Si Arima Alterations

Bridal Galleria quoted $300 for the alterations (take in the sides, hem the front, and add a 3-point french bustle) and Si quoted $200. She also hemmed two other dresses ($35 and $25) as well as Joe's tux pants ($15).

The tux pants came out perfectly - 5 stars

The red chiffon dress was hemmed very nicely, but she did not fix the lining like she had promised. I pointed it out during my fitting and she fixed it while I was there after I insisted. She tacked down the dress in a few places and said that it was fixed, but when I came home and tried the dress on, it still was not fixed and I had to bring it back to her again. In the end it was fixed, though it was kind of a hassle and I wish it had been done as she had promised. - 3 stars

The blue dress was hemmed too short and the lines of the hem were completely uneven. I asked her about it and she said that it was impossible to make it even because the fabric bends as you sew it. Interestingly enough, all the original seams in the dress were not curved so it definitely wasn't an issue with the fabric, but probably more of an issue of not using a ruler or the thread tension being too high and not bothering to correct it. At that point I figured the damage was done and arguing couldn't fix my dress. - 2 stars

The wedding dress alterations turned out very well. She hemmed it very nicely and it came up to just the correct length. The bustle looked very nice. I had a scare at the second fitting because I noticed a bunch of HOLES in the lace! Those were definitely not there before I gave her the dress. I pointed them out and she fixed it by the final bridal fitting, though I would have preferred that she not introduce holes into my very expensive wedding dress in the first place. - 3 stars (5 stars for the bustle, 5 for the hem, and 1 star for introducing holes into my dress which were eventually fixed).

When I picked up my dress at the bridal shop the amount they quoted me was ridiculous. It was almost the price I paid for the dress. I was ready to crash and give up on it. Then I went to Si out of the many good reviews. She said the reason I was quoted a lot was the extensive details of the beading and lace. However her quote was half the price. 800 vs. 350. I was sooo excited. I had a second dress she did and a shrug she made and it still wasn't equivalent to my original quote at the bridal shop. Si did an amazing job with the alterations. I was so shock. It looked like it wasn't at all mended and it fit perfectly. She was able to instruct my sisters how to properly put on my lace corset and I'm so glad she did. I didn't think it would be complicated but the education was very helpful.

I love my first dress so much I wore it all day and never put on the second dress.

Si is very affordable and sweet. She offers the best advice in regards to wedding dresses because she's been doing this for so long. Its nice to meet vendors that doesn't do it entirely for the money but for the love of what she does. And you can tell she totally loves doing alterations.

Si did alterations for my wedding dress. I can also add to her list of compliments. She truly enjoys what she does and it shows in her work. I had to let out the bodice which had lace beading, shorten the hem which had lace beading, adjust the crinoline to be less poofy, and add a two-point bustle. She pressed the dress after it was done.

She was originally going to do a french bustle on my dress. I thought about it and changed my mind because I felt the standard bustle (don't know what it's called) worked better for the dress I had. The front had straight lines and the standard bustle added a nice drape to complement it. Also my train had design on them that showed it off better with a standard bustle. I told her this and she agreed and was no problem for her to make the adjustment.

She used to own a tailoring shop. She continues to do alterations because she enjoys it so much. She works out of her home in Santa Clara so she charges very reasonable prices. I had estimates at other places and they quoted from $310 to $350. I highly recommend her.

Paid $240 in early 2006

Si is such a sweet lady. She really listened to what I wanted for the alterations for my dress, and made it fit very well on me. She was also able to fit in my girls for alterations even though their dresses came only a month before the wedding. My girls' dresses were all 2 sizes too big, and she fixed them perfectly. There was a little mishap in which she took in too much for a few of the girls, and she was able to fix it with a 24 hours turnaround time. She did such great work. All my bustles held up, none broke. And she is incredibly affordable!

A very affordable person to go to for alterations. She is super sweet and does quality workmanship.

Price:

$372. My dress was HUGE on me. I'm normally a street size 0, but Trudy's told me to order a size 4 because my hip size of 34 may not fit a size 2 according to their measurement chart. Well, the 4 turned out to be way too big, so Si had a lot of work to do. She had to take in the dress from head to toe, including removing some of the beading from the sides and putting them back on after the dress's been taken in. She shortened the hem, sewed in cups for the bust area, and added a 3 point bustle (I think that's what you call it), and added a bit more crinoline to hold up the bustle more.

Pluses:

The dress fit like me like a glove. Snug, but not too tight.

The bustle held up all day! I wore the dress from 8am-12am. I bustled it through 2 tea ceremonies, then pictures with the bridal party along Embarcadero, unbustled it for our 5 min wedding ceremony and pictures during the cocktail hour, then bustled it back up for the rest of the night.

Deltas:

The dress was too long. When I tried it on at Si's, it seemed perfect and walking didn't seem to be an issue. But on the day of, I felt like the dress was dragging too much, making it a hassle to walk or dance in. I still managed obviously, but it probably should've been shortened a bit more. When I look at pics of our first dance and parents dance, I'm disappointed because the bustle doesn't look right because the dress was too long.

Summary:

While the dress was too long, I'm not holding it against her since I didn't notice it being too long during my fittings. Had we felt this way during my fittings, I'm sure Si would have taken care of it. Overall, Si did a great job, and I'm amazed by how the little pieces of thread used for the bustle were able to hold up all day. Highly recommended!

I loved working with Si. She's a very sweet woman and her prices are really great. I had a pretty complicated dress with folds/ruching and bead work all down the sides, and she was able to take the whole thing in for me while keeping the beading intact. She even did a wonderful job on my mother's lace dress.

In the end, I'm only giving four stars instead of 5 because at my last fitting I found a small "stain" on the skirt of my dress. It was one of those stains that you can only see if you look at a certain angle, so I wasn't really bothered by it. To be honest, it probably bothered Si and my mom more than me. Also, later on a found a few loose threads where she had to redo the beading. Again, not a big deal to me, but it might be to other people.

All in all, I would totally use her again for alterations because I've really never had anything fit me as well as that dress did!

Si is frequently recommended by lots of Norcal brides for good reason--she's very good at what she does, but still reasonably priced and she's also sweet and helpful. Si altered my wedding dress and cheongsam / qi pao for under $200 . She did a great job on both and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend her.

I can't say enough about how much I love Si! She did a great job on my alterations (although one of my bustle loops broke, it was because my MOH was standing on my skirt and I stepped away). She also did 2 of my bridesmaids...one the day before the wedding because she'd been out of the country until the day before the wedding and her dress didn't arrive until after she'd left. Her prices are also excellent! She's so nice and really knows what she's doing. Highly recommend!

Si is absolutely great and super-sweet! She altered my dress exactly how I wanted it and the bustle was perfect. She is very reasonably priced as well. One of my bridesmaids also went to her for alterations and was happy.

Si is very good at what she does. I would highly recommend her to anyone. She has great prices and does quality work. She took in the sides of my dress as well as took in the bust without disturbing the beading and also gave me a traditional bustle. All done and she even pressed my dress for a very affordable price. I cant say enough good things about her. She is great!

I went to Si for bridesmaid dress alterations. She is a very busy lady during wedding season and thank goodness she fit me in. My alterations for strap adjustment and tightening for my floor length dress was 38 dollars. I was so happy with that. I was the only one that went to Si out of my fellow bridesmaids and paid the least out of all of them. I made an appointment 2 weeks in advance and she had it done within a week. The dress was perfect and I was very happy. She is extremely organized, copies all the info you give her and gives you a copy of the quoted price and work that is going to be done on the dress. She is awesome, and I did see some beautiful bridal gowns getting worked on in her house.