phoenix
06-11-2006, 08:59 PM
I just have to post my story here, as I'm still pretty steamed.....
As some of you might remember part 1 of this story....
For 2 years now, I've had unfortunate experiences w/ having a dress made long distance. Last year, it came only 5 days before the competition and was way too big--sagging. I was deeply fortunate enough to find a local seamstress who took pity on me, took it apart & re-sewed it so it would fit.
THIS year, I had no intention of doing that again! BUT.....I saw the perfect dress on ebay, but it wasn't my size. I contacted the shop owner, who said she'd have another one made (she's not the designer), to my measurements. I was hesitant but she said if it didn't fit I wasn't obligated to buy it, and there was lots of time to get it finished & fitted. We picked new fabrics (I bought some on ebay myself & had it shipped to her), I spent over $100.00 in stones so I could stone it when it came. I asked for it to be here by 2 weeks before the competition---so I should have had it yesterday (Sat.).
On Friday, she sent me photos of the finished dress....and it's NOT the same design as the original!! Turns out she used a different seamstress than the one who made the first dress, and said seamstress decided to get creative.....and decided that the skirt should be about mid-thigh length on one side & higher than that on the other.....this is a competition ice dance tango dress & I'm very tall. I'd look ridiculous in that dress with such a short skirt. And there were a few other issues w/ the quality of the sewing (or lack thereof...) So here we are, two weeks out, and no dress.....and the fabulous material I searched for and paid for has been cut up. The stones are of colors I have no use for otherwise; lime green, hot orange, yellow, etc.
SO I went panic shopping yesterday, and lo & behold, I found a super dress, at JC Penny's on the clearance rack for $30.00!!! It's stretchy, comfy, has a flowy skirt & diagonal hemline, a ruffled embellishment at the hip, it's even got sequins all over it! I wore it skating tonight to see how it felt--I won't have to do a thing to it, it felt great. AND everyone was asking me who made my beautiful new ice dance dress!! HA!! (and by the way, the skirt falls 3" BELOW my knee on the long side)
Thank you for letting me rant. Moral: don't limit yourself to "official" makers....especially for dancers, there are other options. I saw tons of really cute dancy type dresses, they're very fashionable right now.
As some of you might remember part 1 of this story....
For 2 years now, I've had unfortunate experiences w/ having a dress made long distance. Last year, it came only 5 days before the competition and was way too big--sagging. I was deeply fortunate enough to find a local seamstress who took pity on me, took it apart & re-sewed it so it would fit.
THIS year, I had no intention of doing that again! BUT.....I saw the perfect dress on ebay, but it wasn't my size. I contacted the shop owner, who said she'd have another one made (she's not the designer), to my measurements. I was hesitant but she said if it didn't fit I wasn't obligated to buy it, and there was lots of time to get it finished & fitted. We picked new fabrics (I bought some on ebay myself & had it shipped to her), I spent over $100.00 in stones so I could stone it when it came. I asked for it to be here by 2 weeks before the competition---so I should have had it yesterday (Sat.).
On Friday, she sent me photos of the finished dress....and it's NOT the same design as the original!! Turns out she used a different seamstress than the one who made the first dress, and said seamstress decided to get creative.....and decided that the skirt should be about mid-thigh length on one side & higher than that on the other.....this is a competition ice dance tango dress & I'm very tall. I'd look ridiculous in that dress with such a short skirt. And there were a few other issues w/ the quality of the sewing (or lack thereof...) So here we are, two weeks out, and no dress.....and the fabulous material I searched for and paid for has been cut up. The stones are of colors I have no use for otherwise; lime green, hot orange, yellow, etc.
SO I went panic shopping yesterday, and lo & behold, I found a super dress, at JC Penny's on the clearance rack for $30.00!!! It's stretchy, comfy, has a flowy skirt & diagonal hemline, a ruffled embellishment at the hip, it's even got sequins all over it! I wore it skating tonight to see how it felt--I won't have to do a thing to it, it felt great. AND everyone was asking me who made my beautiful new ice dance dress!! HA!! (and by the way, the skirt falls 3" BELOW my knee on the long side)
Thank you for letting me rant. Moral: don't limit yourself to "official" makers....especially for dancers, there are other options. I saw tons of really cute dancy type dresses, they're very fashionable right now.