The ordering process can be confusing and difficult to understand, but that’s where we come in. We will break down the process step by step so you understand what to expect when you are ordering your dress.
Selecting your dress
Your very first step will be picking your dress. During our regular grad season, we carry a large variety of dresses we can order from. Your first job is to try on and pick your perfect dress from our selection. If you’re not sure where to start, our experienced and knowledgeable consultants will be happy to help. For more information on this, check out this post.
Selecting your colour
Once you’ve picked your perfect dress, you will need to decide which colour you want. Each dress comes in a set number of colours which are listed on the dress tag. We won’t have every dress in every colour in store for you to see, but our dresses often have colour swatches that come with the dress and are frequently photographed in other colours. If you are wondering about another colour of a dress, just ask your consultant! They’d be happy to look up the dress and show you the image/s of the colour/s photographed.
We understand that sometimes this step will come first; sometimes you have your heart set on a certain colour above all else. In this case, you will need to look more closely at the tags when looking for your dress. We may not have the dress in store in your desired colour, but you just might be able to order a dress in your colour.
Deciding on a size
Once you’ve decided on style and colour, our experienced consultants will take your measurements and decide on a size with you. Our dresses are not custom-sized and are all made based on our designer’s size chart. Our consultants will compare your bust, waist, and hip measurements to the appropriate designer size chart and work with you to determine the best size for you.
None of us are perfect, so expect to require a few alterations to your dress. We help you decide on a size that fits closest to your measurements to minimize how many alterations you will need on your dress.
Paperwork and Deposit
After deciding all the details of your dress, our consultant will walk you through a couple of forms that you will need to fill out and sign. This confirms information like size, colour, style, and some information about what to expect ordering a dress and after it arrives. Don’t worry, you will get a copy of each form at the end for your records.
Once the forms are filled out and signed, you will need to put a deposit down on your dress. The minimum payment we require is 50% of the price after tax, but you can always choose to pay more than that.
Ordering your dress
After placing the deposit on your dress, we will send the order off to our supplier to get the process started. They respond to us within a couple of days with confirmation of the order and an estimated timeline of when we should expect to see the dress. These are only estimates and may not account for unexpected events or delays. These dresses usually take 4 to 5 months to arrive in our store from the factory.
Sometimes our suppliers order dresses for their warehouse stock, speeding up the order process for us! This means we can often get the dress in less time than initially predicted.
One thing to note: once the order is placed, there are no refunds; the dress you have ordered is coming in special for you; from this point on, you should stop shopping.
Dress arrival and where to go from there
Once your dress arrives in our store, the dress ordering process is complete. We give your dress a good steam to get all the wrinkles and creases out of it, look it over to make sure it meets our quality standard, and then call you to let you know your dress has arrived!
After we call you, you will need to come in within 4 weeks to try on your dress and pay any outstanding balance. Only after you try on your dress will you know what kind of alterations you will need to be done to your dress.
At this time, you can choose to leave your dress with us or take your dress with you; that choice we leave up to you. We would also be happy to book you for alterations at this time, or you can always call us at a later time to book an appointment.
Final thoughts
In the end, whichever dress you choose, we are happy you chose us to be part of your big celebration! Congratulations on finding your dress and on the success of your big day.