£80 to alter a dress

[Sandra & co]

I am trying to get my dds bridesmaid dress altered to have it ready in case. its £20 per layer for hem and £20 for the straps, which will be £80. The dress was bought by my sons fiancée and only cost £65, is that about right for the price? It Would be cheaper to buy her dress that fits!

UPDATE a page 52

[Guest]

Seems a lot to me and no I wouldn’t pay £80 alteration on a £65 dress.

[Poohbear62]

It does seem a lot considering the dress was quite reasonable. Having said that I did pay £150 to have a wedding dress altered. Multi layer hem and side seams taken in and that was 5 years ago.

[mickeyspal]

I do a fair bit of sewing and to get it done properly takes a bit of time, especially if the bodice has to be unpicked to shorten the straps it's a bit high I would have though £50 would be nearer the mark . But because the dress was cheap to buy it doesn't feel right . Do you not have a friend or relatives that could do it for you

[Sandra & co]

I would pay £60 which is just under what the dress is worth, my mil does a bit of sewing but we can’t see her!

[Mazbar]

I’m sorry but this one is very simple, she has given you a price either you pay it or try someone else to see if it’s cheaper or don’t get it done and buy a dress that fits perfectly. If the work will take her 4 hours her rate is £20 per hour if it would take her 8 hours it is £10 a hour. Fixing something and making it look right could take longer than making the dress in the first place.

[Sandra & co]

Originally Posted by Mazbar

I’m sorry but this one is very simple, she has given you a price either you pay it or try someone else to see if it’s cheaper or don’t get it done and buy a dress that fits perfectly. If the work will take her 4 hours her rate is £20 per hour if it would take her 8 hours it is £10 a hour. Fixing something and making it look right could take longer than making the dress in the first place.

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Ok then, I asked about prices as I don’t have a clue!

[Leggibone]

I’m not an expert, but my mum wouldn’t have charged that I’m sure (not that it would be worth your time and fuel to come here for it though) depends on a lot of factors though - my mum could sew dress hem in a few mins on her old industrial machine, but she was taking up a friends bridemaid dress and the fabric would not sew! Took hours of trial and error to get it right (and that’s with her 30+ years sewing experience)
I would get another quote, it doesn’t sound right to me, but you might have to wait to see someone in person.

[shauney]

ATEOTD it doesn't matter if the dress was £65 or £650 it's still the seamstress time that you're buying. At £65 it would no doubt be cheaper to buy one that fits.

For what it's worth my wife paid £450 to have her day and evening wedding dresses altered.

[Inky]

My DD’s bridesmaid dress was altered for £30 which included pinning dress and after alteration final fitting to check all ok, hem was slightly adjusted , but done while we waited and she looked beautiful in it