Hi everyone! First time posting here, and I'm hoping someone has some advice/answers. I bought my dress as a sample off the rack, and it fits ALMOST like a glove--just have to have the shoulders taken in. The other thing is that there's a completely sheer mesh panel across my chest with a very small tear at the neckline. The women at the boutique assured me that it could be removed without a problem. I'm not very modest anyways and don't have much cleavage to cover up, so I feel completely comfortable without the mesh there. BTW this won't be a church wedding, so no one needs to get up in arms about the deep V. It will just be an evening cocktail party with all adults.
The only problem that I'm facing right now is that I just spoke with a seamstress on the phone to set up an alterations consultation, and she seemed adamant that you can't remove anything like that. She hasn't actually seen my dress yet, but I'm wary of bringing in the dress to her (and paying the $75 consultation charge) to risk her standing behind her initial reaction if there might be other seamstresses who would make the change that I'm looking for.
When we bought the dress, the saleswomen honestly didn't even hesitate about it being a solution to cut it out, so I'm a bit surprised that the seamstress reacted that way. The bodice really feels sculpted to my body, and it's sequins on tulle, so it's a bit stiff and structured--not like it's chiffon or soft silk or something. It's also snug at the waist and will be snug higher up once the shoulders are taken in.
Has anyone else done something similar? My other idea was just to have the cut of the mesh scoop down a bit (i.e. removing the small tear), but the seamstress seemed to think even that was impossible. Hoping someone has some guidance here! Everything else I read online are just about ADDING panels like this rather than removing them, so any advice is appreciated 
The dress!
