Doree Quick Mending Service has been Brisbane’s trusted name in clothing alterations and mending since 1934. Owned by the same family to this day, we repair all manner of items, from our little workroom on the Queen St Mall.
Doree specialises in both women’s and men’s clothing, and our invisible mending is the finest quality in the country.
Convenient location, right in the middle of the Queen St Mall (just above HMV). Please phone
— (07) 3221 5994
Our services…
- All Clothing Alterations & Mending
— rush orders no problem - Invisible Mending
— beautiful workmanship - Covered Buttons, Belts & Buckles
— create that unique piece - Bridal Alterations
— don’t trust your special dress with anyone else - Embroidery & Monograms
— the largest in Queensland - Choice Vintage Items
— step back in style - Dry Cleaning
— same day service
(Doree ad from the 1930s)
Services
Clothing Alterations & Repairs
Want to look sharp in your favourite suit for that power meeting, or how about that new outfit for a big night on the town? Our full fitting service ensures your clothes will sit perfectly once they have been altered.
Come in with your garment and we will keep you looking fabulous. Ladies dressmaking and men’s suits are our specialty. Emergencies and rush orders also catered for.
Invisible Mending
Cigarette burn in your favorite suit jacket? Caught your trousers on the edge of a table? Moths eaten your favorite dress? All is not lost!
Doree are the experts at invisible mending and our Japanese artisan is at the forefront of her field. This intricate process involves taking individual threads from an unaffected area of your garment and weaving them one by one through the damaged area, leaving a repair that is difficult to see with the naked eye.
Please bring in your garment for a quote. We also offer trade prices for dry cleaners and other alteration firms.
Covered Buttons, Belts & Buckles
Brisbane’s designers have been coming to Doree for years for our covered buttons and belts.
To order simply bring or mail your fabric to us, select the style and quantity you want, and in a few hours you will have that unique piece ready to wear.
~ Download our price list here (240kb PDF).
Bridal Alterations
Girls, don’t risk your special dress with the butchers. Trust Doree to make you look even more beautiful on your special day. We can fit you and your bridesmaids and arrange a group discount. Please call Dianne on (07) 3221 5994.
Guys, don’t rock up to your beautiful bride with a jacket that has shoulder pads circa 1985. Have your suit fitted perfectly to your body, so when you kiss your beloved you’re looking almost as good as her.
Embroidery & Monograms
The perfect gift for a loved one. We can embroider a name, message or monogram onto a towel, bathrobe or other garment. We charge $5.50 per letter and have a vast range of thread colours for you to choose from.
Large embroidery orders can be placed at our East Brisbane facility — the largest contract embroidery factory in Queensland — where we house the latest production machinery and technology. Please call (07) 3391 6044
or visit the Doree Embroidery website.
Dry cleaning
We offer a same-day dry cleaning service
(in by 9am back by 4pm).
Choice Vintage Items
We offer select vintage items from the 1930’s to the 60’s. These include ladies hats and dressing gowns. We carefully inspect all garments and repair any signs of age.
Any adjustments can be made in store so you can waltz out looking like a Hollywood starlet.
(Doree ad from the 1930s)
History
Doree began way back in 1934 when Alfred James Macdonald (Mac) commenced trading with tailoring skills brought with him from England. This is one year before the construction began on Brisbane’s iconic Story Bridge.
(Doree ad from the 1930s)
Established during the Great Depression, this new business offered all sorts of garment services in a time when people tended to repair their clothes rather than buy new ones. The well-heeled of Brisbane liked Mac’s workmanship and business was brisk until the war years when Brisbane saw the influx of great numbers of servicemen, both American and Australian, who were in need of his services.
At its peak the new business employed up to 70 machinists in three locations altering, repairing and embroidering garments by hand.
Following Mac’s death in 1956 his wife took over the running of the business as well as raising three small children. Mrs Mac started work in the business at age 16 and retired some 55 years later. Many in Brisbane recall having to hike up the rickety old stairs of our shop on Edward St to find her smiling face behind the counter.
In 1967 their son George Macdonald joined the now smaller firm which concentrated on clothing alterations but which retained a small embroidery section.
In 1980 George and his wife Dianne took the business in a new direction purchasing a 6-head mechanical embroidery machine which they operated at night from their garage at home. This would come to form the start of Doree Embroidery.
Today Doree has over 220
embroidery heads and employs
more than 45 people...
Each day thousands of pieces are produced in many applications from our custom designed facility at East Brisbane. George and Dianne’s son John now runs the family business.
In 2002 Doree Quick Mending was forced to move from Edward St as demolition commenced to build Queens Plaza. Doree Quick Mending Service continues to thrive at our current location on the Queen St Mall.
Elegant, timeless, Doree turns 75 years young in 2009. The story continues…
(Ads from the 1940s)
Location
We are conveniently located in the centre of the Queen St Mall, just up one flight of stairs above HMV, next to Dotti.
Opening Hours—
Monday to Friday
8.30am to 5.30pm
Phone (07) 3221 5994
or email us directly...
Mail address—
Doree Quick Mending Service
Suite 2, Level 1,
155 Queen St Mall,
Brisbane, QLD 4000.
(Queen St Mall in 1959
—courtesy State Library of Queensland)
