The Alterationist

If you want your dress in good hands, then make sure you hire Mary! I honestly can't say enough, and was sad when my time/meetings with Mary were over. Mary is so kind and listens to your vision and is very detailed oriented when it comes to her work. She communicates impeccably and keeps you updated during the alterations process. She takes no requests lightly and no matter what the request or concern is, even down to the smallest little detail she wants to make sure you are happy. My gown had a sheer deep V that I wasn't too crazy about. Mary was able to take some floral lace appliques that were leftover and created intermittent scattering of sheer bits in between the lace additions, leaving the dimension of the sheer deep V, while blending away the sharp contrast of the open deep V. It turned out amazing! In addition to her great work, she is so kind and supportive. We all know how stressful those last few weeks leading up to your big day can be, and I just so happened to have a breakdown moment during one of my appts with Mary and she offered the biggest hug, which I can't even explain how badly that was needed. Thank you Mary for your kindness, patience and beautiful work. You truly made me feel gorgeous on my wedding day!

Mary was wonderful to work with! My dress turned out absolutely stunning. I even had a complete change in dress last minute and she was so accommodating! She answered all my questions and emails quickly and had scheduled out all our appointments perfectly.

If you need your dress altered and you don’t want to have to worry about it looking bad, go to Mary! She did a fantastic job with my dress, and she was a delight to work with. Just be sure to get your dress in early, as her slots go by fast.

Mary is so incredibly talented! When I first got my wedding dress it was bulky and ill-fitting, but Mary turned it into the dress of my dreams that fit perfectly! (And made it look effortless!) She walked me through every step of the alterations process, was easy to work with and flexible with appointment scheduling. She took photos of me in my dress to share with my family when I came to appointments alone, and she made sure I had videos of her explaining the bustle of my dress for my bridesmaids on the day of the wedding. In addition to all of that, Mary is so kindhearted, welcoming, and encouraging! It was a true pleasure to work with her, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her to anyone - she will not disappoint and you’ll look stunning on your wedding day!

Mary was a dream to work with! She is such a calming presence and made fittings fun. She was able to make my dress fit me to a tee and make it comfortable for me to wear the whole night! I loved the way she did my bustle - it looked perfect and was easy for my MOH to do! Highly recommend her if you are trying to find an alteration shop!

Mary was a godsend for my wedding dress and bridal look. After I had purchased my wedding dress I underwent allergy testing and lost roughly 30 pounds as a result. When I tried on the dress that once fit well in the store, I was immediately in tears. The dress needed serious alterations to the bust and waist. What made the experience even worse was that my family lived out of state and I didn't have my bridesmaids or mother of the bride to help. As Mary began to pin the dress to reveal a shape, I knew I was in the hands of a magician. Mary took the time to listen and really care about the detail of every stitch. She even fixed a portion of my heirloom veil and held onto my accessories for the day of. I cannot recommend her enough. She is worth every penny and you will feel absolutely radiant! Every Chicago bride needs her!

Mary is amazing! She has such a vision and I couldn't have been happier with my dress! I was in love with my dress before I brought it into Mary, and in the days leading up to my wedding, she completely transformed my dress into the dress of my dreams!! Thank you Mary!!

When I purchased my gown, my bridal salon gave me three suggested names for where to have my dress alterations done. My first stop was to sift through all the reviews. When I got to Mary at The Alterationist, it was obvious I didn’t need to look any further. There’s a reason she has perfect reviews across every single platform - her work is impeccable and she’s friendly and organized. Like others have mentioned, if you want to work with her, you need to reach out well in advance of your wedding. For my July 2019 wedding, I reached out in summer 2018 to set up an initial consultation in the fall. We then set up a series of fittings starting around March, and Mary made sure to touch base with me before each one to see if I had any questions or if I needed to make any changes to the appointment time. I had purchased a sample Lazaro dress from Glamor Closet, and it fit me pretty well but definitely needed some work. Mary added a bustle, hemmed it, fixed the shoulders, and took in a fair amount on the sides and around the bust to make it fit me perfectly. It had several layers of fabric that each needed individual attention, and some really intricate lace on the outer layer, but Mary handled it like the total pro that she is. She also worked with the inner layers and built up the bust so that it was a little more structured; without that work, the inner lining was kind of like a loose slip that would get twisted easily. I wasn’t even thinking about lining placement on my wedding day because it fit so well. In sum, if you can get in with Mary, DO IT. It’s money well spent for making your dress look perfect AND your peace of mind.

Mary is the best in the business. I read SO many reviews in advance and knew I needed to get in to see her. I even visited a few other alteration shops and no one else compared. My dress had really intricate beading and Mary offered a reasonable and affordable price with exceptional craftsmanship. Mary was always friendly, easy to work with and just wanted to make me happy. She books up FAST so I recommend reaching out EARLY. I feel so so lucky I got her and felt like a shining star working with her.

