That evening I composed an email to all three of the contacts at Dolly Couture: Dolly herself, Nickie the sales rep, and Desiree the seamstress. I tried to be calm and rationale in my email. I think I did a good job of not turning Bridezilla on the staff.
In turn the responses from all three were very apologetic and informative. The seamstress actually admitted to changing the design of the petticoat after our last email conversation. Instead of using the softer pre-dyed netting, she used the regular tulle and dyed it with RIT dye - which is why the color was drastically different.
To compare here is the sample dress with the correct blue and my dress side by side:
As you can see there is a definite color difference. In person the blue is much darker than it photographs. It is because she used this stiffer tulle that the skirt is much fuller than I wanted as well. During the course of our emails back and forth it was decided that I would send the dress back and Desiree would remove the petticoat and resew a new one in with the correct netting.
The fit of the bodice was also an issue and Dolly suggested I go see a seamstress and was confident that with proper alteration the dress would fit. Yesterday my mom and I did just that.
This is the dress on me before the seamstress started pinning and making adjustments:
Problem #1 - The Arm Holes
They were cut WAY too small. As you can see the fabric under my arm buckles and folds over. They are also very constrictive and I can't raise my arms at all. The seamstress recommends about an inch be taken out from under the arm and then I will still need to take the tops of the straps in about an inch on the top so that the straps sit correctly on my shoulders like a tank top strap would.
Problem #2 - The Cross Over Bust
When not pinned the cross over portion of the bust gaps open and exposes the girls A LOT! I know I will be bending down thru out the wedding day so that needs to be fixed. Once the shoulders fit properly the bodice can be fixed so it sits correctly. It is VERY low cut right now.
Problem #3 - The Butt
Where the zipper ends on my dress there is a very definite "dimple" I am not sure that it is caused by the extra tulle or if it is a defect in the construction of the gown. Desiree will be taking a look at this when she has the dress to fix the petticoat.
I have been told by Dolly that these bodice alterations are my responsibility, but I am disappointed that I was not informed prior to placing my order that I needed to give them additional custom measurements. As stated in the FAQ on their site each custom measurement is a $25 upcharge. I had to give custom bust and waist measurements at the cost of an additional $75 because I am a plus size girl and the largest size on her size chart is an 18. I was not told that the neck to waist, shoulder to shoulder and arm circumference were needed measurements for this style to fit me correctly.
Stay tuned to see the outcoming of all these alterations. I know I am on pins and needles.
Did you have to have major alterations done to your dress?
1 comment:
I hope you get things resolved. The silk fabric looks great. I think they literally just enlarge the bust and waist measurements and don't really change any other proportions. I really wanted a customs stephanie james dress (very similar styles to Dolly) but they run 4-5,000. She requires at least 15 different custom measurements whereas Dolly seems to only require 2. I guess in someways you get what you pay for. I did need some alterations to my dress and I really think that when you are actually in it with a seamstress you will get the best fit. Good luck!
Post a Comment