Prom Dress Disaster

[Promdisaster]

Sorry, this might be long as to not drip feed. Apologies but could really do with some advice.

Ordered a prom dress for my daughter. Paid around one third deposit. Dress arrived in the shop the week before prom date. Went to try on and collect, but dress was too big. Seamstress made some alterations and said it would be done in time, they were working through alterations in order of prom date and to keep an eye out for an email.

Around lunchtime the day before prom, I got a text from the prom shop saying they were delivering the dresses and asking what was the latest time they could deliver that night or from what time the next morning, so I said up to 10.30pm and from 6.30am next morning.

Got a text early the next morning saying the seamstress had collapsed overnight and gone into hospital and they were trying to find another seamstress but not to worry, the dress would be there ASAP.

I told them I needed the dress by 4pm latest as daughter was having friends round to get ready/photos, then being picked up by another mum to go to a pre prom party/photos before leaving at 6pm to go to the prom.

Eventually, after a couple of messages and a phone call, the prom lady turns up with dress at 5pm. She asked my daughter to try the dress on to make sure it fitted. I was more worried that the dress would be too small now that it had been altered, so when she got it on and it wasn't too small I said it was fine and I could tighten it in with the corset . We were so relieved she had a dress. At that moment the other mum turned up to take them to the preprom party so the prom lady left.

The mum at the preprom party messaged and said the dress was too big and she had tried to pin it in but the dress was still gaping round the chest area and too big round the waist. My daughter spent the whole night miserable in a dress that was too big and is sad when she sees all the photos of the girls looking beautiful in their lovely prom dresses. My daughter is not a promzilla is is the sweetest laid back girl.

I have now had a phone message and an email asking for the balance. I really feel that I dont want to pay for a dress that doesn't fit and ruined my daughter's evening. I want to give the dress back so they can resell it.

IABU - yes the dress was worn
IANBU - it wasn't my fault, the dress didn't fit.

Imagine it was a wedding dress, turning up a few hours before the ceremony not fitting? There would be no option but to wear it.
ultimately, the seamstress has taken on too much work and has not fulfilled her obligations. For her to receive full payment for a subs standard service isn’t right.
as a matter of principle, if she won’t accept lesser payment then she should have to adjust the dress so it does fit. I don’t think you should be charged the full price for the alterations. I think a fair resolution would be to keep the dress but she should waive the alteration fees altogether as she didn’t deliver what she is asking payment for.

It sounds like a stressful situation and I hope the shop side with you but your DD did try it on and say it was fine so I think you may have a battle.

Tell her your daughter wore it but ended up sitting in the corner alone, so nobody could see her, as it was gaping around the bust area. This ruined her prom. You will therefore not be paying any more for it!

I agree with this. DD had prom last week and I did buy her new shoes and bag but the dress was one I got her 2 years ago for her grandparents wedding anniversary.
No party before or after, she still had a brilliant time.
OP I feel really sorry for your DD but as she did wear it all night I don't see how you can decide not to pay.
I wish Prom wasn't a thing at all it creates drama and pressure for a lot of people and its only really a disco.

Imagine it was a wedding dress, turning up a few hours before the ceremony not fitting? There would be no option but to wear it.
Except nobody in their right mind would let it go that far without another viable option, so it's kind of irrelevant?

This didn't actually happen, though?
It couldn't have gaped to the extent that the girl hid in a corner all night (more fool her if she did) yet have looked "fine" when initially tried on.
The prom lady will work on the "fine", not made up tales of what came later.

If the seamstress collapsed, who “finished” the dress? Was it a professional finish? Could they have sorted it on time if they delivered it sooo late? Nope.

They did a shoddy job, I would pay but not the full price at all.

Yes this - it arrived too late

Send an email with the photos, laying out the sequence of events. It’s not acceptable to deliver a special occasion dress so late.

Add a line saying you are so sorry the seamstress was unwell, what on earth happened and how is she doing?… because I do suspect this is bollocks and they took on too much work. if that’s the case, a line like this will help stop them pushing back.

Stand firm (unlike the dress 😀)

I thought it might be a fun saying the seamstress had collapsed but do not want to accuse people of things they have not done.
If the measurements were not right I do not think you should have to pay.
Sorry to hear you had that disappointment.

Sorry, I meant fib not fun.

I would have made her wait till the dress was tried on properly but that wouldn't have made any difference as there was no one there to alter it anyway

You shouldn't have said it was ok and let her go I mean who does that when a dress has been specially made to fit

nope wouldn't pay. They didn't fulfil their part of the deal, the dress didn't fit🤷🏻‍♀️
I would simply email saying you understand they were busy but the dress was not fit for purpose once tried on properly. There for you would like to return it. I wouldn't mention that she wore it. Just leave that bit out the email.

If you don't get a satisfactory reply from them, I would be using the power of social media to post photos of their badly fitting dresses. (Obviously with your daughters face cropped out).

I wonder if it was actually altered at all??
In your shoes I would write a letter referring to the Sale of Goods Act which states that the goods must be:

as described
of satisfactory quality
fit for purpose

Detail the lack of compliance with the above and the problems caused by the dress being supplied in a timescale which left for no remedial action to be taken. It does not need to be exceedingly long or detailed. I would also state that for a refund of what you have already paid you will return the dress but that you will not be paying the balance due to the above.

This unfortunately

If I was the mum in that situation, I would have inwardly panicked about the poor fit but admitting that to your dd would have made things worse. The OP was probably trying to wing it and hope it wasn’t too bad.

I don't understand why she was "miserable" because of a slightly too big dress.

Never spent a big night worrying you would have wardrobe malfunction then, @midairchallenger?

Wrt action you should take, I would take Twillow's advice.

YABU because this is MENTAL amount of cost/planning/drama for what is essentially a souped up school disco.

Even if the shop owner had turned up at the appointed time of 4pm, what could have happened to remedy the situation? Would you have had time to pick up the other student’s last year prom dress? Do you believe with the extra hour, there would have been time to undertake further adjustments? I suspect not.

i sympathise with you for what has happened, but you said the dress was fine and the owner left. Your daughter left your house wearing it and you thought it was fine until the other parent called…

As a household that has gone through 2 proms, we were warned by past prom dress orderers to expect a huge wait for the overseas orders to arrive, and in some cases, if at all. Some never received their orders or were too shoddy to even consider wearing, but all of us were told.

I also don’t understand why you didn’t have your friend’s daughter’s back up dress ready at your home, for “just in cases”…

put it down to a huge learning curve. Most definitely not a pleasant one.

I'd return the dress and say it didn't fit. The seamstress system is sloppy at best. Your dd should have had a final fitting before it was delivered.

I would expect. Y dress days before not that late no chance.. The second this thing wasn't arriving days before if I had tge money I would've gone out and bought another dress that fit right

I do feel bad for you and your Daughter. The problem is you accepted it & said it fit while the seller was there.. Though under the circumstances even if it hadn't you would've felt forced to take the dress as no alternative by then to by another. Usually I wouldn't agree as I had a guy but handmade jewellery off me once he bought for wife's birthday present called in person had it weeks wore in blazing heat then opened a case to return it, so usually I would side with the maker but I agree with others she let you down purposely leaving things till last minute and I don't believe the nonsense bout the seamstress getting ill... would be better if we could see what dress looked like to see if we think your being unreasonable. But I would've kicked off with her delivering it that late tbh. You sound way more patient than me

What a mess. I would be warning people to shop elsewhere next year.