and I was so excited for my dress to arrive...

[sillyberry]

My dress does not fit.

I have not grown.

I tried this dress on at 3 different salons, all in a size 10, and they fit perfectly (actually a bit on the too-loose side, not the too-tight side). My measurements are still right for a size 10.

And it does not fit.

It is 3 inches away from zipping around the bust. Instead of being a 38x30, my seamstress measured it at something like a 35x28.5.

I've already mailed it back to Pearl's Place, and they are going to mail it back to Watters to have them measure it. If it is wrong I was told Watters will correct the problem.

I am not crazy or delusional - it is not the right size.

Please please tell me this will all be okay. Please please send dress dust that they can get me a new dress ASAP in time to have it altered for our May 29 wedding. Please please help me not freak out.

xoxo

 

[vc10um]

Oh SB! I know how excited you were that it was arriving, too! How sad that it's just so wrong!

LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of hugs. Like for serious. And you know I'm a hugger.

On the flip side (I had said bright side...but bright side would've been a proper dress that was much too large now ), you still have PLENTY of time for alterations. Plenty plenty plenty. Your seamstress will work wonders and QUICKLY once the dress is back to you! I am sure under these special circumstances, she will be happy to squeeze you into her schedule whenever the new, proper dress arrives, and you will have a stunning and perfectly-tailored dress by the time you have to pack everything up for your cross-country drive to your wedding.

So take a few deep breaths. Head to Fridays for one of those Mango yummy drinks (with Skinny Agave, of course!). And stay positive.

Oh...and TONS AND TONS of

***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~DUST***DUST***DUST***DUST~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***

 

[Echidna]

Sillyberry, you are NOT delusional. NOT NOT NOT.

This sounds like a question of fact- the sizing is wrong according to the measurements and thus Watters will correct it. They will probably RUSH to correct it because it is their mistake. They will send you a beautiful new dress that FITS and they will send it to you STAT so that your alterations happen in plenty of time.

Lots of PS DUST to make that happen!

 

[rosetta]

Urgh. Added stress. A bride needs that like she needs a hole in the head.

Their mistake for sure.

Here's hoping they sort it out for you ASAP!! fingers crossed for you

 

[mayerling]

How annoying! Hope it's all sorted out soon.

 

[Future Mrs. Sterling]

Oh, SB!

That is TEH SUCK!!! (excuse the minor geek in me coming out there).

So sorry for you.

Here's ***DUST*** and lots of wishes for a perfect gown and DARN SOON, TOO!

 

[slg47]

SB I hope they fix it SOON. I am sorry to hear this.

sending *dust* your way!

 

[4ever]

Oh sb I'm sorry it doesn't fit!

Don't stress out about it too much, they will fix it for you but a little persistant nagging usually helps (I know because I'm on the receiving end of the nagging at work, I'm not usually the nagger)- be very firm of what date you need it back by to start alterations and continue to ask for updates on it's progress. This means they will constantly be working to fix the problem and no one will forget about you.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Oh SB I'm so sorry! I hope Watters is able to rectify the situation quickly!

 

[sillyberry]

Thanks everyone. I believe in the power of PS dust!

The thing that has been the most frustrating is being made to feel like an idiot who just ordered the wrong size. Or someone stupid enough not to notice gaining a ton of weight since November. I actually said on the phone "can you please act like this might in fact be a real problem? A little sympathy would be appreciated." Despite protests that she was on my side...didn't really feel the love.

 

[Haven]

This will be okay. You will get your dress in the correct size, and you will wear it on your wedding day and you will look and feel amazing.

This whole headache will soon be something that you can look back on and laugh about, I promise. Time will definitely heal this one, Barrister SB, it really will.

I had a dress fiasco that was really awful, yet on our wedding day I wore the perfect gown for me, and loved it so much I refused to take it off at the end of the day. It was okay, and now I can laugh about it and tell you that you'll be okay, too.

Dust dust dust that this whole thing is resolved quickly and painlessly!

 

[rhbgirl24]

I had the very same thing happen. They took my measurements, ordered my dress. I lost weight. When the dress came it it didn't fit. They measured the dress and it was inches smaller than the ordered measurement. We didn't have time for them to remake the dress, however they did pay for the alterations and it all worked out.

best of luck!

 

[sillyberry]

I just called Pearl's Place and they said the dress I sent back seemed to match their size 10 sample dress.

I feel like I'm in Alice in Wonderland...

Ignoring the fact that the measuring tape tells me nothing has changed, I would notice if I was 3 inches larger, right? My tops and bras and jeans would fit differently? Right? Please correct me if I'm wrong (this is a serious request!), but that would be a fairly substantial weight gain, wouldn't it?

