This seamstress charged me $142 to hem a bridesmaids dress (with two layers of basic lining, one layer chiffon) and move a button. She told me when I dropped off the dress that she didn’t know how much it would be because she didn’t know how long it would take her, and that the cost would include the time to pin the dress.

When I picked up the dress, I asked her how long it had taken her, given that she said she goes by an hourly rate. She couldn’t tell me how long it took her, only that it was “probably a few hours.” Later in our conversation she described fixed rates she has for certain items, such as $14 to hem jeans. So for some things she has a fixed rate, for some things she goes by the hour, I’m not sure.

When I asked why hemming four inches off the bottom of a bridesmaid dress cost more than the dress itself (I purchased it for $120), these were the answers I was given:
1) There are three layers
2) The top layer is a difficult fabric
3) Her rates are competitive in the area, and another lady told her “her prices were cheap.”

I had a bridesmaids dress that was very similar (two layers, one which was chiffon) both hemmed and taken in by another tailor last year, and it was about $70. A friend of mine had her wedding dress taken in and hemmed and it was $150. Clearly, both of those were a more difficult task than a simple hem and moving a button. So either she is taking much longer to sew than the average seamstress, or she charges a very high hourly rate. Chiffon should not be such a difficult fabric for a seamstress.

The dress was nicely tailored, but the cost was just too much.