Golden Needle Tailoring & Cleaning

12/5/2015

Wow - I can't thank the Golden Needle for coming through in the clutch.  I had a holiday party Friday for work but didn't get the suit until Thursday evening.  I called and explained my situation and they were able to trim up the sleeves and pants by the next day.  It wasn't necessarily the cheapest, but it was a more-than-fair trade-off given the short notice.  Plus, the suit came back perfectly trimmed; I received compliments from everyone.

12/2/2015

Maria and her team are GREAT.  She was able to rework a coat that was left to me by a dear friend.  It was easily two sizes two big and fits like it was made for me now.  She has done work for us for over 3 years and we will continue to use golden needle for all of our alterations!

9/17/2015

I am absolutely happy with this place! Maria knows exactly what she's doing; you can tell she's been doing this for years! She is very sweet and patient which is a plus! I would recommend this place to anyone who has high-end designer clothing. The shop is small but it's very cozy and welcoming. She also gets your clothes done very fast, I had a shirt brought in and within two days it was finished.

2/20/2015

As soon as you walk in, you are greeted with a genuine, warm welcome. The establishment seems to be a family business. I brought a bridesmaid dress in to get hemmed and taken in. They seem very busy, but the service was prompt. The dress fit like a glove! I would take other articles of clothing to the Golden Needle.

12/19/2014

If you're looking for some standard alterations with not a lot of work for a reasonable price, this is not your place. I just needed pants to be altered. That is all. Here, they charge $20-25 just for basic pants alterations.

With their great location and enthusiastic reviews, I will definitely keep this in mind for future alterations that need more complicated or intricate work, but for what I needed, I will go elsewhere.

11/18/2014

Fashion genius! As someone semi-crazy about attention to detail and perfection, I must say the Golden Needle held up to its reputation. I brought in a heavy layered coat that needed some unique tailoring. The owner, Maria, was very kind and knowledgable of not just standard tailoring but a more refined European technique. I could definitely see a big difference in stitching and hand-work done to this coat compared to other I had taken to dry-cleaner type tailors. Maria had taken-in the waist on a seamless Burberry jacket, creating new seams that look as though they were part of the original design. Price-wise, I probably paid 30-50% more than other dry-cleaner type tailors, but you can't put a price on exquisite detail and quality. Would definitely recommend for difficult menswear pieces.

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  The Golden Needle created perfect seams in my precious burberry lining where no seams existed before.

  The Golden Needle created perfect seams in my precious burberry lining where no seams existed before.

10/20/2014

The tailor who normally alters my suits was backed up for 6 weeks and I needed a tux altered quickly for a party. I needed it in a week, which is asking a lot considering 1) how busy this place is and 2) that I wasn't a previous customer.  After calling and talking with her on the phone, she setup a time for me to come in the following day. The jacket needed quite a bit of work to fit well and the pants just a hem.

A week later, I returned to pickup my tux and was blown away. It fit perfect and I felt like a rock star of unearthly origin wearing it. Which was quite appropriate since it was a for a James Bond masquerade party.

9/1/2015

Recommended by a friend, was able to get next day alterations for a evening gown. Will most definitely be back!

5/13/2015

I have been going to the Golden Needle for ar least 10 years. I have a lot of extremely high end Italian menswear (Brioni, Kiton, Prada, D'Avenzia, Armani, etc.) and I also like leathers from the same manufacturers. The Golden Needle is the only place I fully trust in Chicago to work on clothing of this quality. The owner, Maria, is not only delightful personally, she is a highly competent professional and a perfectionist. I grew up in a needlework and textile family, and I know from shmattes. I have had dozens of garments altered by her. I can't recall if any of them were less than fully satisfactory, but if they were, I'm certain she corrected anything that needed correcting without charge.

One instance sticks particularly in mind. I had a heavy leather Versace-era Versace trenchcoat, the arms of which were weirdly too narrow. After foolishly going elsewhere to a competent but not fully first-rate leather tailor, I brought the coat to the GN. Maria managed to widen the sleeves and give me a little more room, since the item was clearly designed for an ultra-skinny Italian model, put in dart with the seams almost as flat at perfect as Versace's, so everything fit. I'm probably the only one who can tell the difference. It was masterly.

Maria's an artist and her work is not cheap,. but you get what you pay for. The shop is crowded on Saturdays and early evenings.

JS

10/4/2015

Hands down the best tailor I have ever been to in Chicago, New York or DC. Does a great job on every single garment, will tell you when its not worth it to tailor something and listens to what you want. Only downside is occasionally there is a wait but its well worth it.

5/10/2015

Really overpriced. It was $85 for a 1/2 inch hem and about a 1/4 inch adjustment on the just of a short dress for a wedding.

