Elegance by Roya Alexandria — Local services in Alexandria

To be fair, both stores are beautiful. They have a wonderful selection of dresses and I felt like the initial appointments were handled well given COVID restrictions. My disappointment came AFTER I found my dress. I decided on a dress that I tried on during my very first visit to the Tyson's location, and already had an appointment at the Alexandria scheduled for the next day (because I did not expect to find something so quickly). After deciding on the dress, I did a bit of research and found that the MSRP for my dress was significantly ($900) cheaper. I called several stores just to make sure that the pricing was not a one-off. After calling 6 other stores in and around the greater DC area, (and verifying that they were authorized dealers by the dress designer) I wanted to give my business to Elegance since that is where I tried on the dress. They would not honor the MSRP, which is fine, that is their prerogative. Fast forward a few weeks: I called to schedule an accessories appt. I called the Tyson Store, and the Alexandria Store as they both had veils and belts that I loved. When I called both stores to schedule, I felt the vibe change when they asked if I purchased my dress there. Once I said that I didn't they seemed standoffish. Tyson's did not have any availability but Alexandria did and they had my original Stylist (Paola) call me back to make an appointment. She scheduled me I received email confirmation with my appt time. I called the day before my appt to ask if I could adjust my appt 30 min. She said that was fine and I again received email confirmation with the updated time. I then received an email from Ashley saying they had to cancel my appointment because they were only doing accessory appointments for Brides who purchased their dress there. WOW. In this economic climate they are turning down business? I immediately called to speak to Ashley to find out what was going on. I spoke to someone who said she was a manager and she relayed that my appt was indeed cancelled because they are only doing accessories appointments with bridal fittings. My question is why was this not explained when I called both locations? Why was this not explained when I made my actual appointment? Why was this not explained when I called and spoke to Paola to switch my appointment time? If this were a COVID restriction, that could have been easily explained but the issues seemed to be that I did not buy the (overpriced) dress from them. I am severely disappointed that they pick and choose when to enact certain policies. I will gladly take my business elsewhere. Obviously I had a healthy budget to begin with (or else I would not have come to this store, the items are not cheap), but why would I want to pay more than I need to? Anyone planning a wedding would agree that it's smart to save where you can. Anyway, my suggestion is to do your research and spend your money where you feel valued. This is Washington DC, Bridal Boutiques come a dime a dozen. If you don't mind the drive, New Jersey and Delaware also have great Bridal Boutiques and do not charge sales tax. I understand this is a strange time we are currently in but communication is free. Planning a wedding is not easy during COVID. Finding a dress and accessories should be the fun part. I am really disappointed because I had my heart set on getting one of the belts that I tried on during my first two appointments. How can I purchase the belt, if I am being denied a 30 minute appointment? The sad part is that I have 2 cousins and a friend that are getting married within the next 18 months and not only was my business lost (even if it was "just the accessories"), but their potential business as well. Shame on me for being honest. I'm sure if I said I hadn't purchased my dress from them YET, or wasted everyone's time and disguised an accessories appt as a bridal try-on appt, I could have purchased my belt and veil. Oh well- got my dress, received excellent service where I purchased it from, and I will find my perfect...

I’ve completed my transaction and can now provide an objective review. Let me start by saying that the selection and customer service at Elegance By Roya is good. Ayesha was attentive and helpful with my selections. I loved 3 of 6 dresses that she selected. I don‘t have an exact budget, however, I am a conscious shopper so I wanted something from the SAMPLE sale that was advertised, off the RACK. I‘m active duty military and was reassured that I would be given a good price. My plan is to resell the dress.

I felt very pressured to finalize my decision quickly because of the anticipated increased foot traffic over the weekend and because of alterations (wedding July). I selected Dress #1, Martina Liana gown ($4000). After getting the price with an offer of 30% off, I decided not to make a decision at that time. I emailed the next day to inform Ayesha that I‘d changed my mind in favor of dress #2, Enzoani Ora 2020 ($4600) which was less bulky and better for a beach wedding. I was out of town so an electronic contract and payment link was emailed. The contract and pricing for Dress #2 also reflected 30% off.

