Park Avenue Bridals — Attraction in Cedar Grove

When I ordered my dress from Patty, I SPECIFICALLY asked in front of 4 of my friends and family about the sleeves and if the fit and size of the sleeve would change if the dress I ordered was a different size. She assured me no. The sleeves and the bust/neckline were what I loved about the dress in the first place so it was extremely important to me that it looked that way. When I tried on my dress for the first time, I could hardly get the sleeves on and over my shoulder they were so tight (no I did not gain weight and am a size 0/2). When I tried the sample on (which was really not much bigger than me and was NOT clipped), the sleeves were large, roomy, and almost bell-shaped. Not only were the sleeves on my dress cutting off my circulation (not exaggerating), the bust was shaped very different as a band that went straight across my chest, than the sample which was a cowl neck.

Upon pointing this out to a blonde attendant, she brought over a seamstress and the manager, Andrea. After calmly explaining to all of them that I specifically asked about this at the time of ordering and there was nothing in my contract or order about the fit of the sleeves, Andrea proceeded to tell me that I was wrong because it would look like I “didn’t tailor the dress if it was the way I wanted”. I very much disagree with this because I wanted a poofy sleeve. They told me I could take the fabric off the hem and add it to the sleeve and have an extra seam for $200 OR order a custom sleeve for $800 and the fabric wouldn’t match (both in addition to the $600 for alterations). I left the store agreeing I could fix it in alterations.

A few days later I called Park Ave to see if I could move my alterations appointment so we had enough time to fix it. Bernadette informed me that they had ordered new fabric from the designer and were going to custom make me a brand new sleeve. She assured me I had nothing to worry about anymore and that they were going to make it absolutely perfect, just the way I had ordered the dress. I was over the moon. I thanked her profusely and Bernadette told me to call back the next day to book my new alterations appointment after she figured out when the new fabric would be delivered.

I called back the next day and Andrea got on the phone and told me that I was mistaken and they did not agree to the new fabric. After I reiterated my conversation with Bernadette, Andrea said “now you listen to me, forget what Patty and Bernadette told you”. At this point, I explained to her that I was extremely frustrated because this was the SECOND time they had told me something that wasn’t true. She got very rude very quickly and went on to gaslight me for 10 minutes about how I was wrong. After much deliberation she eventually agreed to order the fabric on the condition that I had to take my dress elsewhere for alterations because she has been “doing this for 25 years” and "does not need my business”. This was AFTER I already paid for them. Bernadette ended up allowing me to keep my alterations in house when I went in for my fitting.

Fast forward to my wedding day and I take my dress out of the bag to steam and it had a significant dirt stain on the back shoulder. I was immediately frantic and call Park Ave to see if the dress was cleaned before I left and they said it was “pressed”. I let them know that I was incredibly disappointed but this was on par with the rest of my experience there and Gary proceeded to tell me that it was my fault that I nor my MIL saw it when I had my final fitting. Mind you, it was on the BACK of my shoulder so there’s no way that we would’ve seen it. He offered me no solution to fix it and had to scramble to clean it as best I could on my wedding day which made me late for photos. Once I was dressed, I went to pick up my skirt to leave and noticed that the under lining of my dress was absolutely FILTHY. It was clearly not new or cleaned fabric and now looking back at photos (attached) my cups are dirty too. I can’t help but think that this was all intentional after my first fiasco...

Replying to your response from our joint account:

"We’re unclear how taking an additional two days to consider your decision would have had any impact on the delivery date." It seems we agree that two days would not have impacted the delivery date, so I am shocked that Ro said that if I did not order until Monday, I would risk it not arriving in time. My mom heard her say it, too. I was prepared for the dress to take 6 months to arrive; that's why I had the provision allowing 3 months for alterations amended down to 2 months prior to signing. But as I said, we built a rapport with Ro and trusted her judgment; she was the expert and if she said two days would impact its arrival, I trusted that that was true. We were a couple of days shy of a full 8 months, so when Ro said two more days might pose a problem, it seemed plausible. It is a disgrace that she provided information to a customer, to induce a sale, that you have now confirmed was inaccurate. This is predatory, and you don't need a law degree to understand that. Search my name in the NJ Brides Facebook group; my post has many similar stories in the comments.

As to the Spanx, Ro's comment was not about underwear with clear straps. It sounds like Ro is describing it inaccurately, which is not surprising. I was clear that I wanted to wear shapewear, not just underwear. Ro specifically said that Spanx that hit at the waist would "look like they were part of the dress." Thus, they'd be visible; clear straps don't "look like" anything. Ro assured me that to those who didn't know I was wearing Spanx, although they would be visible, it would look as if they were part of the dress rather than underwear. You seem to be conflating my trust in this assurance with a desire "from the start" to have the dress lined. They are not the same. The option of lining the dress only came into play at the very end of the fitting, months later, when the Spanx very much didn't look like part of the dress. I never suggested wanting the dress lined when I said yes to it or at any point before the fitting. If I had said I wanted it lined at the time of purchase, I imagine Ro would've noted the additional cost in our contract, as she did with another extra alteration item we discussed. Full lining as a way to hide the Spanx was not on my radar until Maria suggested it at the end of the fitting.

