Weddings > Ideas & Advice > Gown Shopping Primer
Gown Shopping Primer
Shopping for your dress is a unique experience. Here's how to decide where to shop, and what to expect when you get there.
The wedding gown you select will probably be the most meaningful - and expensive - piece of clothing you'll ever own. Therefore, shopping for your gown can be not only a highly charged emotional experience but also a serious financial commitment. It's also likely to be an entirely different kind of shopping experience than any you've ever had (unless you're lucky enough to order couture or custom-made clothes regularly). Here's our advice on how to make the gown shopping process enjoyable and successful.
More than 3,000 different bridal gown styles are created by more than 250 nationally recognized designers each year. These gowns are available through more than 7,500 bridal shops, salons, and department stores across the country. In addition, hundreds of regional and local designers and dressmakers contribute at least 2,000 more styles to the bridal gown design pool. While this proliferation of gown styles and retail resources means you'll almost certainly be able to find your ideal dress, it also can cause tremendous confusion about where and when to shop.
Finding the one store where you can purchase the perfect gown can be like searching for a needle in a haystack. It can lead to a shopping experience that's frustrating and stressful, or it can lead to the kind of pampered, exciting, and fulfilling experience you've dreamed of. For the most part, the difference depends upon the time you invest in obtaining information and evaluating your options before you cross the threshold of even one bridal store.
Do Your Homework
Before you start to shop, take the time to study Bridal Guide magazine and any other bridal publication available to you - both articles and advertisements. Review the websites of as many designers as possible. Web addresses usually are available on magazine ads. Take notes. Make a list of the designers you like best, the specific styles that appeal to you, and the retailers who are authorized to sell the gowns you prefer in your local area.
Next, ask as many people as possible for retail store recommendations in general and specifically about their experiences at the shops included on your list. This will help you narrow your list of shops to visit.
While some resource books suggest that your decision regarding where to shop should be guided by information obtained from the Better Business Bureau, it's important to understand the limitations of this type of information. Consumer complaints to the B.B.B. are filed against virtually every retail store in the country, and bridal stores are no exception. You'll place unrealistic restrictions on your options if you avoid any store that has ever inspired a complaint. If you do check B.B.B. records, closely evaluate the number and the nature of the complaints and decide whether they're significant enough to eliminate the store from your list. Again, your best bet is a word-of-mouth reference from a friend, a friend of a friend, or anyone with a recent experience with a retailer.
Timing It Right
Unlike the instant gratification of shopping for most clothes, acquiring a wedding gown can be a lengthy process so it's important to allow enough time for it. Typically, a woman begins shopping for her bridal gown immediately following her engagement and devotes roughly four to six weeks to the search. The typical Bridal Guide reader tells us that she visits three to four bridal stores and tries on from fifteen to twenty gowns before making a buying decision. But remember, this is just an average. Some women purchase a gown from the first store they visit. Others agonize over the process for months.
Where you shop and the gown you select is impacted not only by personal style preferences and financial choices but also by time considerations. Custom-ordered gowns (a popular option for many brides-to-be) require from six weeks to six months for delivery, depending upon the designer. On top of that add an additional month for alterations. If you'll have a wedding portrait taken in the weeks before your wedding, be sure to use that photography date as your deadline rather than your wedding date, to make sure your alterations are complete in time to wear the dress for the portrait. If time is an issue, consider purchasing a formal gown off-the-rack - available through many full service bridal and department stores.
Your Budget
The average bride spends about $700 on her gown. Remember, this is the average. Many engaged women spend less - many spend significantly more. A limited budget increases the challenge of your gown search but won't decrease the satisfaction you'll feel when you find the perfect dress at a price you can afford.
Whatever your budget, spending hours or days of your time going from store to store to save $50 or even $100 on your gown purchase may not necessarily be worth the frustration or the time you invest. Your time and energy have a price tag too, after all. First and foremost, you should select a store where you feel comfortable, one with an excellent reputation for service, which will provide you with a stress-free shopping experience.
To this end, there are pros and cons to each of the three major types of bridal stores.
Full-Service Bridal Stores
Approximately 75% of Bridal Guide readers purchase their gowns at a full service bridal store or salon. (Roughly 12% purchase their gown at a department store, and the rest wear an heirloom, sew their own or have their gown custom made.)