Poor quality. The busy seam where she adjusted the dress started to rip at the wedding. My friend and I both went here and had the same issues on our dresses for the wedding. Also, the way she covered up the alterations was very poor, and our dresses didn't match the other girls in the party. There were threads hanging off of our dresses from the work thy did as well.

There are much better quality places to go I. Chicago that aren't so overpriced. do not be fooled by the photo of her and Oprah in her entry way. I will absolutely not be going back  here.

8/17/2015

First class tailoring! Maria is a wonderful find. Not cheap, not super-fast, but then quality usually isn't.

6/27/2014

They live up to the hype, believe me. Yes they are busy and yes you might have to wait a bit to get things back, but it's well worth it.

My experience was that Brooks Brothers sold me some trousers that were clearly not the right cut for my body. Maria was able to slim the legs down and adjust the seat so they looked like bespoke/made-to-measure pants. It was a massive improvement and I was absolutely amazed it was the same pair I dropped off.

My suggestion to get the most of your visit: go in the middle of the day when it is less busy, and trust her judgment! I'm convinced that most people have no clue how things should actually fit, and as such make weird requests. Just let her figure it out -- it's her job!

Customer for life.

10/13/2014

I don't think I'll ever go to another tailor after using Golden Needle! I went to the shop in need of alterations on a bridesmaid dress, and I needed it turned around very quickly. The dress was ready in a matter of days and the alterations were done perfectly. Everyone in the shop was kind and very helpful. I'll definitely be going back for future alterations!

12/16/2014

Love the old school vibe, you walk in and you know ur in good hands.Brought in a ripped coat which I was about to give up on, they fixed within 4 days when they told me it would take a few weeks and charged me a third of what I expected to pay. Definitely a place that over delivers. Thanks guys!

1/14/2014

I've recently moved from S.Cal to Chicago. After decades of custom suits; my tailor felt like part of the family.

While eating my way across all the great Chicago restaurant-scape; I found the few extra pounds didn't quite fit into my suits... so, I needed to alter a couple of my suits.

I had no idea where to go or who to trust. I got lucky - and thanks to others feedback here on Yelp - got it right the first time.

Maria is phenomenal... great personality, great service, prudent counsel, responsive to timelines, solid value and superb tailoring.

Oops, I almost forgot. Very canny... she has complimentary treats in her shop. :-)

12/3/2013

I had purchased a great suit at Nordstrom for my wedding. They offered complimentary tailoring, so in my poor judgement, I agreed to have them do it. The jacket was done fine, not much needed to be altered. The trousers is where i had a major issue with. Horrible job, even after having them redone. They just could not understand the concept of a slim cut.

I was looking around to have them fixed and a friend suggested The Golden Needle. After reading all the great reviews, and about 2 weeks before my wedding, I decided to take them to Maria to see if they can be salvaged. She was extremely helpful and immediately knew what needed to be done to get them the best they can be. She told me that due to the way they were already tailored, that there was no way they can get them to be 100%. I appreciated the honesty.

Fast forward to pick up date. I came in, tried them on. They had done an amazing job on them. I was very happy with the work.

I will definitely be taking anything that needs tailoring to her from now on. I recently dropped off a leather jacket I purchased that needed to have the sleeves shortened. Picking up soon.

Moral of the story, go ahead and buy that suit at Nordstrom, but don't let their tailors touch it afterwards!

12/25/2013

Little gem of a shop located not far north of the Crackhead McDonald's. The rest of the block is so shady, you'd be surprised this homey little place is smack in the middle of it. A warm fireplace greets you in a cute little seating area.

Kudos to Maria saving my ass with a last-minute repair. Prices aren't cheap, but neither is her work. Could the seaming have been done better and my admittedly anal instructions have been followed a bit closer? Yeah, but she turned it around so quickly I can't complain.

I can never give any no-credit-cards business five stars, so there ya have it. Will be back!

3/26/2015

Perfect tailoring, every time. I've had maybe 10 things altered and repaired here. Everything looked great. The only downside is that she doesn't accept credit cards so be sure to bring cash or check.

6/10/2014

I arrived in town on a Wed for a college reunion. I had a blazer with me that was much too big and in need of serious alterations. I dropped the garment off with Maria Thursday AM and she had it ready for me by Friday PM. Unbelievable! She and her team are the BEST. Seriously. Her manner and professionalism are truly exceptional. She gave me peace of mind from the time we first made contact on the phone to when I picked up the finished product. It just doesn't get better than this. I'm so glad that Yelp pointed me in her direction. If you are in the area, then look no further! Caveat = she doesn't accept credit cards; cash (and maybe checks) only.