Alterations Dilemma - any advice

normon · August 2010

Hi, I was planning to use Chris O'Hare but my mom's friend told me on Saturday that her daughter is in a wedding and the bride and several of the bridesmaids had the worst time with her and my mom's friend basically told me I shouldn't use her. I don't know the bride or the bridesmaids so I can't judge for myself. I had already called Chris and am planning to start the alterations in September. My wedding is December 4th so I feel like I would need to book a new seamstress ASAP. I would next call Judy at the Bridal Secret as I looked at dresses there and see if she has any availability. Anyone any advice? I've only ever heard good things about Chris but am now a little freaked out. Thank you.

LyssaBella · August 2010

Where are you located? If you are fairly close to Everett give Noi a call. PM me for her information.

vtbm · August 2010

Oh no don't tell me this! I have an appt. with her at the end of Sept. for my Dec. wedding!!

Karen's MOH · August 2010

I'm using Chris O'Hare-- only had my first fitting so I can't say yet how it fits, but I can understand their concerns. She is really nice, very accommodating with fitting in appointments, but her studio/office.... it's insane. I had heard that it was a mess and not to be taken aback, but I was really shocked when I walked in. Honestly, if I had known how cluttered it was, I would have gone someplace else. It's not that I don't think she will do a great job, I really do, but it's hard to even see what the dress is looking like because it's so crowded with other stuff.

That's just my opinion, and it's only based on the condition of her workspace, not her personality or her seamstress skills. I am not bashing her, just warning you about the space. With your wedding being in Dec., keep in mind most seamstresses will have some extra time with the summer/early fall rush being over, so you should not have a problem if you choose to reschedule.

october010bride · August 2010

I'm using Chris and she is wonderful, IMO. Yes her office is a mess but really, I couldn't care less. She charges unbelievably low prices and does the best work. I've already had 2 fittings and she has basically created a brand new dress for me (it was 4 sizes too big and just overall need a ton of work).

I could not be happier with my alterations choice.

mcononico · August 2010

I am working with Chris too.. and like PPs said her work space is a disaster but she is really sweet and has also done a great job for me. She has taken my dress in a few sizes and made me a custom bolero and has been doing a fabulous job. I have had 2 fittings and need 1 more and she is felxible and accomodating with appt times.
I can understand concerns about her work space but at the end of the day it only matters that your dress looks exactly as you would want it and I think Chris can deliver with that expectation.
GL

jaguarjen · August 2010

Did the friend of your mom say what specifically it was they had trouble with? "Had the worst time" isn't very informative -- could mean they thought she did a terrible job, could mean they had issues with communication or pricing, could mean they had a personality clash. I would follow up with your mom's friend and find out more about what specifically they were unhappy about and decide if that's something that applies to you or not. If it does, then you do still have a dilemma, but on the other hand it might set your mind at ease.

I personally had a great experience with Chris, but I also had very simple alterations (just a hem and bustle), it was only my dress and not bridesmaids too, and I went on the early end from a schedule perspective, so I am admittedly not the most challenging alteration case to use as an example.

erilouboston · August 2010

I'm with jaguarjen - "Had the worst time" can be a little vague. Also, if they were working with her over the summer, Chris's mom passed away and she was going through a difficult spot there for a bit.

Agree with all the comments on her workspace being a disaster - but I love Chris and the work she does speaks for itself I think - but I'm biased!

normon · August 2010

Thank you for all the input. I had her do basic alterations on my bridesmaid dress for a friend's wedding (cups and hem) so know her and her workspace which didn't throw me off at all. I'd only ever heard great things so was really shocked that anyone had a bad experience. According to mom's friend, specifically one of the BM's dresses was too tight too short and when she tried to zip it up, the zipper broke. She did replace the zipper but the BM ended up taking it someplace else to see if they could let anything out/down. The bride supposedly thought that the hem was crooked and something about the bust and hips didn't fit right and when she pointed it out, supposedly she said buy a new bra and some spanx. I've met Chris and that just didn't sound to me like something she would say. I'm not sure when they would've gone to her, just that the wedding is on 8/21 and supposedly this all happened a week or two before the wedding.

My alterations will be to fix beading and zipper (sample dress), hem and bustle and possibly taken in here or there but not anything that I think is crazy for an experienced person to do. I had been planning to take my mom with me for my fittings so that she could see since I know there's only the one mirror. I'm leaning towards still going since it just seems so unusual. I think maybe I just needed to be talked down from the ledge.

amylee4835 · August 2010

Judy at the Bridal Secret is awesome! She did a really great job with the alterations and the bustle looked amazing. She really took the time to do a bustle that complimented my dress.

I picked my dress up the day before the wedding and it was steamed, on a bodice and ready to go - perfect!

Karen's MOH · August 2010

I'm actually glad to read all the positive comments too, since she has my dress

One thing to note (which she probably told you) she doesn't do the final pressing. That worked fine for me since my wedding is on the Cape, and now I don't have to worry about it getting wrinkled on the way down, I'll just have it pressed near by.

Katem2284 · August 2010

Chris O'hare has been a total nightmare, my daughter is getting married this weekend. All the dresses including the bridal gown have been taken to other places to be redone. Six out of eight bridesmaid dresses were done wrong and had to be redone. The brides dress had to be redone and thank god we found Judy from the Bridal Secret. She has completely redone her dress and veil (which was practically destroyed by Chris O'hare). I would highly recommend going to Judy if you can, don't make the mistake we did by taking your gown to Chris Ohare. Oh, by the way Chris has had the gown since May and as of last Thursday it wasn't even done. So please look elsewhere, or try to go to the Bridal Secret on Cottage Street, Quincy

vtbm · August 2010

Kate,
What exacty went wrong?? What kind of work was she having done to it?

Katem2284 · August 2010

All the bridesmaids gowns hems were cut crooked, some dresses were taken in too much and yes she did say get different undergarments after the zipper broke. I wouldn't say this if I felt she did a professional job, I think what issues in her personal life, unfortunately has affected her job performance. All the dresses were taken to other places to be fixed. The place we brought the bridal gown to be fixed, told us this was the fourth gown she has had to fix after Chris worked on it. Good Luck

BosMA510 · August 2010

Chris worked on my dress and the dress that my mother is wearing to the wedding and I'm thrilled with how they came out. Chris couldn't be nicer and she does great work at a reasonable price. She offerred very helpful suggestions when asked; she pretty much transformed my mother's dress (in a good way!) with changes that we never would have thought of, but that worked perfectly in the end. She's great!

Alterations Dilemma - any advice

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