Velvet Cherry — Attraction in North Island

This is primarily a review of Velvet Cherry. Anna Stuart Costumier simply failed to make anything she had taken on as commissions for 20 months, instead pursuing her own projects, so I cannot say anything about the quality of her work. However, she did recommend Velvet Cherry. This I now believe to have been a mater of plucking a name out of the phone book rather than a recommendation on the basis of proven quality. After being charged thousands of dollars for her work, I can say of some of it that it was ok, and indeed that she finished an item made out of difficult materials, which three other seamstresses had failed to do. However with regard to the items that should have been easy by comparison, Velvet Cherry produced only rough approximations of what was asked for, doing things which had not been requested, and not answering questions about what she had done, or commissioned (without asking me) others to do. The photographs we showed her of what we wanted clearly made very little impression, as was being told that a 1570s dress was wanted (the finished item was, she said, a 15th Century dress, which is a very different thing). We trusted her to search materials and details such as the number of buttonholes and their correct orientation, the correct buttons, and whether the materials chosen were appropriate. This did not happen. She also mixed the waist and hip measurements on a dress, making it unusable. We asked her to replace or correct the errors, or give a refund, but she said she would not give refunds on 'completed' work. Other costumiers who have seen her work described the sewing as 'crude' and 'entry-level'. I would hesitate to recommend her to anyone I thought of...

In NZ where all the clothes are simultaneously super expensive and terrible quality, Velvet Cherry is a godsend if you need the perfect dress. I’m a curvy girl and finding something that fits both my chest and my waist is a genuine struggle. I needed a nice dress for my cousins fancy wedding and trying to buy one in Wellington was hopeless. I didn’t like anything enough to justify how much it cost.

When my mum suggested getting a dress made I was sceptical. Don’t you need to be rich for that? Turns out you don’t. Velvet Cherry made me exactly what I wanted, tailored to me, with quality fabric, for cheaper than a lot of the dresses I’ve seen in the Wellington boutiques. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not cheap, but for what it is the price was reasonable. As a uni student I’m not going to get all my clothes made for me, but the idea was good for something special and lasting.

Overall, I’m very happy with the dress Velvet Cherry made me and would absolutely recommend them...

This is hands down the best tailor and best alterations in wellington. Fiona is unbelievably talented with an eye for detail. I brought in my 3 piece wedding suit that I had custom made but the company totally botched it and I had 3 days before the wedding! Fiona swooped in and saved the day with a tenacious mentality to make sure i was happy with the final look. She went to great lengths to fix anything I didn't like, went above and beyond with little details and even picked out things I couldn't see and fixed them. She put functionality, genius and talent together and sent me on my way with something im so happy with now. She's not only super intelligent with garment, fabric and structural needs of an outfit but is also a blast to hang with. I wouldn't choose anyone else to tailor a suit, dress or anything in wellington....