The actual dress selection, dress selecting experience, and care of the stylists while you are selecting your dress, I would rate 4.5/5 stars (not 5 because I am a street size 8 and the sample sizes are definitely geared towards the less curvy).
EVERYTHING else involved with this dress experience outside of the selection appointment and purchase of the dress: 1/5 stars - with the 1 only being for ease of pickup.
Let me start with the good:
I went in thinking there was a 99% chance I bought a Galia Lahav dress. I thought this so much, that I booked my appointment during the Galia Lahav trunk show, with the 10% discount in mind. The actual appointment process was easy, I got to bring my mother, maid of honor (sister), and one of my bridesmaids. My stylist was absolutely wonderful and listened to everything I mentioned. We pulled a variety of GL dresses, as well as some Sarah Seven dresses I had kept my eye on previously. During the process, I fell in love with the Sarah Seven dress, and even though it was half the price, the stylist agreed that the dress was perfect for me. I looked BANGING, hourglass-y and overall it looked like the dress was made for me. The stylist agreed and she never tried to upsell me whatsoever. She even helped me pick out the perfect veil.
This is where the positives pretty much end.
The sample dress I tried on was a size 8. It was a bit snug. But zipped up with ease. The stylist calculated my measurements and said I should order a size 14, however, since it was mainly my thighs bringing up the size, she recommended I order a 12. This still sounded so huge considering I fit in the 8, but she convinced me a 12 was best. When I finally got to pick the dress up, I tried it on in studio before I left and it was ENORMOUS on me. I was SWIMMING. I am a 36 D and you could barely tell I had boobs at all. In fact, I looked like a square. The stylists who were there at the moment assured me that the alterations specialist would tailor the dress. When I tried to make an appointment, they told me they were too booked and that I needed to have made an alterations appointment earlier - which I had never been told although I ordered the dress 11 months before my wedding date. Alright, so they gave me a list of 4 recommended alterations specialists, one of which I selected - Fragile Fit. Let me tell you, it only went down from here - you can read my review on the business page if you like.
Long story short - The sample size that had me looking like an hourglass goddess was NOT AT ALL the dress I ended up with. While I realize some of this may have been in my control, you would think that after dropping thousands of dollars on a custom ordered wedding dress, and deferring to their expertise, I wouldn't have spent numerous days and hours crying about how much I hated my dress and how terrible it made me feel every time I wear it.
After spending thousands on the dress, thousands on picture and video, I am going to throw this dress and it's bad juju away.
Now - I AM one of the brides affected by Covid, so this dress was worn to my elopement, and silver lining - I can afford a new dress for my actual large wedding. Will I return to The Dress Theory? Honestly, they are one of the ONLY retailers that carry the brands I am looking for in the Seattle area, so probably yes. However, I will not defer to their expertise since it only led me to disappointment, frustration and tears at every point.
I have included photos of me in the sample dress (screenshots from a video of me walking out in it) and of me at my actual elopement where I am actually 8 lbs LIGHTER, and an inch SMALLER in the waist than in the sample dress. read more