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jem
Citizen
Username: Jem
Post Number: 931
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - 3:05 pm: | 
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Yes! All hail the goddess Francesca! 
And just to be clear: I reread my previous post and it almost sounds as if first Allison ruined my daughter's dress and then I was foolish enough to ask her to make a dress for me. No. My dress was in process (supposedly) when I brought my daughter's dress to be altered. It was the botched alteration that led me to suspect the worst about the outcome of my dress, and my worst fears came true. |
LIttlebirde
Citizen
Username: Littlebirde
Post Number: 10
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - 3:26 pm: |
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After you search around for dresses, if you find bridal dresses that you like in a bridal salon, my suggestion would be to check out a place called RK Bridal in the city(www.rkbridal.com).
It is a place where you can fnd all the different designers, not high end but the basics: Jim Hjelm, Watters & Watters, with a policy called "no frills".
This really works best when you know the designer you would like and plan on having the dresses altered somewhere else. You can go into the location too, they have a ton of dresses on the floor to try on. They are very hands off, that is how they offer the good prices. The no frills, means it barely sits at their location.
I did this for my bridesmaid dresses and it worked out AMAZINGLY. Word of caution: Measurements are a must. Some designers run smaller than others. It is great when you know what you want and also don't want to spend a ton of money. I went to Thread Designs, which is incredible. Unfortunately, some of the girls in my wedding party did not want to pay $300+ for the dress. Personally, it was my favorite for dreses that you could actually wear again. Gorgeous stuff. We ended up finding a very similar dress by Dessy Creations at RK Bridal that worked for me and was cheaper for the bridal party. (My sister pointed out that the dress was very me, but for that money, not everyone else's style.) That was Bride-zilla wakeup#1000 for me!!
By the way, the two are also different experience, Threads is a boutique RKBridal is a warehouse-like space.
Two totally different shopping experiences.... |
algebra2
Citizen
Username: Algebra2
Post Number: 1726
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - 3:38 pm: |
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My good friend had great luck at RK Bridal. I did Kleinfeld's and found, upon arriving home (Mass) the day before my wedding, that they delivered me the wrong dress! I guess having two woman named Bronwen in their system was too much as we got each other's dresses (and hers was hideous). |
greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 2093
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - 3:54 pm: |
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So Alg - what happened? |
algebra2
Citizen
Username: Algebra2
Post Number: 1727
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - 4:08 pm: |
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So .... the dress was being shipped to the dressmaker who was making the bridesmaids dresses. She received it and pressed it. When I arrived to pick it up she made a few susicious comments which led me to freak out, so she brought out the dress and I freaked out. The dressmaker kindly got on the phone w/ Kleinfeld's (who could have given a hoot whether some chick calling from Ipswich, MA was dissatisfied). She read them the order number on the dress I received and they contacted that owner (Bronwen Same Very Common Last Name) who opened her dress box and found that she had the wrong dress. She was in Hartford so a Kleinfeld's driver drove to Hartford picked up that dress and drove it up to me -- I got it a few hours before the wedding -- it had no order number on it so we were unsure whether it was mine until it arrived (it also arrived not yet altered). By that point I didn't really care anymore. If the dress didn't arrive I had a back-up loaner from the dressmaker and I figured Kleinfeld's would HAVE to refund me my money.
Ahhhhh -- to be young and in love. |
papayagirl
Citizen
Username: Papayagirl
Post Number: 180
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - 4:33 pm: |
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RK Bridal in NYC is the seventh circle of hell on the weekend. But if you can go on a weekday, right after the store opens (which is around (10:30 or 11am), you'll have the whole place to yourself.
And for anyone reading this for future reference, DO NOT go to a place called Roma Bridals, either for wedding or bridesmaid dresses. I forget what town it's in - someplace in northern nj. They're mean and rude there, they rip the tags out so you don't know what brand the gowns are (as does Kleinfeld, which is illegal), and the alterations they did for me on a bridesmaid gown i had to buy there were horrendous. You'd think after making me wait 6 weeks between each fitting, they'd be able to do a hem correctly. |
shh
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 994
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - 5:34 pm: |
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My sister-in-law used RK Bridal for her dress and the bridesmaids (I was one). The selection is huge. There's a lot of pulling things through the racks to find what you want. We got our alterations done there and I was not thrilled. First the bottom edge of my top (like a bustier type thing) was all crooked and after that was fixed (maybe my husband picked it up or I just tried the top on there) I noticed the bottom of the dress was not hemmed, just pinned, and it was one of these things with several layers. Anyway, he brought it back for me, sister-in-law picked it up at her next fitting, and then Sept 11 happened and her dress was stuck there! (Not their fault obviously.) My husband picked up this huge tulle wedding dress and took it home on the train Sept. 13 and barely made it to the wedding on the 14th.
