The Wedding Dress from Hell
by
It’s arguably a woman’s most special moment. Wedding Day!
The day she ties the knot. The day she takes her vows, for better - for worse, in sickness and in health. Every detail is important. The location, the food, the cake.
But to a bride-to-be, perhaps nothing is more important than her wedding dress.
A man wears a tux. So what? A bow tie, a cummerbund, cufflinks.
I’m yawning here.
Honestly, a guy in a tux is unremarkable at best. The groom could be a waiter or the President of the United States.
A tux is a tux is a tux. But a Bridal Gown?
Hold on to your garter everyone, now you are talking serious!
A bride and her dress are focal point of the entire wedding.
It is the beacon in the light house, the star at the top of the Christmas tree.
When you look at the ubiquitous wedding picture your eye almost automatically gravitates to the bride.
The wedding dress in the wedding photo is the image that people stare at on your wall or on your desk at work.
You might not say it aloud for fear of being castigated and run out of town on a rail, but mentally, you say to yourself, man that bride looks: fill in the blank.
Like a fortune teller’s Ouija board, does the wedding dress dictate the course of the marriage? In other words, if your dress is a mess, is your matrimonial bliss off to a bad start?
I’m not sure Amanda Jones would go quite that far, but she does tell me she has had a lot of miserable, sleepless nights lately.
Why?
Because of what she calls the wedding dress from Hell.
Jones is getting married October 18th. The 23 year old is petite to be sure.
She enters the room, gliding effortlessly across her South Nashville home.
At first glance, the gown is attractive. It is strapless and fits snugly from the chest to the waist.
But from the hips down, there are some issues, like a road under construction.
Poofy and bunched and extra, I don’t know, just extra stuff hanging off the side.
If this dress were a traffic project, orange cones would be sewn into the sides.
“What am I afraid of?” she says, pulling the ample amount of white fabric away from her slender form.
“I feel fat in this dress. It doesn’t flatter me whatsoever”
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I am a guy, so I need a road map on this one.
She pulls the fabric from her hips, accentuating the pronounced problem. She looks like a geometric shape comprised of white satin.
The pretty bride kind of looks like a bowling pin, narrow upstairs and bulging down below.
I see her point.
“My fear is that on my wedding day, I will be stuck with a dress that I hate and I feel ugly in and that i feel fat in.”
Can’t say it more bluntly than that I think to myself.
The dress she is wearing is a Pronovias designer gown created in Spain.
I go to the web site: The model in the photo is thin like Jones, and she wears the dress like a second skin.
Where the model undulates, the dress follows like a smooth caress.
If this wedding gown were a car, it would be a Ferrari, smooth to the touch and hard not to look at.
The problem is the dress is a size 12. That’s a big Ferrari. Amanda Jones is a size Zero. That’s more like a mini cooper.
Jones said her mother is in Panama and could not be with her to go dress shopping. Too bad.
If the young woman was on a game show, she could have used her life line, to phone a friend.
She says she went to a boutique in Lebanon where she claims the staff told her the size 12 dress could be tailored to fit her size zero frame.
Now, once again, I’m a guy and that sounds a bit suspicious to me. Size 12 altered to fit a size zero.
HMMMM?
I don’t buy Shaquille Oneill’s basketball shoes hoping I can just lace them up real tight.
“I didn’t know,” she says, her blue eyes piercing.
“I have never purchased a big dress like this, and i trusted them. They told me, that a size 12 could be taken down. They say they did this before.”
So she goes through with the purchase and pays $1,400 dollars.
The bridal shop recommends a local seamstress who meets with Jones.
Renna Lockwood has been wielding a needle and thread for over 25 years.
In her hands, an electric sewing machine purrs like a cat, relaxing in the sun.
“I agree with you,” Lockwood says. “The dress was big. I took it all I could take it in.”
Lockwood tells me that she works to make each bride happy, making sure they are comfortable with what the final product will yield.
“She should have someone with her, to give her an honest opinion how it looked on her, and i tried to give her as honest opinion as I could,” Lockwood says in a voice that drips with empathy. “I said, maybe someone should have been with you when you picked this out. And not gone by yourself.”
