Fifi's Bridal — Local services in Addison Township

I've hesitated to write this review because I prefer not to speak ill of small businesses, but my experience with Fifi, the highly rated and recommended seamstress, has left me feeling so cheated that I feel compelled to share my truth. Besides, they charged me a hefty price for this “work” so it’s only fair to share my experience.

I purchased my dress from Switzerland and it ended up fitting me too small. I went to Fifi after several people on this page recommended her and she was the sweetest woman right from the start. Knowing this dress came from overseas and I didn’t have extra fabric for her to use, she pondered her options and reassured me everything would be ok. Of course, I completely trusted her - after all, she was the expert and I knew nothing about sewing/alterations.

At my final fitting, i noticed that the alignment of my buttons looked off but I wasn’t sure as I was wearing it and looking at it from the mirror. Then she made a comment about not inspecting too closely and that’s when my heart sank. I know I should have said something to her at this point but I’m not an assertive person and I didn’t stand up for myself - something I’m still truly disappointed in myself in to this day.

Fifi's approach to fixing my dress seemed lazy. It was as if she assumed the back of the dress didn't matter, resulting in sloppy workmanship. She added an extra piece of fabric, throwing off the alignment of the buttons, giving the impression that someone was practicing sewing on my wedding gown.

To make matters worse, Fifi cut the length of my dress while I was wearing it, leaving the layers uneven. With only a week before my wedding, I received my altered dress, a mess of poor craftsmanship. I had to scramble to find an emergency seamstress to undo Fifi's work and salvage my dress.

Thankfully, I found another seamstress who came to my rescue and was a godsend. Not only did she rectify Fifi's mistakes, but she did so for a fraction of the cost. She added fabric to the shoulders, not the back, making it impossible to notice that my dress had been altered.

It's disheartening to pay wedding prices for lazy work and corner-cutting. I hope sharing my experience serves as a cautionary tale for others considering Fifi's services.

The photos of the shoulder area were taken by 2nd seamstress who showed me the back as never the problem. She is also the one holding up the bottom of the dress to show me the...

I had bought my dress from a Pop up bridal after going to House of Brides and David's Bridal. I was a size 18 at those shops. I got a size 22 at the pop up shop. I paid $750 for the dress. I brought it to Fifi's because she had good reviews and I'd rather support a private business than a chain plus she is only like 3 towns away. She was not very friendly. She made me feel stupid for buying such a big dress. She said she actually had that dress but sold it. Told me she never would have sold me such a big dress. However she said she could fix it and charged me $700 up front. After going in for my 1st try on it was still about 2 inches too big around the waist but she said she could NOT take it in anymore or it would ruin the design of the dress. She then altered the length. When going in for the 2nd try on I asked her to take it up another inch. I had my correct shoes I would wear for my beach weeding. When picking up my dress she sold me a dress bag for $35 so I could pack it on the plane. She literally took the bag from another dress because she was out of them. It didn't even have a loop on it so I could pick up the bottom and hook it to the top of the hanger. I had my wedding on June 7th in Jamica. She did not take the dress up another inch. I was tripping on it the whole time. The photographer had to keep adjusting my back because it kept falling down and exposing my strapless bra and the wedding coordinator had to help me when walking through the resort because the dress was too long. I bought a floor length gown so I eould be able to walk comfortably and its not even a heavy dress to be weighing down it was just too lose around my midsection and the straps were made short tuey didnt fit my b cup boobs very well but they did keep the dress on so thank God for that. I was uncomfortable the whole time and I loved that dress when I got it and I had faith in her because of her reviews and years of experience. I'm 43. Me and my now husband got married on our 25 year anniversary. I waited so long for this day. It sucks because there is no redos of your wedding day. I know I'm not the average young, skinny bride but she was not even nice to me. I paid her alot to not want to do the work to make tye dress fit me right. Her young assistant was a sweetheart and so was her adorable dog. They were alot more welcoming. But I would NEVER recommend...

I recently had my bridal gown altered by Fifi and I was extremely disappointed with the way she conducts her business and the quality of her very expensive work. I felt like I could not trust her because all she wanted to do was sell me something else or recommend more alterations so she would get more money. At the first fitting, she asked me why I didn't buy a dress from her and told me that her dresses were so much better. Then she wanted me to purchase her more expensive bra cups when I had brought my own. She would say "Can't you see the difference? Mine are much better quality; I only buy the best." I could not see a difference and neither could anyone else! Then she tried to sell me one of her belts which I told her I didn't want to spend the money on. She also had me pick out a garment bag and then later told me she was charging me $25 for it. I then had to argue with her that my dress would be ok in the "less quality" bag I had brought in. She also tried to sell me her David Tutera jewelry.

As far as the alterations go, she forgot to sew in my bustle. I had already left before I noticed it so I took my dress to an out of town alterations place where they did it on the spot for $15 dollars (it was more expensive at Fifi's). They also commented on how she sewed the bra cups in and said they would never be allowed to sew them to the outside portion of the dress. The hem also did not hold up and it came undone halfway through the reception.

If I had to do it all over again, I would not return to Fifi's. I would be willing to pay more just to have a place not hassle me about buying...