The Bridal Boutique by MaeMe

Review: I purchased my wedding dress from MaeMe's as a special order. The consultant measured me and suggested that I purchase a particular size, which I did. When the dress arrived, it was very large and required major alterations. The person who did alterations estimated it was about 2 sizes too big. It didn't fit in any of the areas measured, and 2 pleats had to be created in the skirt to match up with the size of the top after being taken in. Ultimately, I had to spend $400 to alter a dress that cost under $590, and the required alterations changed the look of the dress due to the pleats. The bridal shop has tried to blame the sizing issue on weight loss, but that simply was not the cause of this special order dress being so large that it wouldn't stay up on its own without alterations. It must have been either incorrect ordering, incorrect measuring, or the shop's lack of knowledge about its product. If the shop had recommended ordering the dress in an appropriate size, the alterations would have been minimal and much less expensive. I requested the bridal shop to contribute to the extra alterations that were required because the dress was ordered in too large a size, and the shop has refused to take responsibility for its mistake or to pay for part of the alteration cost.Desired Settlement: I would like MaeMe's to pay for a portion of the alteration costs, which were increased because the dress was ordered in too large a size at the shop's recommendation.

Business

Response:

Our customer purchased a wedding dress from our boutique in October, 2015. Per policy, as stated on the customer's signed contract, wedding gowns are ordered based on the customer's measurements and the designer's size chart. At the time of purchase, the customer's measurements were as follows: bust 43", waist 35", hip 42.5". Based on the designer's size chart, the customer's bust was a size 20, her waist a size 20, and her hip a size 14. The manufacturer recommends ordering based on the larger size as the gowns can be tailored down in size, but not up in size. Following this policy, a size 20 was ordered for this customer. The customer signed approving the size 20 to be ordered. The customer came in store to try the gown on and mentioned to the bridal consultant that the dress seemed big, but that she had lost weight since she ordered the gown. The consultant provided the customer with our seamstress's information, and the customer stated that she had someone in mind for her alterations. Following her alterations, the customer contacted us via email requesting the we cover the $300 expense of her alterations because they seemed excessive. All wedding gowns require tailoring for a perfect fit and appropriate length. The service for tailoring wedding gowns typically ranges in cost from $250 to $600 depending on the customer's preferences and gown selection. The $300 cost the customer incurred is well within expected range for all bridal gowns, and is actually lower than typically paid. In summary, the wedding gown was ordered based on the measurements at the time of purchase and the manufacturer's size chart. The correct size came in. The gown was not faulty. The customer signed her contract indicating that she understood the gown was ordered based on her largest measurements at the time of purchase, and that we would not be held responsible for items that do not fit due to weight loss. Please see attached documentation.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 11188605, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

[Just because they wrote the measurements down as they did doesn't mean they did it right. I signed the contract confirming the size they recommended because I trusted that the measurements were done correctly. As I already explained, the major fit problem was not due to weight loss, and any mention of that when the dress was picked up was raised by the consultant in an attempt to explain why a specially ordered dress could not fit at all, and at most my response was along the lines of 'maybe a little' in an attempt to understand the problem myself and not make the consultant feel bad. The sizing problem was not because of weight loss. Also, the alterations cost $400 (not $300 as the business contends), which was almost 70% of the dress purchase price. That is unreasonable, especially considering that the dress does not have complicated patterns, beading, or lace, and the consultant assured me that because of its simplicity, alterations would be minor and inexpensive. So their claim that the alteration cost here is actually reasonable is untenable. It's easy for a dress shop to claim 'weight loss' in response to any complaint of a dress being too large because there are no weigh-ins when ordering and picking up a dress. But in a case as extreme as this one--requiring payment of almost 70% of the cost of the dress in alterations and requiring 2 pleats to be created in the skirt to accommodate the extensive alterations--I hoped a business would have enough concern for its customer service and reputation to take responsibility for its mistakes and take simple steps to make things right rather than to hide behind a false claim of weight loss.]

Regards,