“Do you think they just wanted to sell her a dress, or do you think they really thought they could have made this work?”
“They are not seamstress. They don’t know,” Lockwood says, alluding to an office filled with tailoring tools of the trade.
“You have done this 25 years? Why could you not make this dress fit this young lady?”
“It is just not doable?” she says quickly.
“She said she looked down and saw these big hips. She didn’t feel right. Why can’t you take it in there,” I ask stupidly as if I am a caveman crawling from beneath my rock of nescience.
“She didn’t like this swag here,” Lockwood says pointing to the woman’s gown.
I don’t know what swag is, but it sounds bad. Like that green stuff you cough up when you think you have the flu.
“I can’t take that out,” she says ignoring my silent laugh centered on the word SWAG. “It would bunch and not look right. When they do things to this dress, they pull it back, but i couldn’t because the seams are in the side of the dress.”
“I questioned it before I did the work. I started pinning it and said, look at the dress is this the way you want it?”
Lockwood rolls her eyes like a momma trying to warn her baby to be careful.
“So before you made final alterations, she had a chance to get out of this?”
“Yes.”
“I hear what you are saying is maybe the boutique should not have sold such a big dress to a small woman. and the small woman should have known better to buy such a big dress.”
That about sums it up, she says with a nod of her head.
I try and talk to the owner of the boutique. She is friendly enough, but also quick to ask me to leave.
“We have refunded money to her for seamstress work which she was upset with, but we are not interested in discussing it any further. But thanks for coming in.”
As for Jones, she wants her money back, but is resigned to the fact that might not happen. In the meantime, this woman getting married on October 18th tells me that she has purchased a 2nd dress.
“So you are like super bride. You have not one, but two wedding dresses.”
She laughs.
Where is it?
“It’s being altered.”
I burst into laughter.
“Oh no. Are you scared?”
She rolls her eyes and assures me that the dress she purchased is a size zero and the modifications needed are minor.
“I have so many things going on. Planning a wedding, especially on my own, there is so much to think about. The last thing I should worry about is if I am even going to like good on my wedding day.”
When shopping for something as important as a wedding dress, the bride-to-be should be accompanied by her mother, sister, or best friend. These people are more apt to be honest when it comes matters of wedding dresses.
I feel bad for the girl, and shame on the salespeople at the boutique, they should have not sold that dress to her, maybe they should have let her make a trade. A little advice for future brides, if you think you have the perfect dress, but have to make more than just one or two minor alterations, then it is NOT the perfect dress.
It’s very hard to believe that this “bride” didn’t know the proper way to find the “right” gown for herself. There are magazines,cable TV shows,books,and chatting with friends.I’m guessing she was in a hurry,and the price was right.Sorry this happened,but buyer beware,and young women should know about sizing & fitting and alterations etc.It’s the most IMPORTANT day of your life,take the time to know about such things.
Let the bride cry over her own stupidity. If she is a size 0 as Andy reported and she purchased a size 12 dress (again as reported) then the dress had to look like a sack on her when she tried it on. Anyone planning to spend that much on a wedding dress should have done the research on buying wedding dresses. If your size is not available, then at most buy one size up (or down) if alterations are needed. Let the bride eat the dress, she had her mind set on that $1400 dress and I am sure that no one would have swayed her mind otherwise. Andy, this one IS NOT messed up. Stop harassing the boutique.
I can tell you from personal experience that this boutique is infamous for sizing dresses too large. The sales girls take measurements and go by a sizing chart from the manufacturer. While it is ultimately up to the individual, one has to put some trust in the salesperson as they deal with fitting dresses on a daily basis. I had two - not one -but two of my bridesmaids who were both sized dresses way too large and ended up spending extra money getting the dresses altered. So yes, it’s quite a stretch to be a size zero and to order a size twelve wedding dress BUT do know that its not such a stretch for this boutique to suggest sizes that are way too large in the first place.
Also! One of my bridesmaids mentioned above was getting fitted for another wedding some four years later and the EXACT same thing happened. She ended up calling later to change the size… she was NOT going to let this happen for a second time!