 

[zipzapgirl]

How old was the sample you tried on? It could very well be that the sample was stretched out from all of the grasping and clipping they do to the dresses to make them seem to fit everyone. When you see the industrial strength clips they use sometimes, it's not a surprise that the samples are stretched, torn and ruined in the back.

So what are they going to do about the dress? Are they sending you the size 12?

 

[slg47]

yes, you would notice if you were 3 inches larger. So PP says that the dress is the right size but the other store that measured the dress said it was too small based on the size chart? I don't understand...but I hope they fix it soon for you!

 

[sillyberry]

As of last Wednesday, my measurements are still correct for a Watters size 10! And I tried the dress on in three different stores in two different states over a period of a month, all in a size 10 - it would surprise me if all of them were so stretched out as to make them three inches larger. I also tried on several other Watters dresses in a size 10, all of which fit. My mom and I joked at the time that I ended up with a Watters dress because the samples fit and I could actually see what the dress would look like on the wedding day!

The size chart says a Watters 10 is a 38 bust, 30 waist, 40 hip. My seamstress who will do the alterations, not attached to a bridal salon and just measuring on her own, measured the gown at a 35 bust and 28.5 waist (didn't measure the hip because of the way the dress is constructed). That's somewhere between a 4 and a 6. Her measurements might not be perfect, but the difference between 35 and 38 inches is a big one. Also, adding 3 inches at the bust puts me two sizes up at a 14.

However, when I called PP today the lady said she put my dress over their sample dress and they were the same size. As of now PP is sending the dress back to Watters for them to measure properly. If I am, in fact, crazy, and the dress is the correct size 10, I am unclear what I am going to do. The dress is no returns or exchanges. I am a 34E bra, and I have an annoyingly big ribcage, so it's not a matter of just dieting and exercising like mad to make it fit over the next 55 days.

I guess my options would be (1) remeasure myself and see if Watters can rush a new dress (if there is somehow a disconnect between my measurements and the size chart) and try to sell the dress that doesn't fit, or (2) buy a new dress entirely from a store that has a quicker dress turnaround and sell the dress that doesn't fit. Am I missing any?

Thanks for letting me vent and explore options. I've tried to be realistic through the wedding planning process, but this just has me gobsmacked! I'm trying to find a bridal store with this dress up in Chicago (I'm visiting FI) to see if it illuminates anything.

 

[turboflgrl]

Oh sillyberry, I don't have much to add other than I am so sorry for what you're having to go through. And to have it so close to the wedding day is just awful.

You might have stated this already and I just didn't read it but did you try on the sample dress again recently or was it just when you initially ordered the dress? I just don't understand how the two dresses can measure up exactly the same and one have such a huge sizing discrepancy. Trying the sample on to prove that it fits and that your dress doesn't would be proof I would think.

Also, did the salon actually take your measurements or just order a 10 because that's what the sample was?

Hope everything works out! My second choice dress was actually from Watters - I always thought of them as a quality company so if there was fault on their behalf, I hope they correct it!

 

[sillyberry]

I've found a location in the Chicagoland area that has the dress, so I'm going in tomorrow morning to try it on. The salon I ordered the dress from (Pearl's Place) did not take my measurements, as I ordered over the phone to save money (not sure this was a great decision in retrospect), but I did have my measurements taken by a seamstress and used PP's Watters size chart to confirm the size.

What *I* think (and hope) happened was the dress got mislabeled. Of course this is just a prediction, and I could be totally delusional about my current size (I guess I'll discover that tomorrow), but as of now it's what makes the most sense to me...

I appreciate all the good wishes and support.

 

[missy]

Good luck Sillyberry! It will all work out in the end and I am sending good dress fitting vibes your way!

 

[vc10um]

GAH! I don't understand how a qualified seamstress could be off by 3" in her measurement (either of you, or of the dress itself), so I'm with you, it's probably mislabeled. Any idea on when you'll hear from Watters?

Fingers crossed and lots of dust to you that it gets figured out ASAP!

 

[slg47]

if it helps, I checked the size chart online for Watters and verified that the bust is supposed to be 38.

I feel like this is a fairly common problem and am not sure why this happens to so many brides. I hope it gets resolved soon.

 

[OUpearlgirl]

It sounds like, all things considered, there is no way that this dress is a 10. Holding it up next to a size 10 dress won't do any good, so I don't know what they were thinkin! Luckily, Watters typically has a great in-stock program, so my fingers are crossed that you will get a replacement dress ASAP!

 

[sillyberry]

I just walked out of Gigi's Closette (an adorable helpful North Shore bridal shop, for any Chicagoland brides out there) and...

the sample size 10 fit perfectly.

