I had a very stressful experience with Boston Bridal Rack (aka "Musette Bridal") which included my gown “shrinking” (which in my opinion might have been a scam). Consequentially, I would NOT recommend.

I went to the store around 2 months before my wedding, and was thus limited to samples. After a nice experience, I committed to a “Pronovias Vicenta” gown for $1,200. The lace on the top of the gown came off a little but other than that, the gown was in very good shape and I was happy to purchase it. The dress was several inches too long and ~ 2 sizes too large. We had to clip it in a lot. So, I was going to have to alter the dress later.

I was told that, because the gown was a sample, it would be sent to a professional cleaning service. I had to pay for the dress in full on the day, but had to leave the dress with them for cleaning.

One month after my appointment, the dress was ready for pickup. Luckily, I wanted to try my dress back on when I came. To my disbelief, the dress was suddenly too SMALL and of VERY POOR quality! It was way too short even without wearing shoes (my toes peaked out), whereas before, the dress was way too long even with heels. Moreover, whereas the dress previously had to be clipped around my hips and waist, I could now hardly zip it up. It was so tight that it made me feel very uncomfortable. In addition, the dress was worn down. It was very dirty – grey rather than white. Many parts of the lace seemed to peel off. I got very upset. To me, it felt like I was given a completely different dress – possibly one that was no longer salable due to its poor condition. This was not the same dress I had purchased, and it definitely hadn’t been “cleaned”! I felt scammed, and if I hadn’t tried the dress back on, I think this would have been the end of the story.

I complained. The store manager told me that the dress must have “shrank” during the cleaning. According to the manager, crepe material shrinks when it is exposed to heat. However, I am not sure how even a crepe dress would shrink two full sizes. I made my discontent very clear, and was very upset. I also mentioned that I felt scammed. I was prepared to request my money back, but the manager asked me to give them a week to fix the dress. She said that the in-house seamstress would be able to take out some of the material around the hips, and would be able to press the dress to make it longer again. I was skeptical but accepted the wait.

A week later, I returned. The dress on the hanger was beautiful, white, high quality, like new. It was more beautiful and in better condition than the original sample gown. When I tried the dress on, it was again very long, and much too large. I don’t know how the dress could have transformed so much. From the first, to the second, to the third dress, I had the feeling that these were three different gowns and not the same gown. The third dress, to my satisfaction, looked like an entirely new dress to me. So, I took the dress home.

Even though I received a beautiful dress in the end, I was very stressed throughout. I was nervous, upset, sad. I even thought of moving the wedding. I then purchased a last-minute backup dress from David’s bridal which I later sent back. But, the whole process was very taxing. I still am skeptical about what I was told. I do not trust this store. I feel like I was almost scammed, but that I was able to catch it and was therefore given a “the dress shrank” cover story.

Concluding, stay away from both Musette Bridal/Boston Bridal Rack! But, if you do end up going there, be skeptical. If you purchase a sample gown, take it with you on your day of purchase. Don’t let them do “cleaning”. Don’t do your alterations with them. Don’t leave your dress out of sight. And, if something goes wrong, speak up! Don’t let yourself get bullied!

Also, they gave me a quote of $600 for alterations. During my wait, I made some calls to tailors. I actually found a tailor (Le Couturier) who quoted $300. And, who knows what might happen when you leave your dress with them for alterations...