The best advice I could give is tell them the wedding is at least 3 weeks before it is and get the dress early. I had my dress made and told the dressmaker the wedding was 6 weeks before it was. (He thought I was nuts for having a garden wedding mid-March!) My dress hung from a chandelier in my old bedroom until the big day, but it made it a lot less stressful.
Jem, my mom had a similar problem with her dress for my wedding. Not fun!
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jem
Citizen
Username: Jem
Post Number: 933
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - 5:39 pm: |
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So she had to scramble at the last minute, too? Was she happy with what she ended out with? I actually loved the dress that I found at Sealfons, and the saleswoman there was incredibly sympathetic and helpful. |
shh
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 995
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - 7:37 pm: |
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Well, it wasn't the last minute, it was late Feb. and the wedding was late April, but the dress she ordered was beautiful and came in completely wrong (damaged fabric, color all blotchy). She didn't want any hassle, so she went to a place in Secaucus (I forget where) and bought a pale yellow three piece, with some beading, off the rack. She loved it, though I didn't like it as much as the first dress, but at least she was happy. Unfortunately, after the wedding she gained all her weight back and couldn't get into again. : ( |
phyllis
Citizen
Username: Phyllis
Post Number: 210
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 1:20 pm: |
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Another vote for Brides Best Friend in Englewood. Several of my friends have used them and I've been happy. I've also been to Klienfeld's in Bay Ridge for a bridesmaid's dress. Service wasn't great, but they have everything. |
Pippi
Citizen
Username: Pippi
Post Number: 52
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 1:31 pm: |
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I am about to start looking for a wedding dress...I am hoping to get one for very very little money.
Has anyone ever heard of any local places that RENT wedding dresses? I have no sentimentality for a dress I will wear once. I have to really like it, but I do not have to own it. Any recommendations?
Thanks! |
greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 2101
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 1:36 pm: |
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Alg- glad all worked out. Did you get a discount for having an unaltered dress?
Papaya-
You reminded me of my (one and only) Bridal's by Roma experience:
My (now) sis-in-law fell in love with a dress in some magazine. The only place in the metro area that carried it was.... Brida's by Roma! In some weird, wedding-stress alternate universe moment, she thought it would be fun to make it a "girl's family event". So, her mom came in, my mom came in & The Spouse (who tried to get out of it, but I wouldn't let her), the bride & I all squeezed into the car & went off to Roma's.
We walk in on a Saturday & it was a total zoo. The bridal Nazis (aka saleswomen) would only let two people in the dressing room w/ the bride at a time. "Nonsense", said Greenetree. "The bride wants us here, this is a damned expensive dress, and we are the customers". The Nazi was pissed off because she was trying to push all these extras (if you don't buy the matching $8,000 garter that compliments the dress, your marriage will fail) & we were giving the bride strength to say "no".
Then, in walks a young woman we dubbed "Mafia Princess". She brought her entire bridal party (8), mom & mother-in-law to pick out her dress (yes, it was only for the bride that day!). She kept picking out these huge, Gone With the Wind huge, hooped dresses & parading up and down the aisle, knocking us all over.
After awhile, I got bored. I found a really hideous, matronly mother of the bride dress & put it on. I then stood at the front door, greeting customers: "Welcome to Bridal's by Roma, your total bridal experience" in my best Joan-Cusack-in-Working-Girl accent. Once again, the Nazis had no sense of humor and did not appreciate my assistance with customer service.
It was fun, but I think that I would not do it again.... |
shh
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 997
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 2:19 pm: |
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Pippi, my m-i-l recommended a place in Bklyn called Barbie's. I know it's a shlep, but she got several dresses for M's big day (they all had costume changes  ) and none of them were over $300. Another suggestion, this one I LOVE— when we went to RK for bridesmaid dresses, there was a bride-to-be there with a gorgeous, simple (no ungapachan or whatever beading) bodice and mermaid cut skirt, covered buttons down the back, really elegant. It was a BRIDESMAID's dress which she ordered in ivory or cream. It was very reasonable and stunning. It would have looked gorgeous with a hat! (And totally could be worn again, esp. if she cut the skirt.) And by reasonable, I mean under $200. |
SoOrLady
Citizen
Username: Soorlady
Post Number: 461
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 4:25 pm: |
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Pippi - check out the classified section on MOL's homepage... there's a brand new wedding gown there (photo included) and the asking price is only $150! Best Wishes! |
Pippi
Citizen
Username: Pippi
Post Number: 53
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 5:53 pm: |
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SoOrLady - thanks - I am heading there now!
