you miss our agreed upon date of pick up, and now you’re telling me that you can finish the job in one day when I’ve given you 18? Am I taking crazy pills or is this some unprofessional ass bullshit??! *Breathe* Through gritted teeth, I calmly asked if the dress FOR SURE will be ready on Saturday because I still need to try it on and make sure it fits (and meanwhile thinking, find another effing tailor if it doesn’t fit because I sure as hell will not waste more time with this lady).
Come Saturday, I go and pick up my dress, cursing in my head the whole way there that I was going to pay the initial agreed upon price of $ 35 if the job was not satisfactory and started listing out all of the things that justified it. But in the time of the 5 minute drive there and my finding a parking spot two cars away, I calmed down enough to not have to smack someone. Finding parking in SF always calms me down.
I try on the dress to make sure it fits and it does. The sewing was not bad, just a taaad misaligned, but hardly noticeable without a laser straight-​edge. I pay the $ 45 (but no tip! Because all of that BS I experienced deserved none at all!) and get my dress and myself the hell out of there. I think the fact that I’m giving them 3 stars (well, more like 2.5 stars, but I just had some cake so I’m feeling generous) instead of 1 star is tip enough.
TL;DR — If you’re fine with dealing with flaky people, then take your clothes here, the tailoring is decent. Definitely give them a shorter deadline to allow for the time buffer that you most certainly will need. Also, I can’t quite remember, but I think this place is cash only.

Perfect every time =)! We are happy with all the alteration work — a little on the pricey side but worth it!

Used Chit Ma Ma again — twice this year for dress alterations. The work continues to be excellent with a reasonable price. The first dress had minor alterations ie just some shortening and taking in the waist. The second dress was a bit of work, with a zipper replacement required to take the dress in. Both dresses fit perfectly and looked great after the alterations. They do a great job with the fitting and with the tailoring and complete the job on time.
It is worth the money to have a dress that fits your body exactly, it makes a huge difference in the overall appearance of the outfit. Highly recommended.

Note: This review isn’t based on any actual service performed here.
Because of the stellar reviews, I decided to come here to get a simple maxi dress hemmed. First off, Chit Ma Ma was supposed to open at 10:00 a.m. as posted, I arrived promptly at 10:00 a.m., but waited about 25 – 30 minutes with 2 other people needing alterations and a haircut until the woman finally came to open up shop. It’s one of my pet peeves when stores open up later or close earlier than posted hours — definitely one way to lose my business.
Then, after waiting for the woman to take care of the other two people, I showed her the simple hem I needed for my maxi dress. I already had it marked at where the hem needed to be. Again, it was a simple hem — just one layer of thin cloth. Nothing fancy, no lining, just straight across, etc. My normal tailor would have charged no more than $ 15 for it. However, this woman wanted $ 38 AND she said it would take 2 weeks, which I just couldn’t gulp down.
I decided to take my business elsewhere. Glen Park Cleaners did a stellar job for the simple task for $ 18 and finished it in 2 days.

I took my tube top dress in for alteration. Brand new dress but i suddenly thought a tube top is too bold for me so i went in to put spaghetti sleeves. She recommended i don’t put a spaghetti sleeve on such a fancy dress instead do a halter neck and she can even have tie up cas i wanted to it more conservative. She did not think I am weird cas I am being modest and she also told me how pretty my dress was. Impressive. Haven’t got the dress back yet, will review after i have the dress in hand.

I called the shop to ask if they would be able to take in my bridesmaid dress with only 2 week turnaround and they said sure, no problem.
I came in and she expertly pinned up my dress. She also didn’t try to upsell me and let me know she didn’t think my dress was worth shortening as it was only a tiny bit too long.
I let her know I was losing weight and she told me I could come back in for a 2^nd fitting. She called me during the week to confirm I was coming back in for a 2^nd fitting which I thought was a nice touch.
I came back a week later, and she happily told me I lost an 1 inch and she pinned my dress in.
I came back only a few days later and picked up my dress. It fit like a glove! I am so happy with her work and their customer service! They even added a clasp above the zipper, which my dress was missing, with their own doing and free of charge! I really think they go out of their way to help their customers and the quality of work was very good! I would not hesitate to take other garments here.
Parking is free and fairly easy in this neighborhood. FYI: The front door is tricky; although it’s street level, you have to wait to be buzzed in.

