Zero stars. I came here after reading glowing reviews on Yelp, Google, Reddit, and Facebook. My dress needed to have the bust and waist resized, length shortened, bustle installed, and detachable straps added . Her all inclusive package deal of $350 sounded great, but it came at a regrettable cost.
- On my first visit, Galina scolded me when I accidentally called her name to tell her I'm ready instead of ringing the little bell. This was my first time there, how would I have known ?
- On a following appointment , she called me as I was driving to the shop (I live 40+ min away) to tell me she won't be ready and I'd have to wait about an hour longer. I would have appreciated advanced notice as I do not live in the area.
- Her website allowed me to book an appointment and I received an email and text confirming my appointment time. As I was 10 minutes away from the shop, she called me and blamed the booking system, and said she had no idea why it let me book an appointment as she was out of town. Isn't it professional to confirm your appointments prior to accepting them on your end ? I wasted my time and gas driving up to the shop only for her to not be there when my appointment was confirmed.
- She mistakenly mixed me up with another patron and said I cancelled my appointment. Her door was locked, I rang the doorbell and she appeared and state "Didn't you cancel ?" I said no and showed her my text message history. Then she started blaming me for not being local and flexible, when at the end of the day, she should have been more organized and professional. She added that she should raise her prices, and said that she has no idea why people travel far and wide to visit her shop. These are words that shouldn't be expressed to the customer at all! There was no accountability or apologies for the mix up.
I was willing to overlook all my bad experiences, attitude, and scheduling issues if my dress turned out ok. I picked up my dress and assessed it in more detail at home. I was horrified to see so much damages and wanted to so desperately find another professional upon pick up to remedy the issues that Galina refused to address. I dropped it off elsewhere in a panic with only 4 more days until my wedding.
Dress Issues
- I informed Galina that my dress was too long, even when bustled. The sides still touched the ground and posed a tripping hazard. I asked if she can trim the edges off more and she then said she couldn't because it needed to gradually get longer for the train. ( I consulted another seamstress, and she said this was just lazy work as shortening the dress requires removing and reapplying the appliqué). She proceeded then to make a 5-point bustle which resulted in the ugliest , Cinderella step sister bustle that I have ever seen. I should have done my research before for bustle styles and thought I could trust Galina. In addition, the bustle loops and button which held the loops were so weak. My new seamstress said it was bound to break with how heavy the train is.
- The cups that Galina sewn on were way too big for me (at least 2 cups too large). When I informed her that I was not comfortable , as the top was so loose and someone can clearly get flashed by my chest, her response was that no one will look down at my chest.
- Shortening my dress required removing the floral appliqué , then shortening the length and then reapplying the lace. She chopped through the appliqué to my horror.
- The edges were extremely uneven and unfinished, almost as if she used scissors to trim if off and called it a day.
- Not sure how, but there were at least 10 holes along the bottom perimeter of my dress, and a couples of holes on the back. I did not buy the dress damaged and only wore it when trying it on at the shop.
- A needle was left on the inside of my dress. I only spotted it thanks to another Yelp review.
Store
- Small interior overflowing with dresses.
- The fitting area doesn't have enough room to even see your train
- There were several pins on the ground
Lack of Customer Service
- No accountability
- Doesn't consider the client's needs and opinions
- Makes excuses instead of owning up to scheduling delays and shoddy product
Final Takeaways
- I came to the shop every other week four months ahead of the wedding. Save yourself the heartache and pay the extra money for excellent service and finished product. Even at this price point, I highly discourage coming to this establishment.
TLDR;
Cheap prices but you get what you pay for. Unprofessional business practices - administrative and scheduling issues, lack of communication, lack of accountability, not soliciting client feedback, no receipts. Shoddy alteration quality - holes were found throughout my dress after I had the time to look at it closely when I brought it home, the bust area was too large despite me communicating that my chest is exposed, destroyed appllique, rough edges, weak unreinforced bustle, etc. the read more