Dressing Up Reviews

Reviews

• Deetta Sent on 07/19/2017
  5 out of 5 rating

  5.0
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    5.0 out of 5 rating
    5.0
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    5.0 out of 5 rating
    5.0
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    5.0 out of 5 rating
    5.0
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    5.0 out of 5 rating
    5.0
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    5.0 out of 5 rating
    5.0

  Shelly is delightful. Everything was done efficiently and quickly.

  Shelly is delightful. Everything was done efficiently and quickly.
• Kristin Sent on 10/30/2014
  5 out of 5 rating

  5.0
  • Quality of service
    5.0 out of 5 rating
    5.0
  • Average response time
    5.0 out of 5 rating
    5.0
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    5.0 out of 5 rating
    5.0
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    5.0 out of 5 rating
    5.0
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    5.0 out of 5 rating
    5.0

  I posted this review on yelp but having just gotten married - I truly relied on online reviews - they were such an important part of my vendor selection
  Shelly is the dress whisperer.
  She is brilliant
  I ended up selecting an Enzoani dress that had layers and layers of tulle and was very intricate and complicated.
  When I called Shelly to ask about prices and get some information she asked about my dress and was able to tell me everything that she would need to do. I tried calling a few other dress alterer but none of them had the knowledge or the confidence that Shelly had - they just wanted me to come in and said they would figure it out.
  Shelly works quickly and brilliantly.
  She knew my dress so well and was so brilliant with her alterations. My bustle was perfect and every fitting was so easy and nice.
  Shelly is amazing and what she does.
  She even installed a hoop in my dress (don't be scared - not Gone With the Wind style - just something that helped to keep all of the heavy layers of tulle from sticking to my legs - it kept me so much cooler and made the dress look so much better).
  Shelly is the best and knows what she is doing.
  If you want your dress to look its best - don't waste your time going to other people - Shelly KNOWS the ins and outs of so many wedding gowns and knows how to make them look amazing on you.
  A++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (and then some!)
  I am so grateful to Shelly and am so happy I went to her!
  

  I posted this review on yelp but having just gotten married - I truly relied on online reviews - they were such an important part of my vendor selection
  Shelly is the dress whisperer.
  She is brilliant
  I ended up selecting an Enzoani dress that had layers and layers of tulle and was very intricate and complicated.
  When I called Shelly to ask about prices and get some information she asked about my dress and was able to tell me everything that she would need to do. I tried calling a few other dress alterer but none of them had the knowledge or the confidence that Shelly had - they just wanted me to come in and said they would figure it out.
  Shelly works quickly and brilliantly.
  She knew my dress so well and was so brilliant with her alterations. My bustle was perfect and every fitting was so easy and nice.
  Shelly is amazing and what she does.
  She even installed a hoop in my dress (don't be scared - not Gone With the Wind style - just something that helped to keep all of the heavy layers of tulle from sticking to my legs - it kept me so much cooler and made the dress look so much better).
  Shelly is the best and knows what she is doing.
  If you want your dress to look its best - don't waste your time going to other people - Shelly KNOWS the ins and outs of so many wedding gowns and knows how to make them look amazing on you.
  A++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (and then some!)
  I am so grateful to Shelly and am so happy I went to her!
  
• Nicki Sent on 01/04/2013
  5 out of 5 rating

  5.0
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    5.0 out of 5 rating
    5.0
  • Average response time
    5.0 out of 5 rating
    5.0
  • Professionalism
    5.0 out of 5 rating
    5.0
  • Value
    5.0 out of 5 rating
    5.0
  • Flexibility
    5.0 out of 5 rating
    5.0

  Shelly Vann is absolutely fantastic. She has a ton of experience and is amazing at what she does. She can multi-task better than I've ever seen. She works from home and has great prices and great attention to detail. Although she's usually working on many dresses at a time, she makes each one look fabulous.
  
