Wedding Dress Shop leaves bride in tears!

GMI

Hi folks,

My fiance, preparing and looking forward to a day of shopping for her wedding dress, arrived home early having only been to one appointment and got home in tears. She didn't have the heart to continue to her other appointments after the appalling manner in which she was treated in the first shop. They refused to show her the type of dress she described that she wanted, and pressured into other dresses in the wrong colours. They then said they wouldn't try to close the backs up in case they burst. They then told her that "she was probably too big for anything they;d have in their shop anyways". Now, my fiance, is curvy size 12 - 14, but NOT huge by any means. I've emailed the shop when I heard what happened from my sister who accompanied her asking for a manager to contact me ASAP. I'll let you know how that conversation goes, but if it doesn't go well, I Will be NAMING AND SHAMING THE SHOP HERE!

smelltheglove

GMI unfortunately it isnt a rare story. I myself experienced a similar fate but just handed the lady the dress and walked straight out the door and onto the next shop. I have to say it did get to me and stopped me enjoying the rest of the day but I didnt want one arse cancelling my plans (and I mean the assitants arse not mine:D).

I also accompanied my sister to a fitting for her dress which was 2 yrs before my own wedding and at a thin 10 the lady was recommending she loose a few pounds for the dress to really suit her:eek: 2 months before my wedding my sister was in intensive care after a simple absyis, although he tiny frame then at 7st when her normal weight at a 10 would be 9.5st could not cope with such a simple health problem. Figures doesnt it, these women who are usually 40/50 something and have nothing glamourous about them think they can go ahead and and knock young brides to be down and they still get to keep their jobs and keep trading.

Thankfully the internet market is starting to put them in their places with many brides to be opting to buy online rather than face the awful treatment in some bridal shops.

May I recommend for your fiance, trousseau in Dunshaughlin. The lady who owns this shop was subjected to such a situation for her own wedding day and vowed to set up her own business and ensure each bride enjoys her fittings and is not put under unrequired stress. 7 yrs later the shop opened. I stopped by there after I had bought my dress looking for flower girl dresses and was amazed at her selection and her attitude, in passing I mentioned what happened to me and she told me her story, I would reckon your fiance may be able to lift herself slightly after visiting this bridal shop. Best of luck!

bensoneb

Oh the poor girl, my heart goes out to her. Shopping for your dress is meant to be an amazing experience so hopefully a much better experience next time.

I'm much bigger than your fiance and was treated like a princess in Alexander Bridals on Parnell Street. They had plenty of dresses in all sizes and brought whatever I wanted.

This shop should be named and shamed to help other brides out there.......

smelltheglove

Naming and shaming is a dodgy thing though, there are often cases where the shop can threaten legal action for slander etc.

My particular case, I had a 3months old baby and the lady in the shop had said to me 'obviously you'll lose the baby weight before the big day' however I had already lost the baby weight and was quite disgusted.

Maybe it could be an idea where people just name the shops where they had a good experince.

BC

smelltheglove wrote: »

Naming and shaming is a dodgy thing though, there are often cases where the shop can threaten legal action for slander etc.

Its only slander if its not true.

I think the shops should be named, I would hate to waste my time on a shop that treats people so badly.

mumof3angels

I am afraid it happens everywhere when I went to look for my dress my 1st cousin came with me. when I ask the lady about the dress I was looking at she told me there was no way she could get me on in MY size ( all the time looking me up and down as if I was an elephant ) thank god I brought my cous with me she grabed hold of my arm turn to the woman and not so polietly told her to stick her shop up her bum.
It took me a few days to get over it but when I did go to another shop the lady was lovely could not have helped me more and I got the dress that I always wanted.
Tell ur other half to put her chin up and go out and find her dress and forget about that woman ( or she could always do a pretty woman and go back and tell her thats its a pitty that she was so rude cause she was going to spend a huge amount of money in that store trust me shop owners hate looseing out !!)

eve

We are in the early planning stages for our wedding and haven't set a date yet. But the thought of going through this kind of ridicule in a bridal shop terrifies me - I would be the person to end up in tears and let it affect me for days. I wear a size 16/18 and hearing about people being told to lose weight as a size 12 is horrible. shopping for the dress is supposed to be a memorable experience and it is horrible that there are sales people out there who would ruin it for someone.

iguana

BC wrote: »

Its only slander if its not true.

