Ruined the wedding dress i was going to send back

[whathaveidonehelp]

Oh mumsnetters I'm hoping you can help me.

I'm getting married soon, and ordered a selection of dresses from John Lewis.

One dress arrived in a box, and as soon as i got it out i could smell it had been worn (BO). Took it back to the store same day, spoke to the manager, refund organised. Stay with me...

Try on another dress (also from john lewis). Got my daughter to take a couple of photos but it wasn't right, and was too small. Walked through to the bedroom and to my horror there is dark make up on the chest. It's a cream shimmery fabric. I have absolutely no idea how that happened, but it must have been my fault as the photo DD took had no mark on the dress.

Not content with messing it up, in my panic i tried to blot it gently and made it worse.

I'm on a budget. We can't afford a big do, I'm happy with that but I've just thrown £500 down the toilet. Ive already taken one dress back saying it was soiled and asked them to make a note to ensure it's not attributed to me.

Is there anything i can?

Nancy Birtwhistle on Instagram is the Queen of stain removal, I'd ask her advice

It is not cheeky. Get with the times!

And fraud is for thieves.

Have a look at The Seam. They are amazing at removing stains, restoring garments, making alterations. They may be able to adjust it to suit you.

I will talk to them, and will tell them exactly what has happened. They might have insurance that covers this kind of thing, although i think thats highly unlikely. Up to them to decide.

I'm not going to attempt a sneaky return (unlike the smelly dress wearer!).

I'm also not going to dry clean and send back, if i get it cleaned then its to keep or sell.

So does anyone know how much it costs to get a dress made slightly bigger across the bodice? Not sure how charging for alterations works.

And i know it is my fault. I have absolutely no idea how make up wound up on there but it did, and that's on me. It is what it is.

Thank you @Longhotsummers x

I’d do the best I can with the stain and either wear it or sell it.

It’s awful when accidents like this happen. I’m sorry x

Buy the dress! It's basic that if you touch something you aren't buying or will take back you need to keep it clean. Regardless of what happened, something obviously did while it was in your care - just buy it.

Thanks for the sympathy @StormingNorman , i feel so silly. Such a stupid mistake.

Having worked in a shop it is fairly obvious when a garment has been washed and you are taught to look out for it when people are returning evening dresses / wedding gear as it's common for them to be returned following the event! I understand that it's a lot of money but it's really not John Lewis's problem. The best you can do is sell it on second hand.

Such a shame OP, I feel bad for you! It shouldn’t cost too much to put some lacing into the back to make the bodice wider if that would help? Then maybe a bit of beading on the front to cover the stain.

My very simple, lightly beaded wedding dress went in the washing machine in a duvet cover after our wedding and came out perfect!

I'd definitely take it to an alteration place and see if it can be let out, wedding dresses of all things usually have decent size seams for just this reason as so many are altered to fit correctly. Might not be as expensive as you think, worth getting a quote anyway.

Just to be clear - i am not intending to attempt to clean the dress and return it. Or lie. If i wanted to do that i wouldn't have started a thread.

Getting it altered sounds sensible to at least explore.

I will talk to JL but fully expect them to tell me to jog on with my make-up-boob-dress, and quite rightly too.

Credit card insurance?

I don't think it's any more cheeky to order multiple dresses at a time and return unwanted ones. How else are you supposed to find out what size/style works for you? how is it any different from taking multiple sizes/styles into the changing room to try on?

As PP have said, a lot of the problem is erratic sizing. In the last year I've bought clothes in size 8 that fit perfectly and in other clothes I've had to buy a size 12 to get the best fit. One particular independent brand I really like I normally have to buy an 8 in dresses, a 10 in dresses and a 12 in tops. Craziness.

I worked in a bridal shop many years ago and we would of removed stains with vagisel, and then steamed to dry so no watermarks

Oh no OP, this is guttering! But this is why bridal shops and changing rooms are super clean when trying them on, I don't think I would be trying multiple dresses on at my home because of this.
FWIW I had an occasion dress I was going to take back left it on the side and DC spilt a drink over it 😩 was also stuck with it, cleaned up ok but because I didn't want it, then HAD to keep it I never wore it and sold it for next to nothing. Unfortunately these things happen ☹️

This is exactly the sort of thing I would do so I sympathise! If I am in possession of something that absolutely MUST NOT be damaged in anyway, I will damage it!

I agree that making the back a laced bodice wont cost the earth, and will be a LOT less than letting it out on the seams. Wedding dresses are notorious for coming up small, this is a common alteration (have a friend who had to do this and her seamstress said that it was the most common job she got, usually with a couple of weeks of the wedding due to weight gain/loss).

As for the stain, if its not silk then you will be able to machine wash it on a delicate cycle or handwash if you feel that you would prefer that. You can get some really nice applique bead designs that are easy to add to a dress, individual beading would take hours and cost a fortune.

Can you post a picture of the dress on the JL website and a pic of the stain?

They won't have any insurance but you may be covered under our contents insurance.

Mind, the excess may be such that it's not worth claiming.

If you find a credit card that will insure you and pay out for you mucking up an expensive item in your home please do let us know.

This might sound really weird. But I use a tape measure and use the size charts on whatever site I'm using before ordering.

Credit card insurance is only if it is not received how you got it and the vendor has refused a refund.
You have to show them you have tried to get a refund and how the item was faulty/not what you were expecting. So you would have to lie to them / JL.

You could try your home insurance.

What is that? Because the only thing I can think of (and that Google is coming up with) is Vagisil!