  My wedding dress was hemmed, bustled and taken in at the top. She made it fit PERFECT. My mom had sent a veil from MD, which was the wrong color, and Shelly just simply traded me for one she had that matched perfectly. I also saw a pair of earrings in a cabinet at her house that looked like they would fit well with my dress minus a dangling part of the earring. Shelly took them to her jeweler -friend to alter the earrings. I only ended up paying about 30 bucks for some nice custom earrings. Shelly goes out of her way to make your dress and accessories perfect.
  
  She is also very sweet and has a great sense of humor. I really enjoyed our appointments. I would HIGHLY recommend her to anyone in need of wedding alterations. She is much better and significantly cheaper than the large bridal boutiques. Love her.

  Shelly Vann is absolutely fantastic. She has a ton of experience and is amazing at what she does. She can multi-task better than I've ever seen. She works from home and has great prices and great attention to detail. Although she's usually working on many dresses at a time, she makes each one look fabulous.
  
  My wedding dress was hemmed, bustled and taken in at the top. She made it fit PERFECT. My mom had sent a veil from MD, which was the wrong color, and Shelly just simply traded me for one she had that matched perfectly. I also saw a pair of earrings in a cabinet at her house that looked like they would fit well with my dress minus a dangling part of the earring. Shelly took them to her jeweler -friend to alter the earrings. I only ended up paying about 30 bucks for some nice custom earrings. Shelly goes out of her way to make your dress and accessories perfect.
  
  She is also very sweet and has a great sense of humor. I really enjoyed our appointments. I would HIGHLY recommend her to anyone in need of wedding alterations. She is much better and significantly cheaper than the large bridal boutiques. Love her.
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• Esmeralda Sent on 06/10/2014
  4.6 out of 5 rating

  4.6
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    5.0 out of 5 rating
    5.0
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    4.0 out of 5 rating
    4.0
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    5.0 out of 5 rating
    5.0
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    4.0 out of 5 rating
    4.0
  • Flexibility
    5.0 out of 5 rating
    5.0

  Shelley did a great job altering my wedding dress. She pays attention to details and makes recommendation to cut down costs for alterations. I rented a hoop instead of having her cut down the dress. I felt down during the dancing but it could have been the slippery dance floor, someone stepping on my dress, the drinking, or the wrong shoes, oops! She's not one to over recommend services to make money off her services. She is there to make things easy for you. I met her a few times to assure my weight didn't fluctuate. Shelly doesn't tell you what you want to hear. She is honest and full of energy.

  Shelley did a great job altering my wedding dress. She pays attention to details and makes recommendation to cut down costs for alterations. I rented a hoop instead of having her cut down the dress. I felt down during the dancing but it could have been the slippery dance floor, someone stepping on my dress, the drinking, or the wrong shoes, oops! She's not one to over recommend services to make money off her services. She is there to make things easy for you. I met her a few times to assure my weight didn't fluctuate. Shelly doesn't tell you what you want to hear. She is honest and full of energy.
• Micha Sent on 02/21/2012
  4.3 out of 5 rating

  4.3
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    5.0 out of 5 rating
    5.0
  • Average response time
    4.0 out of 5 rating
    4.0
  • Professionalism
    2.5 out of 5 rating
    2.5
  • Value
    5.0 out of 5 rating
    5.0
  • Flexibility
    5.0 out of 5 rating
    5.0

