Lastrina Girls Bridal Salon LLC — Local services in Middletown

Reposting this because for some reason my review never showed up in August!

The girls working here are wonderful. My main issue is with their seamstress.

I was super excited when I found out that LG had the exact dress I had been looking for. I’d seen it online and had been drooling over it since! It was the first dress I tried on during my appointment and it’s the one I “said yes” to, even though it was a little over my budget! During the measurement / ordering process, I was told I needed to order a 12, which I wasn’t comfortable with but said ok. Then I soon after asked if I could switch to an 8, because that’s more true to size for me but was told that based on my measurements, it was highly recommended I get a 12. I settled on a 10 because they made me nervous I was going to have this teeny tiny dress show up. Dress comes in and what do you know..it’s too big. So they tell me alterations don’t start until 6 weeks out, which I was nervous about but I was assured that they do this all the time and it works for them.

The first day I met with the seamstress, she tells me at the end of the appointment that it was going to be $850 and that it was cash or check only, and that I needed to pay a 50% deposit. Nobody told me that ahead of time so of course I only had my cards and maybe $100 on me. “There’s an ATM down the street.” Already off to a bad start.

Then, in the coming weeks she essentially ruined my dress, the one I wanted so badly from the beginning and was so excited to wear. Not only did she move my straps too far out, but she removed the beautiful lace from my straps without consulting with me! Then I show up so what was supposed to be my final appointment and I couldn’t even get my arms into the straps because she made them SO SMALL. I’m not sure if a 10 year old CHILD could have gotten there arms in. I’m sorry but didn’t we measure me and put a bunch of pins where you needed to make alterations?? Then I come back a week later and my arms go in but I can’t pull the straps past the edge of my shoulders or it cuts into my armpits and my boob area now pops open. When I questioned why she moved my straps outwards and told her I wanted them more in line with my normal strap line she told me “that’s the style honey.” I’m sorry—No it’s not. In any photo I’ve ever seen of a model in the dress, it’s not the style whatsoever. On me in any appointment we had, this was not the style. She took the dress in (something she wouldn’t have had to do if I just ordered the 8 like I wanted to—but that’s on me) and pulled everything from the back of the dress in towards the side seams, making the back open way more than it had previously, the straps barely hanging onto my shoulders, and the bust pop open if I made any slightly movement with my shoulders. I showed her how the straps kept falling down and her response was “that’s what double sided tape is for” & “if I move the straps in you’ll buckle in the front” & basically there’s nothing she can do at this point (5 days til the wedding). I’m sorry but if you charge $850 to alter a dress, listen to your customers when they tell you what they want out of THEIR DRESS, and if you’re not going to listen then at least do it right and don’t tell the customer they need double sided tape to fix what you messed up. And don’t change details of the dress without talking to the person first, especially when the lace lined straps and the transparent sides are a huge part of the look and the reason why I loved this dress!

I actually wrote this review the day before my wedding day and had purchased a cheap backup dress because I was worried about wearing this dress to party in because of how uncomfortable it was. Thankfully I made it through the entire night but I was very uncomfortable and could not WAIT to take the dress off at the end of the night. I’ve been involved in two other weddings since my own & neither of the brides had to deal with something like this. Their seamstresses LISTENED & charged way less!!

NOTHING related to my wedding planning stressed me out more...