shh - so funny you should say that - I know of someone who ordered a Vera Wang BM dress in white for $350 (which is about all I want to spend) but it seems they won't always let you order in white - they're "on to us"
so when are we going shopping?? |
shh
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 998
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 6:11 pm: |
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I'd love to go! I was waiting for you to ask. Any time, we should go soon, you have to give yourself at least 3 months for the dress to come in. Then you can bring to to Francesca for expert tailoring! Any chance you could go one Friday? It would be less hectic there. |
Pippi
Citizen
Username: Pippi
Post Number: 54
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 6:19 pm: |
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A friday would be best, I know...AC would be mad if I didn't invite her too...maybe next friday?? YIKES |
shh
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 999
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 6:27 pm: |
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Next Friday is no good for me. Tuscan show is at 2pm. The following Friday is ok though. See if AC could join us and then maybe the three of us could go out after. |
shh
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 1000
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 6:28 pm: |
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Uhm, we really have a bad habit of running with these threads, don't we.
We'll be the most hated MOL'ers (well, after the big Straw anyway, right AL2 ) |
algebra2
Citizen
Username: Algebra2
Post Number: 1735
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 6:30 pm: |
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... and I was about to offer up my wedding gown to Pippi -- maybe that would be bad karma? |
shh
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 1001
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 7:31 pm: |
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Not bad karma, but it is TEN year's old! But I defer to the Pippster...
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papayagirl
Citizen
Username: Papayagirl
Post Number: 182
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 9:21 pm: |
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greenetree - you're my new hero!
pippi - the only places i've run across that rent bridal gowns are in nyc. if you want more info, let me know.
and fyi, there's a place called Pearl's Place in Louisiana that sells bridal/bridesmaid gowns for incredible prices. their website is www.pearlsplace.com. if you see something you like in a store here and are comfortable measuring yourself, you can save a lot of $ ordering through them. |
Pippi
Citizen
Username: Pippi
Post Number: 55
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 10:37 pm: |
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thanks papayagirl- I actually checked them out yesterday but realized I had to know what I am looking for (I do not)...I figure once I find something, I can bargain hunt online.
Algebra2 -bad karma? not if you and Straw are happy!
a 10 year old dress however -- as shh indicates-- is a whole other story!
but thanks!
apologies to all on behalf of myself and shh for running away with the thread. we'll try not to do that. |
just me fromsouthorange
Citizen
Username: Jmfromsorange
Post Number: 218
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 11:58 pm: |
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with prom season not too far off maybe you can find a white prom dress in the short hills mal that looks like a wedding gown? |
Wendyn
Citizen
Username: Wendyn
Post Number: 165
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 8:28 am: |
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Might be able to find a dress on Ebay... |
algebra2
Citizen
Username: Algebra2
Post Number: 1738
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 8:55 am: |
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Pippi -- We've been annoying each other since the eighties! We're very happy. I have a beautiful, simple (at least I remember it being beautiful and simple) Alvena Valenta dress. off the shoulder w/ long sleeves in a size 10. I never opened the box to see if they got the red wine drip down the front out though!
Michael's Consignment on the upper east side has bridal but they may be very expensive. They're at 79th and Madison (212) 737-7273. My good friend got her dress at a sample sale at Michelle Roth on 57th Street (212) 245-3390. |
Pippi
Citizen
Username: Pippi
Post Number: 56
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 10:36 am: |
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I've been to Michael's, used to live not too far ... I am afraid they would be too expensive.
There's this (theoretically) great palce called the Bridal Garden. It's not for profit, all porceeds go to a children's charity in NY, gowns are donated by the big designers. I would love to do something like this, but again - VERY expensive!
Thanks for the tips... I am sure I'll find something. I am just dreading beginning the process....
seems like such a project! |
greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 2105
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 11:18 am: |
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Shh & Pippi: in the spirit of "did you bring enough for the entire class?" -
when are we all going where? How should I dress?
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Pippi
Citizen
Username: Pippi
Post Number: 57
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 12:31 pm: |
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greenetree -
casual...Fall afternoon outdoors...should be lovely! As I am telling my very small bridal party - wear whatever you want!
still wondering what I should wear???!!??@@## |
shh
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 1002
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 12:48 pm: |
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I think Greenetree meant WHEN are WE going DRESS shopping, though I could be wrong. |
Pippi
Citizen
Username: Pippi
Post Number: 58
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 1:47 pm: |
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oh |
greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 2107
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 8:02 pm: |
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Shh was right. But! I love a good wedding....
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