I'M NOT CRAZY!!! At least not about this. . So fingers crossed that they realize their error and get me a new dress ASAP!!!

 

[vc10um]

Excellent news, SB! I didn't think you were crazy to begin with...but confirmation never hurts, right?

Any idea what the timeline is for hearing from Watters?

 

[OUpearlgirl]

I just walked out of Gigi's Closette (an adorable helpful North Shore bridal shop, for any Chicagoland brides out there) and...

the sample size 10 fit perfectly.

I'M NOT CRAZY!!! At least not about this. . So fingers crossed that they realize their error and get me a new dress ASAP!!!

Whew! I hope they resolve it soon.

 

[sillyberry]

vc, confirmation never hurts, indeed. I was TERRIFIED as I was driving the hour to the store, fearing that maybe I really was no longer a size 10. So it was great when that wasn't the case!

I got a call from PP today (before I had the chance to call them). She started telling me what would happen in case Watters found the dress to be the same size. I jumped in to tell her that I had tried on the dress today (gave her the name of the store) and that I had pictures of the tag and me with a zipped up dress! She immediately said she would give Watters a call and I didn't hear back after that.

Having been reassured that I ordered the correct dress size, I'm choosing to believe this will get resolved quickly and will become an amusing story to tell! Best I can tell I only need it shortened and bustled, so I'm hoping alterations will be speedy.

 

[katamari]

vc, confirmation never hurts, indeed. I was TERRIFIED as I was driving the hour to the store, fearing that maybe I really was no longer a size 10. So it was great when that wasn't the case!

I got a call from PP today (before I had the chance to call them). She started telling me what would happen in case Watters found the dress to be the same size. I jumped in to tell her that I had tried on the dress today (gave her the name of the store) and that I had pictures of the tag and me with a zipped up dress! She immediately said she would give Watters a call and I didn't hear back after that.

Having been reassured that I ordered the correct dress size, I'm choosing to believe this will get resolved quickly and will become an amusing story to tell! Best I can tell I only need it shortened and bustled, so I'm hoping alterations will be speedy.

I hope so. It would be hard to believe that there is never a case of the wrong tag being sewn into a dress from time to time.

 

[sillyberry]

Watters got the dress and they said it measured an inch smaller than it is supposed to. Which, if true, means I'm still 2 inches away from fitting in the dress that the size chart says I fit in. Honestly, I'm so confused.

Regardless, what this means is that they will get me a new dress. I have to decide if I want a 10 or a 12. I'm going to have my measurements taken again tomorrow morning by someone else.

I don't want a dress that I'm getting stuffed into like a sausage. I don't care about the number on the label (no one will see it but me). I just want the dress that is closest to fitting properly with the least amount of alterations. What particularly concerns me is the turnaround time for making the dress fit like a glove. They said I'll receive the dress by the end of April. I'm out of town April 28-May 1, May 3-10, then leaving for the wedding May 22. Not a lot of time!

I don't know if I should order the 12 and get it taken in if necessary, order the 10 and hope it fits accurately as is, order the 10 and work harder at bootcamp and start doing personal training again, or just get married in jeans.

I have a headache. Wine?

 

[slg47]

Watters got the dress and they said it measured an inch smaller than it is supposed to. Which, if true, means I'm still 2 inches away from fitting in the dress that the size chart says I fit in. Honestly, I'm so confused.

Regardless, what this means is that they will get me a new dress. I have to decide if I want a 10 or a 12. I'm going to have my measurements taken again tomorrow morning by someone else.

I don't want a dress that I'm getting stuffed into like a sausage. I don't care about the number on the label (no one will see it but me). I just want the dress that is closest to fitting properly with the least amount of alterations. What particularly concerns me is the turnaround time for making the dress fit like a glove. They said I'll receive the dress by the end of April. I'm out of town April 28-May 1, May 3-10, then leaving for the wedding May 22. Not a lot of time!

I don't know if I should order the 12 and get it taken in if necessary, order the 10 and hope it fits accurately as is, order the 10 and work harder at bootcamp and start doing personal training again, or just get married in jeans.

I have a headache. Wine?

well...it is easier to make the dress smaller than it is to make it larger? Definitely not a lot of time...maybe schedule an appointment with your seamstress for May 2? or see if Watters can rush the order?

ugh, again, really sorry to hear this...seems to be a common problem (for no good reason!)

 

[Echidna]

Sillyberry, just get the 12 and be done with it! You can always take it in but there is NO way you want to be in the "too small" situation twice. The lovely people at Watters are clearly crackers but two inches is too big a difference for a gamble IMHO.