I think the shops should be named, I would hate to waste my time on a shop that treats people so badly.

It's not provable and the burden of proof would be on us, so I'm afraid if the OP posts it I would have to delete it.

Posters who had a good experience in a shop should name and praise them though.

kayos

God love any sales person that does that to my OH... thats all I will say on the matter.

CathyMoran

I was told that I could loose a few pounds (am only a size 8, though I am 5ft 2 in), another shop made bad comments about an illness I had), I found the whole dress buying experience upsetting at best.

beachbabe

I got marrried 5 yrs ago, and was a size 20 at the time. I did my research before I went shopping, and only went to shops that stocked larger sizes. I thankfully had no bad experiences, and finally got the dress in Bridal Designs, opposite Whitefriar Street church. The staff were lovely, and really knew their stuff.

Redpunto

two places that have lovely staff and your fiance could try is de stafford in Howth and Moreland in Clarehall - very accomadating with whatever i wanted to try on.

Toots

I find it shocking that shops who treat their customers like this are still in business. This happened to one of the girls in work, she's a size 12 and I would have always said she's got a fabulous figure, and one shop she went into told her to come back when she'd lost her 'christmas weight'!! (I might add it was April when this happened!) She said it was all she could do not to just burst into tears on the spot.

I went dress shopping the weekend before last, had been absolutely dreading it because I'm about a size 18 (or bigger depending on the shop) so was totally expecting to be made to feel like a hippo while shopping. I found a lovely shop down near Athy, and I can honestly say I enjoyed every minute of it! Picked my dress and was so happy. The girls in there are so nice and friendly and had a great eye for what would suit me and what wouldn't. If anyone wants the name, PM me and I'll let you know

ecaf

smelltheglove wrote: »

May I recommend for your fiance, trousseau in Dunshaughlin. The lady who owns this shop was subjected to such a situation for her own wedding day and vowed to set up her own business and ensure each bride enjoys her fittings and is not put under unrequired stress. 7 yrs later the shop opened. I stopped by there after I had bought my dress looking for flower girl dresses and was amazed at her selection and her attitude, in passing I mentioned what happened to me and she told me her story, I would reckon your fiance may be able to lift herself slightly after visiting this bridal shop. Best of luck!

+1
Trousseau are brilliant, but have now moved to Ashbourne.
I got my dress there, it was the first place I went to and Karen was great, stuck with me until we found the style I was comfortable with and then found lots of dresses in that style until I had it down to two. I went to about 3 other places and then came back there to buy the dress. None of them compared to Trousseau, although some were more helpful than others.

If it isn't your size they are going on about, its how late you've left it to order a dress, or in one shop hiding the prices and it felt like if you have to ask then you can't afford it!

Hope you can get some resolve on the issue from that shop, and that your fiancée enjoys her next trip out.

barbiegirl

Big recommendation for Fiona Todhunters in Tallaght. I was a size 16 going shopping and they made me feel fantastic. I lost stone and they still made me feel fantastic.
I have no patience for rudeness from anyone, and had I encountered it when shopping I would have taken my budget elsewhere.

tatli_lokma

I would recommend the Bridal Corner in Prospect Ave/Harts Corner Glasnevin - they are really lovely staff and very pleasant. not at all pushy and not pushing you to spend more than you can afford. Very down to earth.

I had a similar exp to OP in a shop in Drogheda - rang to make an appointment, was asked what size I am. I said 10-12, but maybe a 14 in a wedding dress (had heard that with a lot of wedding dresses you need a size bigger than your street size) - response from the shop? "well we don't stock things in big sizes like that, but we can put you in one of our standard sizes to give you an idea and put in a special order for a larger size!:eek:

Bridal corner girls couldn't be further from this - felt totally comfortable and not like a huge heffer!

Vote with your feet - wedding dresses aren't cheap, so there is no way I would spend hundreds/thousands in a shop which didn't treat me with respect! sod em!

batwoman

barbiegirl wrote: »

Big recommendation for Fiona Todhunters in Tallaght. I was a size 16 going shopping and they made me feel fantastic. I lost stone and they still made me feel fantastic.
I have no patience for rudeness from anyone, and had I encountered it when shopping I would have taken my budget elsewhere.

tell her to try cosmipolton brides in liffey valley i would be bigger than your oh and the girl in the shop made me feel like a size 10
agnita is the girls name and she is lovley !!!

