House Of Brides review: no guarantees

My advice to anyone who shops at the House of Brides, is BE CAREFUL. Do not assume that your sales person knows how to properly measure you. Be sure of your own measurements, and look carefully at the size chart before any dress is ordered. They do not guarantee the fit, issue any refunds, or allow any cancellations or exchanges. They require full payment up front, and after they sell you a dress, they really do not care whether you are satisfied or not.

In May, 2008, my daughter and I went to House of Brides, Schaumburg, IL to look for a mother-of-the-bride dress. I was measured by a sales lady and based on her measurements of my chest, waist and hips, she determined that I was in between a size 4 and size 6. The sales lady was sure the size 4 would fit through the hips, but would be too large on top. I paid $250 for the entire cost of the dress at time of ordering. I was not given a copy of the store policy or even verbally told that H.O.B does not guarantee the fit of the dress. I did mistakenly believe that H.O.B would guarantee that my dress could at least be zipped up and be somewhat wearable. I do understand that minor alterations are to be expected as no dress in any given size will fit perfectly. I also understand that alterations are not free.

I picked up the dress 8 weeks later, and when I tried on the dress, I was unable to pull the dress on over my hips or zip it up. The bottom of dress was an entire size too small. The top of the dress fit perfectly, not requiring alteration, however, the bottom half was at least 3 inches too small. When I returned to H.O.B and was re-measured, the sales lady announced to me that I had gained 2 inches in my hips. I told her that was not true, I had not gained any weight, and in fact I had lost 2 pounds in the last 2 months which was honestly the truth. The sales lady measured me again 3 times and refused to note on her paper that I was the same size. No amount of explaining or reasoning with the manager did any good. The manager told me, “We are not responsible that you gained 2 inches in your hips, ” and her parting comment to me was, “Well, you are hippy.”

I am most disappointed that I trusted that sales lady. She did not tell the truth or accept responsibility for her error. Perhaps if admitted her mistake, her job would be in jeopardy. House of Brides takes your money at time of ordering and will not accept responsibility for an error. They do not value their customers or care about negative “word of mouth” or complaints on any forum.