This is long, i'm sorry!
Hi everyone,
So I am trying to figure out how to proceed on this. I want to start out by saying I am someone who never complains about anything. This is probably a fault of mine because I probably never get what I actually want because I am so easy going but I spent a lot of money on these alterations and I’m really not sure how my dress has ended up looking this way.I booked an appointment with someone who is supposed to be very experienced in wedding alterations. She actually does not refer to herself as a seamstress but a ‘couture bridal tailor’. When I had submitted photos of my dress to her she told me how the bridal store picked the perfect size for me and it would be very easy to get the perfect fit.
I went in for the first fitting and everything was pinned perfectly. We’d take in the waist, hips, thighs, hem and add a little bit of fabric to each strap to lower it a little. I went back for the second fitting and everything was adjusted besides the hem. The top portion fit pretty good but I noticed around my knee area, it seemed to really pull in almost making it look like a mermaid bottom instead of the fit and flare. I really didn’t notice until I got home and looked at photos. I circled the area’s around my knees where I had the issue (first 2 photo's attached) and she mentioned how she hadn’t cut any fabric out yet so she would let it out so it wouldn’t do that any longer.
I went back on Saturday to pick it up, tried on the dress and she mentioned that she let it out in the back (below my bum) to relieve the pulling at my knees - is that what would normally be done instead of letting out where she took it in at my knees? It still was pulling at my knee’s but not as much but now it is no longer form fitting in the back.
The 3rd & 4th photos attached, I asked if she thinks it should be hemmed more? And said she didn’t think so but would do it if I wanted. I said I think it is still a little long so she said she has another bride coming but could do it really quick. I put it back on and it’s still long but what is bothering me even more is the fact that the part above my belly button keeps making these weird lines almost like it is pulling, I kept pushing it down (she tried to smooth it a couple times but didn’t actually make a comment about it) I am still in the dress but her next bride calls and says she is there so she asked me to change out of the dress so she can go and grab her next client. I change out of it not super thrilled but rushed and hoping it is something that can be steamed out, so we leave.
My mom is pretty experienced in sewing (not enough to do this for me) but we get home and I put the dress back on. She finds that the reason it is pulling around my belly button and making these lines might be because she accidentally sewed part of the seam into the lace. This is the 5th photo attached. Although it might seem like maybe it is too big, that really doesn't seem to be it. It has two weird lines that do not smooth out.
Also, NONE of the fabric on any of the seams has been cut anywhere - is this normal? We were thinking maybe incase I gained weight but if I didn’t, there is just tons of leftover uncut fabric on all of the seams (which you can actually see through the dress).
The next issue, the hem, which you can see in most of the photos. It is so unbelievably long on the sides that it truly looks like I didn’t even bother to get it hemmed - I think the length might also be pushing the bottom of the dress up to contribute to the mermaid look. I actually text her Saturday night and asked if she only hemmed the front portion - she said she normally only does the ’step zone’ - again, is this normal? She did not touch the sides of the dress - I am only 5’4 and wearing 2 inch heels - I just find it so odd that she wouldn’t touch the sides of the hem, leaving SO much extra length. She also did not hem the 2 slips underneath - they are so long and I trip over them when I walk. The length of the straps are also not the same now - the least of my worries but annoying non the less.
The 6th photo is just the dress when I first picked it up from the dress store. I have looked at NUMEROUS photos of girls in the same dress - none of them have the sides of their dress so long that it is almost folded up, it just barely touches the ground just as the front does. I included photos of their dress as well.
Ok so here is my dilemma - all of these issues and I paid $1300 in alterations. Only hemmed the very front, unknown creasing in my waist/hip area, uncut fabric on the seams, pulling in at my knees, left the slips un-hemmed and un-even straps.
The dress has to be fixed but I am extremely worried to take it back to her but I cannot justify the fact that I gave someone $1300 to have all of these issues.
Are these issues common in wedding gown alterations? How do I proceed when I really do not want to take the dress back to her? Do I go somewhere else and just throw away $1300?