First, I waited about a week to write this review and talked to other past brides about their experience dress shopping to make sure I knew I had a HORRIBLE and DISRESPECTFUL time at Lastrina Bridal Salon. It all started when I walked in the door and the lady helping me not only said my name wrong 1 time, but 4 times and it was only after the second time my mother corrected her that she finally got it right. Now, I brushed this off as this has happened, but everything that followed made this the starting point of a bad situation. I told the girl who was dressed COMPLETELY INAPPROPRIATELY (in a tube top one piece With sandal high heels. She looked like she was about to head to the beach, all that was missing was the batheing suit underneath!), that I think I wanted a long sleeve dress, she told me they had 5 in stock. Slightly taken off guard I figured I would have been told about my very limited options prior to my appointment, but in all fairness the young lady found some other dresses that I did actually like. So I’m out standing in front of the mirror in my second dress and OUT OF NOWHERE the lady goes “so your prolly a size 4 or a 6 in dresses....I know you prolly think you’re a size 0.” My guests and I were blind sided. Who said anything about size number one, and two what do I care about my dress size if I look good in it. Not to mention every woman knows in dress sizes it depends on brand. After this I walk back into the dressing room with her and she leans into me and goes, “So you’re one of those sample dress kinda girls aren’t you??” OMG! I almost lost it but remained calm. Now your ASSUMING I don’t have enough money to pay for a dress in this shop. The judgement off this women who was trying to help me find a dress I love for my big day was astounding. So I find two dresses that I started really liking but on my last one I said I think I like the other one better so she asked me if I wanted to try that one back on. Knowing this was my first time out shopping for a dress, and that my permanent residence is in another state I knew I had time and an entirely diffferent region to search for a dress so I told her I didn’t see anything today that I would be ready to purchase. Her response FLOORED ME and as follows, “you know your really wasting my time. If you’re not ready to buy a dress you shouldn’t even be looking!!” This was THE LAST DRAW. I’m supposed to hand this shop $1300 for a dress after I was insulted 100% through the entire process. Give that lady commission after she made her back handed comment of me being too poor to afford a new dress. We weren’t even offered a bottled water, nothing! The lady repeatedly told me how she had “12 years experience doing this so I know what I’m talking about,” but apparently in 12 years customer service is something she hasn’t learned. She tells me “most brides try on 7 dresses and that’s it.” Funny I talked to 5 brides who have been married in the past 4 years and only 1 of them found her dress at the first shop in 7 dress options. One woman went to 10 shops! Needless to say a momentous occasion that was supposed to be a special day between a mother and daughter was ruined by the heartless people who work at this shop. Do yourself a favor and save yourself from feeling bad at a time when you are supposed to be uplifted. And a little advice to the employees, not everybody who has money flaunts it in the manner you’d expect, so don’t insult your customers by assuming they don’t have enough to pay for any dress in your shop. FYI, found the dress online for $300 cheaper, with free shipping.

PS: I’d post picture of how the young lady was dressed, but out of respect for her privacy I won’t. Maybe this can be a learning experience for her, as...

I really did not want to write a negative review but my experience was so awful that I feel compelled to share my experience so that it doesn't happen to another bride to be. I visited LGB Salon with my mother and aunt. I tried on a few dresses and really liked one in particular. This dress definitely needed more than your traditional alterations..it needed to be made off the shoulder, I was clear about wanting certain lace elements removed as well as some beading and then the traditional hem and fit... Long story short the sales woman named Kate who sold me my dress YES'd me up and down prior to consulting with the seamstress who LGB salon uses exclusively. She told me anything was possible and also gave me a cost of $500-700 for my alterations. After spending roughly $2000 + on the dress and the additional fabric to make the dress off the shoulders I am then told by Pina the exclusive seamstress that the lace and certain elements of the beading could not be removed and that my options were pretty much limited to a drape like off the shoulder strap vs the more structured effect I was hoping for. Then I get slammed with a $1200 alteration quote vs the initial $500-700 estimate. So now im stuck with a dress that yes can be altered but will not look like what I had envisioned and at a ridiculous price point. I have made my frustration and upset clear with Krista the owner about the deception during the sale and even left in tears after speaking with the seamstress and NOTHING has been done to make this situation the least bit right. The cherry on top was receiving an email today (I have had the dress in my possession for two weeks since I decided to not move forward with the in house alterations) stating that oops I was given the wrong lace that belonged to another brides dress and if I could drop it off to the tailor shop?? seriously? what if the alterations had already been made and I used the lace left in my garment bag? The laughable nerve of her to ask me to drop off the additional lace back to the tailor shop. I am left with such a bad taste in my mouth and this has hands down been the worst customer service experience I have ever encountered. Typically most businesses focus on making their customers happy but here at LGB its about Krista's happiness. Thank you for making my bridal dress experience an...