Bridesmaids Dresses review: 8 of 8 dresses had to be significantly altered, some completely reconstructed 1

Below is a wordy, but thorough, explanation of why I do not recommend House of Brides:

After I found the right dress on The Knot, I searched for a retailer via the Dessy website and happened upon House of Brides in downtown Chicago. I went to the store and tried on the couple of dress options I narrowed down to a few dress options.

After going into the store, I collected all the measurements from my bridesmaids who are located all around the US, none of which live in Chicago. I then sent a detailed matrix to my contact at House of Brides. She then called each bridesmaid individually to confirm their measurements and tell them the dress size she was going to order for them based on the designer’s (Dessy/Albert Sung) website.

Soon after the House of Brides representative called each bridesmaid, I started receiving phone calls and texts from each of my eight bridesmaids, each very concerned at the large sizes that were being suggested to them. I called the House of Brides representative to let her know of my bridesmaid’s concerns and to inquire that the sizes are in fact true. I also asked what size it was that I had tried on (I am typically a 6/8 in regular dresses. The House of Brides representative told me I tried on a 10 at the store, which fit with room to spare). I then let my bridesmaids know that I, too, had to wear a larger than normal size and not to worry: the House of Brides representative would ensure they are ordering the right size.

Shortly after the dresses arrived to one my bridesmaids, I received a frantic call from her. She informed me that her dress was huge, at least 2 – if not more – sizes too big. I asked her to take pictures of herself in it – the dress looks like a muumuu. Not a single part of the dress is wearable. She will have to have the entire dress reconstructed. This was very upsetting to me. When the next bridesmaid put on her dress, I had a similar call. The same is true for all EIGHT of my bridesmaids – each one is going to have to have the dress significantly altered and a majority of them will have to be completely reconstructed.

The reason I went with House of Brides was because I saw a dress boutique as the liaison between me and the designer. I trusted the boutique to know how the dress designer’s dresses actually fit – and to order the dresses accordingly. It is completely understandable to need to do a simple length alteration, but I think the fact that each of the eight dresses has to be significantly altered is unacceptable!

Avoid House of Brides.