Sarah Seven — Local services in New York

I went to Sarah Seven with my best friend this weekend after she had a lovely experience there about a month ago. My taste is a little less traditional, and I was thrilled to see their Before collection with some shorter and non-white options that were still truly chic and beautiful. A stylist called me several days before the appointment to ask about my style and the reason I was coming to their shop. I was completely transparent that the reason I was coming was the "Before" collection, shared details about our more casual wedding reception, and my desire to find a dress that felt more "me," even specifically referencing the two dresses in the Before collection that I was most excited about. The stylist on the phone hyped me up and agreed that she loved those same dresses. After talking with her, I was encouraged and hopeful I'd finally find a dress I could see myself wearing.

When I arrived at my appointment on Saturday, a different stylist worked with me and asked me those same questions. I said I wanted to try on some more formal gowns and then reemphasized my interest in the Before collection (the entire reason I came to the shop) and her face froze. "We don't do fittings for the Before collection on the weekends." I'd been looking forward to this appointment above all the others because it's been hard to find dresses that feel like something I would wear. I shared explicitly that I was disappointed because it's the whole reason I'm there, and that in my phone consultation I was extremely clear about that. Why didn't someone tell me this earlier? She replied that "maybe we'll try them at the end if we have time" and proceeded to pull some (truly beautiful) long white gowns with trains etc.

Though I did end up considering the longer gowns, I asked again to please try on the dresses I had specifically come to see. The stylist leaves to "check" and then comes back to inform me that the ENTIRE Before collection is backordered and wouldn't get here before my wedding so it's not worth the time. That story seems unlikely given the fact that you can order those dresses direct from the website with a 6-8 week lead time, which is faster than the timeline for their gowns' rush orders.

I get it that you want people to try on the more expensive gowns on busy weekend days (which I did, and genuinely considered them!), but if a customer is considering both and has told you ahead of time they came specificaly for the Before dresses, either let them know immediately on the phone that won't be possible or be transparent in the moment rather than telling them "maybe if we have time" or "they're all backordered." Despite the beautiful shop and incredible dresses, I left feeling manipulated and disappointed after driving 4 hours from Baltimore to see my dream dresses and then have that option refused in a way that made me feel, honestly, a little bit played.

The dresses are gorgeous and you can tell the quality is there. The Stylists do a great job explaining the fit and clipping you in to give you the best sense of what a tailored dress would look like on you. That's why I gave it 3 stars. Even though I found two gowns I love, I just don't know if I can feel good about giving them my business after all of the above, especially since I keep wondering about the Before dresses I had been...

I had a very positive experience when I was shopping for a dress. The salesperson (Goli?) was very helpful and I absolutely loved the designs. However, once I paid the deposit which was non-refundable, the sales team became unhelpful for the subsequent appointments.

First I didn't realize their in-house tailoring schedule is very restricted (something like M-F before 6pm) and made it super difficult to come for the fitting appointments. Most tailors in NYC work on weekends but SS is only open on weekends for the try-on appointments. This very restricted scheduling was not mentioned to me when I paid the deposit. In addition, they did not have proper mirrors and lighting in their shop at all. When I came in during winter at 6pm once for a fitting, I had a really hard time seeing myself in the mirror.

Second, It took a very very long time for the dress to come in (ordered the dress and paid the deposit in June 2016, first fitting was in January 2017 and had to pay in full at this point. I finally got the dress in July 2017, more than 1 year after I made the initial payment).

Third, and the part that really upset me the most was the attitude of how the sales people handled customer service. When I picked up the dress, the salesperson at SS told me NOT to try on the dress at home since they were concerned people could damage the dress that way. Made sense. I then decided to add a ribbon as a belt to the dress. However, when I tried on the dress at my tailor to sew on the ribbon belt, the zipper was completely broken and would not zip up. My tailor told me that the zipper was not sewn on properly and was jamming the fabric. I called SS right away and instead of apologizing for the defective product, Farron the sales girl gave me a huge lecture on how I should not have tried on the dress and that once the dress left their shop they were not responsible for the damage. This is quite ridiculous given how expensive the dress is and I expect much better service. While in the end SS fixed the zipper which was obviously their fault that the zipper would not zip up after ONE unzipping, they did not apologize for this defect and acted as if they did me such a big favor to fix it for me. I cannot imagine what would have happened if I didn't try on this dress and only find out that the zipper was defective on my wedding day.

Overall, I would recommend buying a SS designed dress for your wedding but purchase it from another store such as Lovely Bridal and have it tailored. I honestly don't think the in-house tailoring offered by SS made any difference at all. The dress still came in standard sizing anyways. Also, typically when you send something to be altered, you only pay once the end product is satisfactory. If you decide to take the SS in house tailoring, be prepared to pay this tailoring fee in advance and don't be surprised if SS isn't motivated to deliver a very satisfactory end product to you.

Finally, I am really glad this is done and I don't have to continue going to the SS shop or communicate with the SS salesperson anymore! I wish they would have spent more energy on improving customer service rather than posting on their social media. But oh well! I am just happy I am done...

Extremely disappointed with the customer service at Sarah Seven. I had gone in for an initial appointment (first day of trying on any wedding dresses) and was pressured numerous times to make a decision on the spot. Timelines were distorted and I was threatened with extra fees for alterations (even though it’s a flat rate) if I didn’t decide immediately. Keep in mind I went 8 months before my wedding date. Although the experience was poor, I really loved one of the dresses. I went back for a second appointment ready to make a purchase. The dress was hung in the dressing room and I was told to put it on (no assistance at all) and then came out in front of the mirror to an ill fitting dress. The person who was working with me, who also happened to be the manager, put one clip on the dress and walked away, leaving the rest of the dress loose, saggy, and completely disappointing. I was extremely upset that the dress I thought was “the one” looked so awful on me this time around. I realized maybe it was because it didn’t fit right so my mother and I tried to pull and hold the dress in the way I assumed it was intended to look. We were alone doing this for awhile before we called the manager back to help us. I expressed to him my disappointment with the customer service and he gave an insincere apology. He then began to clip the straps of the dress and pulled them up so the dress was much higher than I thought it should be and told me that was the intended look. It did not look right. Since it was much different than when I tried it on during my first appointment, I asked if it was supposed to be another way. He interrupted me and said “Can I finish?” in a rude way and at that point the experience was so negative I decided to end the appointment. I was unable to speak to a manager because he was the manager. He might do this on a daily basis and it might not be a big deal to the people who work there, but I was ready to get the dress for my wedding day, something that is really special and important to me, and I left empty handed. I will not be going back to Sarah Seven because of these experiences, even though the dresses are beautiful. I’ve been to many other wedding dress shops and have had really positive experiences, so I am unsure why Sarah Seven was unable to provide the same service. Go anywhere else - Lovely Bride, L’Fay Bridal, Schone Bride, Veka...