Alterations cost

That’s ridiculous in my opinion. I’m in Surrey and I bought my dress in Bexley so south east London. I’ve just picked it up after alterations today, it had to have the shoulders lifted so the armholes were moved, three inches taken from the trunk, and a belt added to the waist and as it has a pearl necklace on the back she had to move the poppers for this too. I paid £160. I’m really happy with her work. She was a lovely lady too!

View quoted message Your dress is FAB!!
Thanks for that,thought so!

I should say that my dress is tea length but looks really long in the angle of this pic. It isn’t down to my shoes lol

Ask around - I had to wear my wedding dress unshortened thanks to Covid, but I've just dyed it and taken it to a seamstress to be shortened so I can wear it again as a formal dress, and she's charging me less than half the wedding boutique was quoting!

£400-£500 is excessive for just length. If that includes a full alteration package (bust, waist, hip and length) then potentially more understandable especially if the hem has a lace edge as the lace has to be removed and then replaced (same for beadwork). Having said that I’d still expect that sort of price to be including some sort of bespoke alteration or addition as well. If you really do only need the length doing, then I’d be looking for a price around the £120-£150 mark, though over the 4 year I worked in a bridal shop I only ever remember maybe 5 brides needing only length and absolutely nothing else.
Definitely look for an alternative seamstress if that is the price they’re quoting to do just the hem!

That is a lot. My alterations were £210 and of that, £75 was to alter the length (and my receipt showed max £120 for length alterations if the dress had had a full lace skirt). I also had all the buttons and loops replaced (it was an ex sample), a bustle added and alterations to the fit at the top/round the middle. I’d see if you can shop around - I’d recommend my lady but it’s just north of Bristol so not ideal for you!

View quoted message Also, sorry to hijack the thread but I love your dress - the necklace on the back is so pretty!

This is the dress ( not me) , but they said it needs nothing but length, maybe so costly because of layers ?

It does look like it has a lot of layers. I'd try another place to compare costs, but it might be similar

Yes that seems a bit much but I noticed the bridal shops do seem to quote more than independent seamstresses. Mine also only needs the length up an inch or two and the skirt of mine looks similar to yours, it’s 4 layers (2 tulle on the outside and 2 satin underneath). The shop told me around £275 but I sent the photo to an independent seamstress based in Essex and she’s quoted me £50-£80 which seems much more reasonable just to cut some fabric off the bottom

Mine is 3 layers. Unless yours is about 10 layers, I'd say that's extortionate. And if you've got that many layers, you could always chop off the inner ones yourself anyway, and just get the outer couple done properly!

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Thank you Jane! I am really pleased with it yes.

I was quoted £350 for a full alterations package so that does sound steep to me... It may be one of those thinks that varies based on where you are if the going rate is high though

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Could I possibly ask of the name of who you used please as I'm also in Essex and I'm looking for myself. Thanks

She’s just an independent lady based in Stanford-Le-Hope you can find her on Facebook her page is called “So Sew”. I’ve not actually used her yet only spoken to her for a quote but she came highly recommended and seemed very helpful.


I’ve also had recommendations for “LilyMaeRose Dressmakers” based in Laindon who specialises in wedding dresses, so they may be more skilled if the alterations required are more complex. I’m planning to get a quote from them too and see how they compare

View quoted message She’s just an independent lady based in Stanford-Le-Hope you can find her on Facebook her page is called “So Sew”. I’ve not actually used her yet only spoken to her for a quote but she came highly recommended and seemed very helpful.

I’ve also had recommendations for “LilyMaeRose Dressmakers” based in Laindon who specialises in wedding dresses, so they may be more skilled if the alterations required are more complex. I’m planning to get a quote from them too and see how they compare

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Aww Thank you So much I will Have a look. Again, Thanks for your help