Borderfox

smelltheglove wrote: »

GMI unfortunately it isnt a rare story. I myself experienced a similar fate but just handed the lady the dress and walked straight out the door and onto the next shop. I have to say it did get to me and stopped me enjoying the rest of the day but I didnt want one arse cancelling my plans (and I mean the assitants arse not mine:D).

I also accompanied my sister to a fitting for her dress which was 2 yrs before my own wedding and at a thin 10 the lady was recommending she loose a few pounds for the dress to really suit her:eek: 2 months before my wedding my sister was in intensive care after a simple absyis, although he tiny frame then at 7st when her normal weight at a 10 would be 9.5st could not cope with such a simple health problem. Figures doesnt it, these women who are usually 40/50 something and have nothing glamourous about them think they can go ahead and and knock young brides to be down and they still get to keep their jobs and keep trading.

Thankfully the internet market is starting to put them in their places with many brides to be opting to buy online rather than face the awful treatment in some bridal shops.

May I recommend for your fiance, trousseau in Dunshaughlin. The lady who owns this shop was subjected to such a situation for her own wedding day and vowed to set up her own business and ensure each bride enjoys her fittings and is not put under unrequired stress. 7 yrs later the shop opened. I stopped by there after I had bought my dress looking for flower girl dresses and was amazed at her selection and her attitude, in passing I mentioned what happened to me and she told me her story, I would reckon your fiance may be able to lift herself slightly after visiting this bridal shop. Best of luck!

trousseau have moved to Ashbourne near the library

Lin 1

Hi, where abouts is fiona todhunters in tallaght? that would be quite handy for me.

DDigital

Cincikchick wrote: »

I would recommend the Bridal Corner in Prospect Ave/Harts Corner Glasnevin - they are really lovely staff and very pleasant. not at all pushy and not pushing you to spend more than you can afford. Very down to earth.

I had a similar exp to OP in a shop in Drogheda - rang to make an appointment, was asked what size I am. I said 10-12, but maybe a 14 in a wedding dress (had heard that with a lot of wedding dresses you need a size bigger than your street size) - response from the shop? "well we don't stock things in big sizes like that, but we can put you in one of our standard sizes to give you an idea and put in a special order for a larger size!:eek:

Bridal corner girls couldn't be further from this - felt totally comfortable and not like a huge heffer!

Vote with your feet - wedding dresses aren't cheap, so there is no way I would spend hundreds/thousands in a shop which didn't treat me with respect! sod em!

I'd second the Bridal corner recommendation based on my wifes experience. She couldn't speak highly enough of them.

smelltheglove

My sister in law bought from the bridal corner and loved it too, she was a skinny malink but she loved it.

Rosy Posy

I got my dress made for me and it was a wonderful experience from start to finish. I used Denise Assas 01-6797544, a lovely French woman who has a workshop upstairs on Dame Street. She made me feel like a princess from the moment I walked in and she made the dress exactly how I wanted- it was really fun seeing her create it too.

Terpsichore

Roisin Cross in Dun Laoghaire have a magnificent choice of silks, and Maeve will make the dress of your dream for you.

I gave up the wedding shops after a while, not because some silly shop assistant lacked professionalism and social skills, but because I realised very quickly that all the dresses on show are only prototypes and that your dress will come in 9 months time, freshly made in China.

Dresses in shop are only models that will be tried on by thousands of women. Some of them are filthy with make up and sweat because they get changed only every two years with the new collection. You would be very lucky indeed to walk in a shop and buy a dress of the shelf that wouldn't need alterations and cleaning.

To add to this: most of the time only ONE average size (12) is provided per model and if you have a fuller figure, you can only use your imagination and try to guess if this is the one for you. Mind you when I hear that a size 12 woman is still getting grief... there is something really wrong with those so called professionals...

It's a test!

Give your business to local Irish dress makers, not to China!

coco83

The white room in mullingar, really really nice to deal with