Flora & Lane — Local services in Lake View Township

I am beyond disappointed. I made it very clear to my stylist that I wasn't interested in a dress that showed a lot of cleavage (just a personal comfort thing). She assured me that they could bring the plunging neckline of the dress I loved up to my specifications. When they sent me progress photos, I pointed out that the neckline didn't look raised. They assured me it had been. When I got my dress, the neckline was still plunging, showing alllll of the girls. And now, after they "custom measured" me, there was very unflattering bulging fabric around my midriff. Flora & Lane assured me that once my seamstress brought up the shoulders, both issues would be resolved. Nope, even with alterations, the gals are on full display and the bulging is very visible.

They then tried to tell me that the neckline was to my specifications (a lie), that my seamstress could simply close the neckline (not enough fabric for that), and that the bulging fabric was because their dresses are a "standard sizing" after taking all of my measurements during my fitting and very much leading me to believe otherwise. Their best solution for the bulging was to have my seamstress completely removed large sewn-on appliques and re-attach them, a process she told me would be a time-consuming nightmare. Flora & Lane told me this was "feasible for an experienced seamstress", implying that my seamstress was somehow not up to snuff despite doing amazing work.

During the tedious and unfriendly process of trying to work with their customer service, I was told to shop around for a less pricey seamstress (mine charges average prices for my area), that I should have asked for a higher neckline had I wanted it (I absolutely asked for full coverage and indicated my desired neckline with measurements in store), and that I shouldn't add a panel to the dress for my comfort because it would compromise the original vision of the dress, as if it's not my gown to do with as I choose.

After much pushing on my end, the best offer I got from them was for either a refund on the neckline alteration plus $100 off the dress, which wouldn't even cover the alterations to fix the chest and bulging fabric, or for them to rush remake my dress a little over 2 months out from my wedding, which I don't trust them to do properly and wouldn't leave my seamstress enough time for alterations. All I asked from them was to cover the cost to fix their errors, $500, and they couldn't even do that. Which sounds to me like they value the cost of remaking my dress at less than $500, under a fifth of what they charged me for it. My mother's theory on this is that they order pre-fabricated dresses and just attach the appliques and lace in house. Oh, and they'd expect me to return the first dress back to them should I choose the remake option.

I had followed Flora & Lane online for years and even though their prices doubled in the last few years, I still couldn't picture myself getting married in anything else. But after this terrible experience with them, interacting with their lackluster customer service, and being insulted and gaslit by them, I would never recommend them to a prospective bride. Save your money and go with the seamstress on Etsy making nearly identical gowns to theirs for a tenth of the price.

Update: After I posted my review on four different sites and threatened to file a dispute with my bank, they panicked and sent me the cost of the needed alterations plus their original offer of refunding the fee they'd charged me to raise the neckline (as they should considering the work wasn't done correctly) and $100 off the dress "as a gesture of good will." Their good will was then immediately undercut by telling me I'd once again misunderstood a comment in one of their previous emails, gaslighting me one last time for good measure.

(I'll update again at a later date with photos and screenshots, after...

Let me start this review by saying that dresses aside, if I could give Elena herself a million stars, I would. My friends and I travelled from out of state specifically to visit this boutique and (hopefully) find a dress for my upcoming nuptials. Somehow, amongst all the planning, I managed to misrecord the time of my appointment... The whole reason we were all there. Unknowingly, we missed it by a whole hour. Cue panic mode. But, all was not lost. Elena came through. Not only did she accommodate me by squeezing me into a later time slot, she never once made me feel even the least bit badly about the whole thing. The entire visit, she made my friends feel comfortable, and she made me feel like the ✨️ pretty princess ✨️ I dreamed that I would one day feel like. If that's not enough by itself, she actually picked out my dream dress for me. Yes, you read that right. I had a few dresses in mind for my visit, and when they all fell a bit flat -- not a critique on the dresses themselves, they were absolutely gorgeous, just not right for me!! -- she saw my disappointment, understood both me and my vision, plucked a dress off the rack that I hadn't given enough attention to, and knocked it out of the park with that choice. It was love at first try on. All the dresses are stunning, high quality, and Elena is clearly putting in work and deserves to be recognized for her efforts with us brides. After my mistake over my appointment time, she could have easily just written me off as a flaky individual, and after my initial disappointment with my choices, she could have decided I was just not worth her time, but instead, she both made time for me at the expense of her day AND found the perfect dress for me. If you are looking for your sign to visit this store, let this be it. It's worth the trip, its worth the time. Thanks again for everything, Elena! You're...

I flew to Chicago from Florida specifically to say yes to a dress I had my eye on for over a year. I had a scheduled appointment and we drove the block 2 times before finally getting out to walk on foot and find the shop. There are no outdoor signs or decor to show as to where the store is unless you walk door to door and read. Because of this issue we arrived to the appointment TWO MINUTES LATE, we tried to open the door and it was locked. We knocked a few times to finally be welcomed with a “Are you the 10 AM? You’re late!” Okay I completely understand not being late but I made it known from the start of making the appointment we were from out of town so we expressed the reason for being late and no words were said. From then on the young lady who “helped” me try my dresses on was nothing but rude. Barely spoke a word to me or my 2 guests didn’t help me adjust my chest when I needed it and stuck me in dresses WAY too big for me. Rushed me the entire process then after I said yes, she said we have another appointment coming in in 2 minutes all Rudy and went to the back of the store to only come back with my correct size(after I had already gotten fully dressed again) and told me I could try it on if I hurried up. The entire experience was overwhelming and ridiculous. Shopping for your wedding dress is supposed to be one of the happiest days of your life and this lady made it so awkward and uncomfortable. I definitely recommend just spending the extra money and doing at home try ons to avoid dealing with any of the rude ladies. She also told me my dress would be sent out sooner than it actually will be even though I bought a SAMPLE DRESS THEY ALREADY...