  Shelley Vann is a very talented and seasoned seamstress who was able to take my less-than-dream dress, which I bought second hand online, and turn it into something closer to my actual dream dress. Unfortunately I had been under the impression that I could buy any dress larger than my true size and simply have it sized down to fit; Shelley was the bearer of bad news when she informed me, after she made the initial alterations, that my dress couldn't be sized down much more than she already had done since it was bias-cut fabric and would start to pull diagonally if she tried to take it in any further. She was able to shorten my hemline, which was bordered with scalloped lace, and used the leftover fabric to create lovely little cap sleeves to replace the gaudily beaded spaghetti straps on the original dress. Sadly, I didn't think to contest her when she announced upon removal of those straps, "Those'll make lovely headbands for some lucky flower girls!" and tossed them into her supply pile. I mean, I paid for the dress, I'm only paying you to alter it. Do you think you could ask me if I might want to keep the bits you're cutting off it before you just decide to keep them for your own business? My dress never made it to true dream-dress status for me, but Shelley got it as close as she could, and her prices were VERY reasonable (seriously, worth the drive, even if you're in South County). In retrospect, it would have been better if I'd just gone to her directly to create a custom dress, rather than having her alter something I bought online. After what I paid for the dress online and what I paid in alterations (a total of about $710) she told me she could have easily made a custom piece for me. I saw some photos of her custom work while at her house, and she certainly knows what she's doing.
  
  Don't be confused if you end up in a residential neighborhood while trying to find this business, as Shelley works out of her home. Or rather, her business exists and is conducted in a house, and she also happens to live there (the business literally takes up the whole house except the kitchen). She'll also talk your ear off during every fitting, and especially enjoys talking about all her other crazy clients and their ridiculous requests (she's a little dramatic). I just tried to keep directing the conversation back to my dress and wedding.
  
  My only real complaint is that Shelley is very scatterbrained and a little disorganized. She doesn't write requests down very thoroughly, and when she does they go on a sticky note that ends up God-knows-where in her house. At my first fitting, after having left my dress with her for a week, she had actually forgotten our appointment and hadn't done a single thing with my dress. She was able to get some things done that night so the drive wasn't a complete waste of my time, but it was very nerve-wracking as a bride to see such disorganization in such a key vendor. Additionally, I had bought 9 yards of fabric that needed to be cut in half lengthwise to create to long runners for my two long tables at the reception. My mom and aunt suggested we ask Shelley to do the cutting for us, as well as a quick hem around the edges. Despite my protesting and against my better judgement (you know, that nagging feeling in the pit of your stomach?), I took their suggestion and brought the fabric to Shelley. I explained that the fabric needed to be cut lengthwise so that I would end up with two 9-yard-long, narrower table runners, and that my mom wanted the edges hemmed (because, let's face it, I didn't want the edges hemmed). Shelley informed me that she wouldn't be able to hem the edges since her surger was in the shop for repairs, but she was happy to cut the fabric for me and make the edges look purposely ragged, for free. Since she said free, I went against my gut feeling and left the fabric with her. My sister went to pick up my runners a few days later, and brought me two expertly raggedly edged 4.5-yard-long table cloths. Remember that nagging gut feeling? Yeah, listen to that. In the end it wasn't that big of a deal since I just had my mom go buy another 9 yards of the same fabric and cut it herself, and we were able to find a use for the "ruined runners" as tablecloths on the cake table and place card table at my reception. I never bothered telling Shelley that she screwed up, since she did it for free (thanks).
  
  I was able to rent my veil from Shelley for just $15 (what a deal!), and since the veil I wanted to rent was in poor condition with little snags and holes all over the tulle (don't be afraid to point those things out to her, she might overlook them herself, but she'll be very receptive to your feedback), she created a brand new one for me which matched my dress kinda perfectly. Obviously I didn't get to keep it, but all her veils are available to rent for $15, and if you don't see one you like she can probably make a new one for you.
  
  Overall, Shelley served her purpose. She provided good service at a very reasonable price, although she was pretty unprofessional and flaky at times. I would recommend her services if you have ample time before your wedding (but maybe lie and tell her it's sooner than it actually is), and especially if you want a custom dress made.

