Vouture Designer Bridal Boutique — Local services in Salem

Gentlemen! Do you need a suit for a special occasion? Something that says I have a career, not a court date! Read:

I recently had the pleasure of getting a custom suit made by Vien. The quality and craftsmanship can be summed up in one word: outstanding! The experience: excellent!

Before taking the plunge, make sure to have a plan. Know what you want. The process can be overwhelming. In short, you'll be in on every detail of the garment's making. This includes: choosing the fabric, color, pattern, and texture of the suit (Vien has over five-hundred options/combinations to available), the color and design of the inner lining, type of lapels, the type of buttons and how many (on that note, make sure the sleeve buttons are functional and not for show), the style of trousers (pleated, flat, cuffed, etc.), and whether the jacket is to be fully canvassed, half-canvassed, or fused. Of the three, go with the first.

On that topic, I was impressed that Vien offers full canvassing for suit jackets. Always go with that option gentlemen, if you can. Full-canvassed jackets get better with wear. After a while, they feel more like wearing a hoodie as opposed to the stiff fused jackets sold at retailers. Speaking of retailers, here's a dirty little secret: they don't even carry canvassed jackets! You can pay through the nose for an Armani jacket carried by Nordstrom or Neiman Marcus that has the same cheap fused inter-lining found at J.C. Penney or Macy's. Save your money: whether it's passing over an expensive Tom Ford jacket, or saving up to buy, invest in something locally made and of much higher quality.

Also, do not procrastinate and have realistic expectations! The lead time for a custom suit can be two to four months depending on the workload. It can be expensive too, but it's worth it!

It's unfortunate that custom suit-making is becoming somewhat endangered. Men have so many options available to them when it comes to formal wear. The problem that I find with suits that come off the rack is that not only are they stiff and uncomfortable, but without alterations, they make the wearer look like a kid trying on Dad's clothes. Vien will make you look like dad. She'll take you from hunchback to supermodel!

I recommend Vien without reservation.

Photo Credits go to...

I don't know if I can say enough good things about Vien and her personality, quality, and professionalism. I showed up to her shop, in downtown Salem about 10 months before my wedding date, knowing that asking for a custom dress would take a while. I had seen a dress online back in 2003 that I fell in love with. I thought I had a picture with me but unfortunately I couldn't find it.

So Vien told me to just sit down and start describing it. I sat there with her for about a half hour and between her suggestions and my descriptions, we came up with my dream wedding dress. It had exactly the amount of black I wanted on it. She'd heard me mention glitter and sparklies enough times, she ended up offering a sparkle layer under the tulle and I couldn't resist. It was absolutely perfect. She then said she could make my veil too. After my first fitting appointment, I knew it was the perfect dress. We got it adjusted to the perfect size and she mentioned having a few extra applique pieces from the collection of applique coming up my skirt.

I mentioned my fiancé hadn't found a vest yet. She mentioned she not only had fabric to do the vest for him and all the groomsmen, she ended up suggesting that we use the extra applique pieces on his vest as well, to tie the two outfits together. The results of the vests and the dress were so beautiful. The day was so perfect, the dress was so perfect, the vests were absolutely amazing.

Vien deserves every single 5 star rating she can get. Thank you again, for making my...

So I’ve been debating writing this review for a few days just to let it settle but I feel like it’s something that should be talked about. I think two days ago I went in with a friend to look at dresses for my upcoming wedding and they are amazing! There were probably only 3/4 dresses in there I didn’t like! The quality and range of styles was fantastic! And I found a dress I absolutely fell in LOVE with and would have bought if the lady working didn’t completely ignore me and my friend. Which I get because she had another beautiful and very sweet bride in who was getting some alterations. We stayed for a long time trying to get her attention and ask questions but instead of helping us she rudely snapped at us telling be to move while I was looking at the dress. Along with that they were not size inclusive. I am a size 18/20 and the were only three total dresses out that would fit me. Honestly that wouldn’t have bothered me because I know most shops keep only one size out but when we tried to ask if they had other sizes we were brushed off. And this isn’t necessarily anything they said but I felt very judged and my friend said they felt as though we were being watched like a hawk and glared at because we are plus sized. Which I don’t know the reason but it definitely felt like we were being ignored because we weren’t smaller than a size 10. Anyways I’m very disappointed as I’ll probably never get over the dress I saw there but I doubt I’ll be going back based on how we...