Dao Tailor and Custom Design — Local services in Waltham

I have been a long-time customer of Dao, even before COVID, and used to bring my family’s clothes and pants here for alterations. Unfortunately, my most recent experience left me extremely disappointed and uncomfortable.

When I went in to get my skirt altered, she first asked me to wait because another customer was trying on a dress — which I completely understood since I was a walk-in. I patiently waited for almost two hours, during which she filled out my order slip and confirmed the pickup date in September. She clearly told me that I didn’t need to call in advance, just come back on the agreed date.

However, when I returned on that day, I was told the skirt “could not be done on that day” and was blamed for not calling to confirm — completely contradicting what I had been told before. She even complained that when I first walked in, she could have chosen NOT to take my business because she was “too busy.”

What upset me even more was the difference in attitude: while she was kind and polite to other customers (and it’s clear if you read other reviews, who they are), her tone with me was impatient and dismissive. As a customer who shares the same ethnic background as the owner, I could not help but feel I was treated differently compared to others, which was very hurtful and disappointing.

To be fair, I am not here to criticize her tailoring skills — the alterations are good. But respect and equal treatment matter just as much as craftsmanship. Sadly, this experience has made me lose trust and feel unwelcome at a place I once...

First off, Dao is a very nice woman and I think probably does a great job with alterations for many people based on these reviews. My experience here was very upsetting, however. I brought my wedding dress in for alterations expecting minor adjustments to the fit. In the end, she completely changed the shape of the dress turning a beautiful dress into something that was way too tight, tugged and bunched in the wrong places and just wasn’t flattering. When I confronted her about changing the plunge neckline, she denied doing anything to it even though it was crooked and the before and after photos clearly showed it has been altered. It took numerous changes to attempt to fix this part of the dress and it still was never returned to its original condition. The whole experience was really upsetting. She probably would have done a fine job if I had gone in knowing what alterations I needed exactly but, because I deferred to her judgment about what to do, I was really upset with how it turned out. I also spent over $700 for what I now realize were unnecessarily alterations. The money is unimportant though compared to how upsetting it was to feel really unhappy with my wedding dress (especially when it was beautiful upon pickup from the bridal shop and just needed to be taken...

Dao was great to work with for my wedding dress! I was surprised how exactly it needed to fit - my straps were designed to fall off the shoulder and the dress itself was heavy, so it really had to be perfect to stay up while not being too tight, and she made it perfect! I didn't have to adjust it once the whole night.

At my second fitting it wasn't fitting how I expected, so I was worried I did too many alterations and the wrong ones because I didn't know what to ask for at the first fitting. But with only a little feedback, she was able to tweak everything by the next (& final) fitting to make it 100% comfortable and beautiful! I could not have been happier with it in the end. So if you get worried don't give up on her, she is very talented and can fix anything! And she really cares & wants you to love it.

She also performed some extra magic for me because I found out I was allergic to the fabric 2 weeks before my wedding. She swapped out the lining of the bodice and got it ready a week early so I could test it out, and I was able to wear it for my whole wedding with no allergic reaction! She's really nice and will take good care of you...