See: JJ Alterations in San Mateo.
I took my bridesmaid dress to Chit Ma Ma thinking I’d be getting alterations done in SF, and ended up spending several Saturdays making the drive down 101 to get to San Mateo to JJ Alterations for dress fittings… since that’s the shop where Caroline actually spends most of her time.
I just wrote a rather lengthy review of JJ Alterations, so I’ll keep this one short. Caroline was patient, kind, and hard-​working. Her sister, Angela, did my initial fitting and was actually rather rude. I told her what I was looking to have done with the dress, and she flat out told me it was a bad idea. Excuse me?! I’m the one wearing the dress, and if I don’t want my cleavage hanging out, I’m going to ask for a modesty piece to be put in. I don’t think that’s a lot to ask, especially when I have the extra fabric to make the modesty piece. Thanks.
Regardless, Caroline did a fine job. But be prepared to travel to San Mateo if you’re bringing in an item that will take several weeks to complete.

Caroline is an alteration goddess anything and everything she will make you look good!

I wanted to get my dress altered for a more flattering fit and was dismayed by the costly estimates provided by three other alteration stores. I came into Chit Ma Ma, and everything was great! I was given a very cordial welcome and had my dress fitted according to my requests in an efficient manner. I asked for only the bottom section of my dress to be narrowed down, but she was persistent with me getting the top part altered for a more flattering fit (in consideration of my small chest). I stubbornly told her I only wanted the bottom altered, but she persuaded me, for she has 39 years of experience! She really knows what she’s talking about when it comes to alterations. When I came to pick up my dress I was more than pleased. She exceeded my expectations and for an extremely low cost, especially consdereing how l needed the dress only 4 hours after the fitting process and the thick fabric of my dress. Her threading is so clean cut that my sisters didn’t realize that my dress was altered! :D I will definitely return here for future alterations. (:

Had a few pair of jeans that were too long so I took it here to get it hemmed.
She was pretty busy, but I was in no hurry to get the jeans, so I waited 2 weeks to pick them up again.
Prices:
$ 8 — her own thread
$ 12 — original thread
I suggest going with her own thread, because you can’t tell the difference anyway. That’s what I got, and they look no different than when I sent them in, other than that it fits me now.

I came to Chit Ma Ma after all the wonderful Unilocal reviews. As usual, I arrived just after-​hours, but Caroline’s sister at the salon gave her a call and she promptly came to help me! I had two pairs of pants and a bridesmaid dress that, I thought, was impossible to fix (since the chest was about three sizes too big). Caroline proved me wrong! The dress was impeccably done — the seams looked just as they did when it arrived from the factory. I tried it on and I was as snug-​as-​a-​bug-​in-​a-​rug!
Chit Ma Ma does wonderful work with good prices!

THE BEST.
Caroline is THEE person to go to for alterations. She’s altered my pants, shirts – you name it. There is a difference b/​t altering and the kind of ALTERING Caroline does. When a piece of store-​bought jeans have been altered to become shorter, you know that it’s altered b/​c the hemming is different. Caroline alters it as if these jeans have never been touched, yet they fit perfectly. You can’t even tell that your jeans have been shortened b/​c the hemming is set back to it’s original! This is magic, bro.

I brought my bridesmaid dress here because the boning was not adapted for smaller busted women. It was digging into my chest pretty badly. The nice alteration lady said she could cut it down for me and it’ll be much better. She was right! I picked it up the following week and the workmanship was seamless. You can’t even tell she went in there to trim the boning. She also replaced the hook and eye ($ 15 total) for me since it was loose. I forgot her name, but she works at the salon with her sister. They were both very friendly and super cute! Great find!

I needed some alterations on a couple different dresses. I brought in 3. a bridesmaid dress, 2 other dresses that needed simple hemming. I was a bit hesitant to bring the bridesmaid dress in since it consisted of taking it in by 2 inches, hemming it and straightening out the line in the back. (Davids bridal did a sloppy job of creating the dress). I am RELIEVED that the dress came out nicely. It was taken in perfectly and was done within a reasonable time frame. Now I can wear my bridesmaid dress and stand next to the bride without having to pull the dress up every few minutes. SCORRRRE!
Please note that her hours are not like a normal business. I would recommend calling ahead to make sure she will be there, when dropping off and picking up. Her alterations are within a reasonable price range. hemming of pants/​dress about $ 10.00 she charged $ 35 for the bridesmaid dress, which is a great price.
Have I found my go to alteration lady? Mmmmmmmhmmmm!

The alterations are perfect!
I bring all my dresses (prom/​/​recital/​concert) here. No need to worry about tripping over long dresses or losing the elasticity of the straps that connect to the back.
My dresses look exactly the same way/​condition I’ve bought them except they now fit my body perfectly.
I don’t trust anyone else but Chit Ma Ma =)