 January marks the beginning of prom season - well at least for the girls! It also begins the horror season of online buying for formal wear. Every year I repeat the same words - DO NOT BUY YOUR GOWN ONLINE!! I will say there are some who have been lucky enough to get a suitable dress, but is this really a time you want to take chances?
Below I have listed 5 reasons to not buy your gown online: 1 - Sizing. Guessing is never a good thing. Formal wear fits differently than every day clothes. You might think its ok to order your pant size 6 only to find out you might really need a size 10 gown! 2 - You might not get what you ordered. As you see in the pictures above, you may have ordered a beautiful pink lace evening gown only to receive a pink nightmare barely holding together. And it definitely doesn't look like what you ordered. 3 - They don't actually have what you want. So you call the company, place your order, give them your credit card and you sit back and wait thinking you are all set and ready to go! Two weeks go by - then three weeks - then you call and find out your dream dress isn't actually available. 4 - Your dress arrives - two days AFTER your prom!! Everything is planned out. You are ordering from what you think is a reputable company. You have allowed plenty of time for your dress to arrive, only for it to still come in late. I have seen this happen! I have had a customer come to my store the day before prom because her dress that was suppose to be in a week early, now won't arrive until Monday - that is the Monday AFTER prom. 5 - "The Experience". Don't deny yourself the opportunity to enjoy an afternoon looking for the perfect dress. This is your prom!!!! Look at and try on different styles. Are you sure an 'A' line dress is right for you? You might just find that you really want a completely different style and color than the one you see in a picture. I'm sure I could come up with many more reasons why its not a good idea to order your dress online but I think these key points are enough to make you understand. Plan a time to go shopping! Enjoy the experience! Have fun and buy local! Make it a special time and create good memories!  Happy New Year!! A new year to start a new blog! Since this is my very first blog post (please bear with me), let me start with a little history! I was born and raised in St. Albans Vermont where I have also married and raised my five children. My love for sewing was developed through my mother who I was convinced could make anything. My love for beautiful bridal and evening gowns started at a very early age. When JCPenney or Montgomery Ward catalogs arrived in the mail, the first pages to be opened were the bridal gowns! Barbie dolls and paper dolls were always better with bigger gowns instead of everyday clothes. I guess I am showing my age now! Since my kids are now mostly grown, I noticed a need in our community and jumped on the opportunity to open a formal wear business. With the help of friends in the industry, Northern Elegance Formalwear was born in February 2017. I have to say, my love of sewing and big beautiful gowns has become second to the joy on the faces of my clients. I have met many wonderful people in my business and working with them is a pleasure. Creating smiles and happiness is much more of a reward than anything else. If you choose to follow my blog, here are some things I hope to cover. “Threads” being all things formal – gowns, bridal, menswear, etc and “stitches” being all things sewing. I hope to share new trends, spotlight designers, as well as discuss sewing and alterations, new products, option, ideas, etc. I hope you will join me on this new adventure!! |
Susie DutkiewiczOwner of Northern Elegance and a seamstress for over 20 years! |
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