  Shelley Vann is a very talented and seasoned seamstress who was able to take my less-than-dream dress, which I bought second hand online, and turn it into something closer to my actual dream dress. Unfortunately I had been under the impression that I could buy any dress larger than my true size and simply have it sized down to fit; Shelley was the bearer of bad news when she informed me, after she made the initial alterations, that my dress couldn't be sized down much more than she already had done since it was bias-cut fabric and would start to pull diagonally if she tried to take it in any further. She was able to shorten my hemline, which was bordered with scalloped lace, and used the leftover fabric to create lovely little cap sleeves to replace the gaudily beaded spaghetti straps on the original dress. Sadly, I didn't think to contest her when she announced upon removal of those straps, "Those'll make lovely headbands for some lucky flower girls!" and tossed them into her supply pile. I mean, I paid for the dress, I'm only paying you to alter it. Do you think you could ask me if I might want to keep the bits you're cutting off it before you just decide to keep them for your own business? My dress never made it to true dream-dress status for me, but Shelley got it as close as she could, and her prices were VERY reasonable (seriously, worth the drive, even if you're in South County). In retrospect, it would have been better if I'd just gone to her directly to create a custom dress, rather than having her alter something I bought online. After what I paid for the dress online and what I paid in alterations (a total of about $710) she told me she could have easily made a custom piece for me. I saw some photos of her custom work while at her house, and she certainly knows what she's doing.
  
  Don't be confused if you end up in a residential neighborhood while trying to find this business, as Shelley works out of her home. Or rather, her business exists and is conducted in a house, and she also happens to live there (the business literally takes up the whole house except the kitchen). She'll also talk your ear off during every fitting, and especially enjoys talking about all her other crazy clients and their ridiculous requests (she's a little dramatic). I just tried to keep directing the conversation back to my dress and wedding.
  
  My only real complaint is that Shelley is very scatterbrained and a little disorganized. She doesn't write requests down very thoroughly, and when she does they go on a sticky note that ends up God-knows-where in her house. At my first fitting, after having left my dress with her for a week, she had actually forgotten our appointment and hadn't done a single thing with my dress. She was able to get some things done that night so the drive wasn't a complete waste of my time, but it was very nerve-wracking as a bride to see such disorganization in such a key vendor. Additionally, I had bought 9 yards of fabric that needed to be cut in half lengthwise to create to long runners for my two long tables at the reception. My mom and aunt suggested we ask Shelley to do the cutting for us, as well as a quick hem around the edges. Despite my protesting and against my better judgement (you know, that nagging feeling in the pit of your stomach?), I took their suggestion and brought the fabric to Shelley. I explained that the fabric needed to be cut lengthwise so that I would end up with two 9-yard-long, narrower table runners, and that my mom wanted the edges hemmed (because, let's face it, I didn't want the edges hemmed). Shelley informed me that she wouldn't be able to hem the edges since her surger was in the shop for repairs, but she was happy to cut the fabric for me and make the edges look purposely ragged, for free. Since she said free, I went against my gut feeling and left the fabric with her. My sister went to pick up my runners a few days later, and brought me two expertly raggedly edged 4.5-yard-long table cloths. Remember that nagging gut feeling? Yeah, listen to that. In the end it wasn't that big of a deal since I just had my mom go buy another 9 yards of the same fabric and cut it herself, and we were able to find a use for the "ruined runners" as tablecloths on the cake table and place card table at my reception. I never bothered telling Shelley that she screwed up, since she did it for free (thanks).
  
  I was able to rent my veil from Shelley for just $15 (what a deal!), and since the veil I wanted to rent was in poor condition with little snags and holes all over the tulle (don't be afraid to point those things out to her, she might overlook them herself, but she'll be very receptive to your feedback), she created a brand new one for me which matched my dress kinda perfectly. Obviously I didn't get to keep it, but all her veils are available to rent for $15, and if you don't see one you like she can probably make a new one for you.
  
  Overall, Shelley served her purpose. She provided good service at a very reasonable price, although she was pretty unprofessional and flaky at times. I would recommend her services if you have ample time before your wedding (but maybe lie and tell her it's sooner than it actually is), and especially if you want a custom dress made.