"We were unsure why you did not select any of these popular solutions for brides who also later decide they want more coverage." I can clear that up: because I looked back on choosing the dress and realized Ro misled me in multiple ways. And I had time to realize that while I spent an hour at the fitting surrounded by 3-4 seamstresses and employees, being poked and prodded, having more and more flower appliqués (they were cutting them in front of me from old scraps of dress fabric; that's a broad definition of "customized appliqué designs") pinned to me no matter how many times I said I didn't like how they looked. I was in tears by the time Maria came out and only then was the full lining suggested. But by then, the entire experience - which the dress is inextricably linked to - was tainted. Buying a dress and going for your first fitting is supposed to be magical. For me, it was abysmal. My fitting being such a fiasco, combined with realizing Ro would've said anything (and did do just that) to get me to buy it on the spot, caused my dress to lose its spark, which has been devastating for me - not to mention, cost me thousands of dollars. But I want to be very clear that that's the order in which it happened: I realized Ro misled me and the fitting was an absolute disaster, and THEN the dress just didn't look or feel the same anymore. I am heartbroken by it.

Your shop is run just like a car dealership. If you want to speak further, please call me. Reviews are a place for customers to share their experiences, not for business owners to insert themselves to share their "perspective" - doing so definitely affects your reputation, but not the way you seem to...

I visited in January for my wedding in September of this year. Ro was my consultant. I loved a dress with a low, transparent dips on the waist, but I was adamant that I would not go without Spanx. Ro assured me that they'd look fine underneath, "like they were part of the dress" (my mom confirmed hearing this), and to trust her because she does this every day. I was told my timeline was no problem, but I visited on a Saturday, and when I said I'd call back on Monday to order - I wanted to sleep on it - Ro told me that the dress may not come in time...if I waited 2 more days. I'm not easily persuaded (I am a lawyer!) but this worried me. We build a rapport with her and I trusted her judgment. I ordered on the spot.

The dress arrived in May; either we got very lucky or the concern that ordering 2 days later would result in it coming late was not founded. I went for my fitting in June with Spanx. It was apparent as soon as I put the dress on that no Spanx or underwear would ever look like they were "part of the dress" - as is, it really can only be worn without underwear, unless you don't mind your guests seeing your underwear and your underwear being visible in photos. I raised an alarm to my seamstress. Another seamstress and a few employees came over to help. Everyone's first question was "what if you just don't wear underwear?" which highlighted how misled I was about how it would look. They suggested (1) lining the cutout area up to my waist with a fabric that was neither the color of my skin nor the dress lining, which resulted in a very visible demarcation because it would only cover about half of the cutout area, and (2) attaching extra flower appliqués to match the lace of my dress, and sewing it over where underwear waistband would land to hide it, which would alter the look of the dress in a way I didn't anticipate. I ended up standing there for an hour in the dress with 2-3 people around me, cutting out flowers and pinning them to it. I kept saying I didn't like how it looked and felt like no one was listening - they just kept pinning more flowers and saying it would look better with more. After an hour, I was very overwhelmed. Then Maria, the lovely head seamstress, came over and (after asking if I wouldn't just go without underwear), suggested lining the entire transparent part with a fabric that matches my skin tone - which I now understand is common, so I'm unsure why it wasn't the first suggestion. At this point I was in tears, not loving the dress or the experience anymore, and overall over it.

I then spoke to Gary and said that I was told the dress would look fine or even good with Spanx, but it doesn't. He said "well, what are you suggesting?" I was suggesting his employee misled me to make a sale. My mom chatted with him and he graciously offered to comp any alterations I wanted beyond the basic alterations package (such as the full lining) or to give me a credit toward another dress. I appreciate both of these options; the alterations option is very generous, but the credit option is not very useful at this point, when the options for dresses that would come in time are very limited.

I wish Ro had been honest that the dress really requires a bride to go without underwear, or would require more extensive alterations if I did want to wear underwear. Almost more so, I wish she wouldn't have said that it may not come in time if I didn't order on the spot. I look back now on what I initially felt was a wonderful dress shopping appointment and realize I was heavily pressured into buying and misled as to the timeline and the underwear part - which I made clear was VERY important to me - just so she could close out a sale. Maybe I should've been more firm, but I trusted her. All of that, combined with the fitting being such a fiasco, has made me look at a dress I initially loved in a very different way, negatively colored my entire dress shopping experience, and added an extremely stressful element to these last few months...