After returning from my trip, I reached out to the store because I wanted to try on dresses #2 and #3 again before taking the dress out of the store as their contract doesn’t allow for returns or exchanges. Dress #3 is Enzoani Raquel 2022 ($3400). It is very similar to Dress #2 but fits better and I was told would require “less alterations”. Okay, great! Decision made…this is it! I’m leaving the store with a beautiful dress today!

Well, this is where things got dicey and shady for me. I’d already paid $2932 for Dress #2 (there was ~$390 balance remaining). However, I was now being told that I only owed an additional $53 instead of $390. Well, that’s interesting! Shouldn‘t I be getting a refund of about $500 since Dress #3 is so much less than Dress #2? Ayesha tells me that Dress #3 will only be discounted at 15% off and made up some lame excuse for the financial exploitation. I said something but decided to keep it classy rather than making a scene. I was also fully aware that I’d previously signed a contract and felt obligated to follow through. Although there was a moment during the completion of the transaction where I imagined myself having the strength of Incredible Hulk and flipping the whole damn desk over. I digress…I also calmly waited for the alterations quote to see just how greedy this business is. My alterations quote was $1750! Got it! Price gouging 101! Either you don’t want my business or your business is struggling to move inventory so willing customers are simply being ripped of…sad either way.

With that, my overall experience was not good. Why do businesses resort to exploitative tactics? Price gouging is a bad business practice even in this economy. Why not sell old inventory at a consistently discounted price and write off the losses on taxes? Where’s the accountant??

Bottom line: I’m going to be cute and happy at my wedding but I would NOT recommend this store unless you’re fine with being taken advantage of. I can not condone any degree of financial exploitation especially when dealing with women who are planning and preparing for an emotionally charged experiences like weddings.

I hope this review helps someone in...

Attitude by Roya.

While I had one pleasant encounter here, my second encounter was terrible and for that reason, I would not recommend shopping here. I came to the shop initially several months ago to find a dress but because of my destination wedding, I decided to get my gown from out of state. It was merely a decision of timing and logistics. Pleased with my first experience, I wanted to come back and get my veil and other accessories from Roya.

I booked an appointment online. Arriving, I told the sales associate I was looking for a veil. She was immediately flustered and upset at me, stating she was "confused" as to why I booked an appointment when they do not book accessories appointments. I explained that I was not aware of this rule (the website only states that appointments are "bridal appointments." It does not specify for gowns or otherwise) and if it would be possible to try gowns and veils to make the appointment "fit the rules." I pointed to a dress I had tried on at my prior appointment and the sales associate told me that I couldn't try it on because it was a plus size and I wouldn't fit (little did she know, she was the same associate who put me in that dress several months before - and they always use clips anyway). She denied every request to make this appointment work and ended by having to check with the manager if it was "okay" to refund me the $50 deposit I paid.

All I can say is, for a company in the service industry, you have no sense of service. I apologize for being an inexperienced bridal customer (how many times am I supposed to shop for a dress?) and not knowing your "rules" when your website does not specify. Yet, you treated me as an unwanted parasite and your sales associate lied to my face about putting me in a dress. Couldn't you have politely explained the situation? Since I had already booked an appointment, left my already busy work schedule early so I could come on time to your shop, and arrived on time, could you not have accommodated me to help YOU out by giving you MONEY? And by your good graces, you "allowed" me to take back my deposit - quite patronizing.

Besides, I have been wracking my brain thinking of a rational business reason why Roya would not allow a customer to only purchase a veil or other accessory without a dress, and am at a loss. You realize I can walk down the street and hand the next bridal shop $2,000 and you just lost out on that? And also, I plan on steering all my soon-to-be-bride friends away from your store so you may feel a pinch later on. All because you simply have no sense of service and no ability to treat a customer with respect. "Rules" are sometimes good to have, but for Pete's sake you are not the TSA, so be flexible in your approach if you want to continue a small business in this economy.

I have happily given my thousands of dollars to another bridal store that treated me with respect and dignity.

Attitude by Roya has a nice ring to...