The vast majority of bridal stores - including some of the largest and most prestigious in the country - are family-owned businesses. The atmosphere and services offered by these stores can be as different as the personalities of the people who own them. Most bridal stores are owed and operated by people who live within the community they serve so shopping at these stores isn't at all like shopping at a department store owned by an anonymous corporation. You can expect a higher level of personal attention and service - and in return the store staff will expect a higher level of courtesy from you.
All full-service stores provide a qualified, professional, trained consultant to assist you in shopping for your gown. Most stores require some form of customer registration before a fitting room is assigned to you. The information requested during the registration process can range from a few basic questions printed on an index card to an entire battery of questions that may fill two or more pages. This registration is meant to identify the specific needs of each customer, which will allow your consultant to determine how she can best respond to all of your needs. If you're simply shopping for the best price for a gown you've already selected at another store, share this information with the consultant. It will save time for both of you.
Many full-service stores (and department stores too) offer a selection of traditional and contemporary bridal gowns that can be purchased off-the-rack as a supplement to their custom-order gown inventory. In addition, many stores offer a collection of sample or discontinued styles that may be purchased off-the-rack at only a fraction of the original retail price.
Any full-service bridal store should provide a one-stop shopping experience for the bride- to-be, offering a selection of veils and other accessories in addition to gowns. While there is absolutely no obligation to purchase your entire ensemble at any one store, it's best to see yourself in a gown you're considering with all the trimmings before you make your final decision.
Some stores go far beyond catering solely to the bride's apparel needs. Many offer an impressive selection of bridesmaid and social occasion dresses as well as dresses that are ideal for mothers of the bride and groom. Some also offer tuxedo rentals and men's formal wear and accessory items.
Perhaps most importantly, full service stores generally are authorized dealers of the designers they select to sell. As such, you'll have both the shop's guarantee and the designer's assurance of satisfaction to stand behind your gown purchase, which will help you avoid delivery date and quality control problems on custom orders.
Some stores that aren't authorized may offer to obtain the dress you've selected (and tried on at an authorized retailer) at a discounted price. On the surface, this may seem like a great idea. However, there are inherent problems in purchasing a gown this way. If a retailer isn't authorized to sell a designer's gown, this means that the retailer doesn't have an account with the designer and can't order the gown directly. Instead the gown is obtained through a process called trans-shipping, or a third party sale. This isn't illegal but it can present a risky situation for the average consumer. If there are problems with the gown you've ordered, an unauthorized retailer can't discuss these problems directly with the manufacturer that produced the dress. Rather, the retailer is required to go through a third party - the person or store that is authorized to do business with the manufacturer - to correct the problem. This can get extremely complicated and can jeopardize delivery appropriate to your needs or to your wedding date.
You can overcome this problem by shopping only at stores listed for the gown you've selected in bridal magazines or on the designer's website. Alternatively, you may call the manufacturer directly to confirm that the store you've selected is authorized to sell a designer's gowns.
Virtually all full-service bridal stores require appointments in advance. However, most will do whatever possible to accommodate you without an appointment. It's a good idea always to call the store in advance of your visit. If possible, schedule your appointment on a weekday. Weekends usually are hectic at full-service stores. A weekday appointment will allow your consultant to spend as much time as possible assisting you.
Bridal Salons
If you take the level of personal attention at a typical full-service bridal store several steps farther, you'll arrive at the bridal salon experience. (Don't be confused by the fact that many full-service bridal stores include the word 'salon' as part of their name - what we're referring to here is those stores that operate in the European tradition of couture salons.) Few true bridal salons exist in this country, though there usually is at least one in each major metropolitan area.
This isn't a casual shopping experience. You'll be required to schedule an appointment in advance so you can meet with the salon's consultant. Taking the term full-service to the highest level, the consultant will discuss your wedding plans with you in great detail. Based upon the information you provide, she'll help you to select a designer appropriate to your personal style and best suited to the type of wedding you're planning.
Bridal salons don't display gowns on racks. Instead the salon consultant will pre-select gowns and bring them to you for consideration. The consultant may also suggest custom changes to the styles available at the salon. In addition to designers' dresses, custom design services are available through many salons, and some also offer bridesmaid dress styles for your review. Some engaged women thrive in the salon environment while others feel that it's extremely frustrating.
