I loved one of this designer’s dresses so much (the “Amber”) that I dealt with the hassle of ordering it in New York, though I live in DC. I went to Designer Loft while they were having a trunk show. Janet wasn’t at the store, but she kindly rushed over to help with my custom order. She took my measurements and made the dress to them (cutting down on tailoring costs). I also chose a different lace than the standard option and selected the color of the under layer. She took notes on everything.

When I got my dress, I was displeased with a few things. First, we had agreed that buttons would line the zipper to a certain point down the back, but she only put a few buttons on the top section of the zipper. Second, she said she would have to pick a fabric for the waist sash based on what looked good with the other fabrics, but we agreed that a darker fabric was preferred. The sash instead turned out to be light ivory. Finally, the lace overlay had princess seams, which the original dress did not seem to. Princess seams on lace? Not a good look! However, it wasn’t very noticeable unless you looked closely. There were a few tiny things that the tailor in DC had to fix that seemed to indicate rushed or sloppy work, like a seam was tacked the wrong way and caused a bit of bunching at the waist.

I should say that I had a chance to see the dress and I approved it before paying for the second half, and I did not speak up. (I felt rushed/cramped, but that is the store’s fault, not Janet’s!) I was nervous that asking for a major change would just take too long, so I decided to suck it up.

Despite my misgivings and annoyances, it turned out to be a beautiful dress. Everyone from my conservative grandma to my classy aunt to my husband’s skanky teenage cousins raved about how gorgeous it was. None of the things that I thought were “wrong” detracted from the way it looked.