Mary is simply the best! You always have an individual appointment and she seems to remember everything about your gown and exactly how you want it from the first meeting. She is honest about fit, has perfect tailoring skills, and handles your gown with care. She was ahead of our timeline and goes above and beyond to make the appointment fun! She is popular and a one woman show, so I would recommend reaching out to her before you need to have your gown altered because chances are, she is booked. I waited 2 months to get in for an appointment and it was worth the wait! She did an amazing job on my gown and it fit like a glove!

Mary was incredible to work with! And she certainly had her work cut out for her with my gown. Several layers of fabric that all had to be shortened and brought in, lace and detachable sleeves. Mary’s work with my sleeves was flawless, and my gown turned out better than I could have imagined, like it was literally made for me. She was very easy to communicate with, and timely with appointment scheduling and follow-up emails noting exactly what progress was being made on my gown. This gave me ease knowing step by step what work was being done on my gown. Visiting her lovely boutique over the course of 4 months was always a joy, and she welcomed me to bring family and friends, and even had glasses for us to sip champagne in during my fittings. I would highly recommend Mary’s services, as she is truly an expert at what she does!

She does an amazing job!

Mary should be your go-to alternationist in Chicago. She was such a pleasure to work with for my wedding dress alterations. My dress didn't need a lot of work but Mary still made subtle changes and hemmed it so it fit absolutely perfect. I would highly recommend Mary for wedding dress alterations.

Mary is just the nicest person you will ever meet. She is incredibly responsive to emails/questions, upfront about pricing/estimates, and so talented at working with wedding gowns! I am fairly short and my sample dress had a very lacy hem that I was nervous about having to raise, but she did it without any issues at all! I was able to bring my mom, mother-in-law, sister, friends, etc to fittings, and we had such a lovely time sitting in Mary's shop drinking champagne while doing the fittings. Mary had my dress ready for pickup the morning prior to my wedding, and everything was cleaned and pressed and packaged to perfection. Highly recommend Mary for any wedding dress alterations!

Mary is seriously the go-to person for wedding dresses!! If you have a dress in need of alterations, definitely go to Mary! She is one of the sweetest people and so easy to work with. I had a crazy ballgown dress, and I was really worried that it would get messed up in the alteration process, since there were just sooooo many layers on this thing. Mary worked on my dress so wonderfully (including a hemming and bustle, among other things), and the end result was amazing! The dress fit like a glove on the day of the wedding and I felt beautiful. Also, Mary's prices are SUPER fair. I went to see one other tailor before Mary, and she was about double the price for the same changes. One thing to also note is that Mary books up fast! When I got my dress, I reached out to Mary and got an appointment two months from that day. So as soon as you have your dress (or know you are right at the time of receiving it), book your appointment!

Mary was amazing! I was initially nervous about finding someone to alter my dress in Chicago, as I had purchased it in Atlanta and wasn’t able to fly back during the year to alter it at the bridal salon. My friend recommended the Alterationist and I am so happy she did because my dress could not have been in better hands. Mary is so dedicated to her work and her talent and attention to detail is incredible. She also is just really nice and easy to work with, she let my bridesmaid and I bring champagne to my first and last appointment, and was super kind to both of us. I am thrilled with how my dress turned out, I felt gorgeous the day of my wedding and that was thanks to Mary!

I could not speak more highly of my experience working with Mary. She herself is an incredibly kind and wonderful human being, which is only to add to the amazing work she does. She was able to alter my wedding dress to perfection! It stayed exactly in place the entire day, even through hours of dancing. Would highly highly recommend her to anyone.

I originally waited to write this review because I wanted to be sure that I did Mary justice and credit that she deserved, however I feel like I still won't even come close to expressing how grateful I am that I had her do my alterations on my wedding gown. Mary is a true magician and I am confident that I wouldn’t have felt nearly as beautiful as I did on my wedding day if I went to someone else. I received her contact information from a friend who went to her for her alterations, so I already had high expectations. However, after meeting with her and seeing everything that she was capable of, I was sold. My dress was made of a very delicate type of lace and had extensive beading, so Mary hand-sewed (yes, hand-sewed) my alterations on my dress for me. I had to size up two sizes on my wedding dress, so a lot of work was required, but Mary did it without even flinching. She listened to how I wanted my dress to fit me and made my vision come to life. I am seriously impressed at how awesome she is and I miss seeing her on a regular basis for my appointments. To top it off, she is an amazing person doing what she loves, and I am forever grateful that I was able to have such a great alterations experience with Mary.

Mary was such a pleasure to work with for our wedding this past Fall. My dress fit like a glove and she also came up with some clever solutions for addressing some tricky undergarment issues. She really knows her stuff. Everything is delivered on time and to perfection. Mary also has a great way about her and made the experience easy and fun. I would highly recommend Mary for wedding dress alterations.

Mary did a phenomenal job altering my dress. She listened to what I wanted and made it happen. My experience with her was very calming and I was confident in her abilities to make my dress fit perfectly. My trust in her was rewarded as she did an amazing job with my dress. It came out great!