Department Stores
Only a few major stores maintain full-service bridal departments. In essence, department stores that sell bridal gowns operate much like independently owned full-service bridal shops. Like other full-service bridal shops, some department store bridal shops offer custom-ordered gowns exclusively while others offer custom-ordered as well as off-the-rack merchandise for your consideration. The advantage of shopping at a department store is that you have the store's reputation behind any purchase. Unlike shopping in the rest of the store, a prescheduled appointment often is necessary. Call ahead to make arrangements.
Sizing
Once you're ready to order your dress, you may be in for a surprise when you hear the size your consultant recommends. The size charts for bridal apparel don't necessarily match the size charts for the clothes you wear every day; they also fluctuate from one designer to another, so don't expect consistency. Consultants at full-service bridal stores and salons will help you to identify the size that most closely matches your measurements from the size chart for the designer you've selected. If her recommendation shocks you, it's reasonable to ask to see the chart yourself. It's unlikely that your measurements will perfectly match the chart; the goal is to order the dress as close to right as possible and then make alterations to adjust it perfectly.
Virtually any dress can be made smaller but few can be expanded an entire size, so never order a size smaller in anticipating of losing weight. Also, your consultant will warn you that you shouldn't custom-order a gown based upon the way a sample gown fits. Sample gowns are tried on so often that a size 10 can stretch to fit a size 12 or even a size 14.
Custom-Ordered Gowns
Custom-ordered gowns are ordered by the store from the designer as soon as the sale is completed. Many but not all custom-ordered gowns are available with custom change possibilities - you might choose to change the sleeves, the neckline, the fabric or lace. These changes can completely modify the overall appearance of the gown. Naturally, the bridal store will establish a fee for each change. These fees should be indicated on your contract with the store and, like the gown itself, usually require a 50% deposit when the gown is ordered.
A tentative delivery date will be scheduled for your custom-ordered gown. The delivery date should be specified on your contract or receipt when the gown is purchased. It's a good idea to specify a date after which delivery isn't acceptable to you. If the gown isn't delivered by then, you have an option to arrange for the purchase of another gown from the store.
It's important to note that bridal stores aren't necessarily in complete control of delivery dates. In some instances, a designer may postpone a delivery date depending upon production demands. Therefore, iIt's imperative that you follow up on the specified date. Keep communication open with the store to avoid last minute surprises.
Alterations
Once your dress arrives, it will almost certainly need some alterations to make it fit perfectly. Some full-service bridal stores have seamstresses on staff as a part of the store's services, and some hire an independent contractor for alterations. Other stores offer no alteration services but instead refer you to one or more outside resources. Alternatively, you may select a seamstress with whom you're familiar to alter your gown. In spite of the cost of alterations, few stores actually make a profit on this service so they won't object to you going elsewhere.
Alteration costs vary depending upon the extent and nature of alterations required. Even standard-seeming needs like shortening a dress can range widely in complexity and expense. If you've selected a gown with lace trim at the hem, for example, it may not be possible to shorten the gown from the hemline. Instead some gowns must be shortened from the waistline, which involves more complicated work.
If your alterations will be performed by the store or salon, obtain a written estimate for all alterations either when you purchase your gown or when you visit the store for your first fitting and see what changes will be needed.
The Fine Print
Virtually all bridal stores require a 50% deposit for custom ordered merchandise. Deposits are generally not refundable - even if your wedding is canceled. Always use a credit card when purchasing your gown. This will afford you some negotiating power in the event that a dispute arises.
Purchasing a custom ordered gown is a contractual negotiation. Be certain that all of the terms and conditions of the purchase are included in your contract (or on your receipt). Many stores will require you to sign an actual contract. Others will simply specify all details on the reverse side of your receipt. Be certain that you understand all terms and conditions of the contract before you leave the store.
Armed with this knowledge, get ready to enjoy the unique experience of shopping for your dream wedding gown!.
Smart Wedding Gown Shopping
- Don't get burned by unexpected charges, or seduced by promises (such as free accessories) that never materialize. Get the terms of your agreement in writing on the bridal salon's letterhead, including any added fees for alterations and accessories. Also include the salon's policy on when it has fulfilled its tailoring obligation (when the hem is right, after three fittings, when you're satisfied with the total fit, etc.).
- Do pay by credit card (or, if you absolutely have to, by check) so you have a record of the payment in case problems arise.