I have to agree with Jennifer. I do some very sporadic wedding planning and steer brides very clear of this boutique. They used to be wonderful but once onwnership switched, it quickly went downhill. I’ve seen too many girls (even one is too many) wedding day ruined b/c their dress and/or bridesmaids dresses looked awful.
While I think that both parties in this are wrong, it is ultimately up to the consumer to make wise choices. Yes, the sales staff should have tried to steer her to another dress, but why would anyone who wears a size 0 even LOOK at at size 12 dress? That’s silly! If she were a size 12, would she buy a size 0 dress? Of course not. Alterations are supposed to be for minor adjustments in fit, not major reconstruction of a garment. The bride said that she didn’t know that the dress couldn’t be altered, and that’s fine. I don’t fault her for not knowing something. I fault her for not seeking the advice of a professional seamstress before making this purchase and then blaming the boutique for her poor judgment. Perhaps the shop should have allowed the seamstress to inspect the dress before finalizing the sale, but again, the customer knew the store’s policies.
As to Sonja’s comment about having a friend or relative go with you….sometimes that just is not possible. And as to Sharon’s comment about the bride not knowing the proper way to find the perfect gown…that is why people go to “boutiques” so that the sales person (who should be knowledgeable) can advise them on the correct way to find and size the perfect wedding dress. This boutique should not have sold her the dress….and if she insisted on buying the dress anyway, they should have had her sign a waiver of responsibility. I think the sales person was just looking for her commission.
This is nothing but a case of a salesperson wanting to make a sale (ie commission) and putting off any issues on the seamstress. I don’t know any women, especially those in the garment business who don’t know that the absolute MOST you can alter a garment is 2 sizes.
Size 12 to 0 is not altering. She essentially bought a pile of fabric in hopes that a new dress could be made out of it. This seamstress was hired to alter a dress, no construct a new one.
Well first of all this bride should know that you should get a wedding gown long before 2 months before the wedding! My wedding was in June and i had to order my gown ( to get the right size) in November the year before for it to be made and make it back in time for alterations if needed!!!! It takes this long to get a designer dress made especially for you. This dress was a floor model because she had waited until wayyyyy too late to order a gown. This dress looks like it is one of those poofy dresses that has those awkward sides on it anyway (should be your first clue). She should have known this and had some one with her to tell her that is ridiculous. I don’t think there is one bride that just buys a dress having doubts from the beginning…. if she had doubts she should have waited and got another opinion. And i have went to this boutique for years and they have never gave me money back for ANYTHING (so she should feel lucky they gave her money back for alterations), because you sign a CONTRACT saying that there are no returns, exchanges or refunds, but they will try to make things right if something is wrong.
SO BRIDES BEWARE!!!! If you are going to make such a big purchase take someone with you and dont buy the first thing you see!!! shop around and find out the return, exchange, refund policy before you buy! Because i dont know anywhere that will take a gown back or anything for that matter that has been altered to fit you! That’s just ridiculous! You wouldn’t go to a clothing store and buy something and have it altered and then take it back because the seamstress didn’t get it right because the store wouldn’t take it!
READ WHAT YOU SIGN!
KNOW THE STORE POLICY!
I’m Amanda, the girl stuck with the $1450 dress, and after reading through these comments, I can’t help but want to explain my story in more detail. I did go to the store by myself because my family lives in another country and I went during the day, when my friends were at work. I bought the dress August 9, because the sales lady in the store told me it was too late to order a dress for my wedding this weekend, Oct 18. When they pulled the dress and pin it back and smoothed it all out, it looked great. Exactly what I had been looking for, the style that is. I went to their seamstress and she did not warn me about the dress, despite what she said. But reassured me that she could alter the dress with no problems. After she altered, she said I’m sorry, but I can’t do anything else wiht it, they should not have sold you this dress. So, the story goes on, and I”m sure there’s not many people but those close to me who care. Through my wedding planning experience, with the dress and other things, I have learned that you can’t trust people. People don’t tell the truth and only look to better themselves. It is sad to me that good morals such as trust, honestness, and doing good unto others as you would have them do unto you, is something that is lost in our society and very hard to find. Thanks for your comments.