I did something stupid. I waited until 2 months before my wedding to find a dress. I thought that was normal. Lesson learned.
It almost seemed Nicole Miller was going to save me. They have beautiful gowns that are not insanely expensive (for a wedding dress) AND you can get them the following week! You don't have to wait 6 months. Amazing! This is where the glowing review stops.
I was able to get an appointment with the bridal specialist, LIz, immediately. I pointed out dresses in the lookbook I wanted to try on, but they didn't have any of them. She says, "here, try on my favorite. you'll love it." She brings out the dress that is their main "campaign" dress for this season. I tried it on. I loved the bodice but hated the skirt. "Don't you love it?" I said "it's ok. I like the top. Let's try something else on."
I picked out a flowy number that did not flatter my body. My friend and I exchanged a look that said "Definitely not." LIz says "This looks amazing on you. You were right. This is much better." And I told her that actually, no, I hated this dress.
I tried on another dress. She exclaimed, "Oh, this is the best one!" At this point my friend and I roll our eyes privately. I ask to try on the first "campaign" dress again. And when I put it on she said, "I knew this was the one!" The poor girl is fake and eager to make a sale, what can you do?
I told her my qualms about the dress-- that I loved the bodice but wanted the bottom to be more of a mermaid, hip hugging flared shape. And she assured me "Oh that's no problem! They can absolutely tailor it that way! Watch." And then she pinned and clipped the skirt into a beautiful shape. I loved it. I told her "this is perfect, they can do this?" She said "Of course, absolutely! You just take it in."
So I asked her if when my dress came in next week, they would fit me and tailor and how much that would cost. "Oh, we don't do the tailoring. We have a tailoring we recommend, but we don't do it." Fair enough. I asked her if she was SURE he could tailor it like she pinned it and she said he had more than enough material to work with. Fantastic.
At that point it was 6 pm and although I wanted to buy the dress that day, I explained my father was in a different time zone and I wouldn't be able to reach him before the store closed in an hour, but that he could call the next morning and give his credit card.
This upset her. "Well, that's not going to look good. They'll wonder why you didn't buy it immediately. It won't make sense."
By "they" I guess she meant her bosses? Look, I know you're eager to make the sale but you're coming off as really unprofessional and desperate. It's ugly. Not a good image for the store and it makes me want to find the dress online and not give you a commission. Miraculously I was able to get in touch with my Dad right away and he bought it before closing. She must have been relieved.
When I picked up my dress I had to sign a waiver that the dress was perfect, blah blah blah and couldn't be returned. It's understandable.
Now, here's the BIG problem. I went tot he tailor they recommended and he told me that the dress could NOT be done the way she had pinned it. He, a very nice man, said that people who are not tailors do not understand these things. At this point what could I do? I had no time to find another dress, and thanks to that waiver I probably couldn't return the dress. I was heartbroken and felt cheated. The tailor began alterations anyway and did the best to make the dress more to my liking-- but it still wasn't exactly what I wanted, what the sales girl had said was POSSIBLE.
If she did not have tailoring knowledge, she should have never have told me what alterations were possible. Beyond that unexcusable bit, she wasn't professional, she was ditzy and pushy. It's not a good look for the store.
I called the manager to tell him of my disappointment. He was very nice and said that if I hadn't begun alterations I could return the dress. I said it was too late, and I didn't have time to find another dress anyway, but I felt cheated nonetheless. He told me he would have a talk with Liz. That's great for future customers, but I am now out $475 in alterations and it was not the dress I thought I was buying. Thanks LIz! read more
