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This post is offensive! I am unable to believe the content since, my family and I have been dealing with Elegant Touch for over five years and we have received great service from all the girls and the owners.
I purchased my prom gown five years ago, a beautiful red ball gown, I felt like a princess. My sister’s wedding was last July and the entire family purchased their dresses and rented their tuxedos for the event. Pat Colleen and the girls were fantastic.
My sister was absolutely beautiful; all seven bridesmaids including myself were perfect. I am purchasing my gown from Elegant Touch after the holidays; I have found nothing but excellent service and wonderful congenial people at Elegant Touch, that is why I find your post offensive. Beeeeecareful you are aware that you are liable for everything you post.
Actually, "BethJames," the original poster is correct--it is illegal for them to do what they're doing, regardless of how "great" their customer service is:
To quote from Daydreamwanderer's previous post:
The Federal Textile Products Identification Act, Title 15, Sec 70 (for you law buffs out there, the citation is 15-USC-Sec 70 exec) says all apparel sold in this country must include a label with the manufacturer’s name, the fiber content and the country oforigin.
Violations of the law are punishable with up to a year in prison or a $5000 fine.
Some shop owners make excuses for this practice:one common story we hear is that since they are not actually selling the sample gowns, they don’t need to have tags.We say,“nice try.” Part 303 of the FTC’s trade regulation rules (“Rules and Regulations under the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act”) clearly states that samples used to sell textiles must be correctly labeled. We should also point out that nearly all bridal shops sell their samples too,but they don’t put the tags back in when they put them on the sale rack.
Finally, while you do have a right to know the name of the manufacturer of the gown, the style number is another issue. Consumer law does not require retailers to give you the style number ofa dress. As a side note,there is one unfortunate loophole to the law: shops can replace manufacturer’s tags with their own tags, as long as they indicate their store name,fiber content and country of origin.
http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/bridal-shops-who-cut-out-tags
So regardless of their salespeople, they are following illegal practices which are shady and are not acceptable.
EDIT: and although she does not need to be told the style number, she still should have been able to find a tag to ensure that the correct manufacturer was quoted.
There is nothing offensive about this post. The OP is entitled to post about HER experiences with this establishment. You are lucky to have had a different experience with them, and it is your right to post a response stating that you had a different experience, but do not call the OP a liar. I'm sure she would not have made this up for no reason.
I agree - nothing offensive at all.
Thank you so much for the information about Elegant Touch.
Thanks for the info. They should be ashamed of themselves for that kind of behavior. As far as they know you could have showed your mom a picture and walked right back in and bought it from them. Too bad they acted like that.
@Beth- I almost thought you were the vendor. There is nothing offensive about sharing an experience that was negative.
BethJames: Im glad you have had a positive experience but that does not change the fact that my experience w/ this shop was horrid. From the very first second we walked into the shop they were dishonest and rude.
cinemparadiso: Thank you for the legal information!
Thank you to everyone else who supported my post and I hope you find it helpful when dealing w/ bridal stores.
That's ridiculous that you were treated that way. I don't understand why people don't know how to be polite to customers.
Thanks for posting this information! I agree that your post was absolutely NOT offensive. In case you are still looking for dresses, you may want to check out Lex Bridal in Annapolis, MD. This is where I bought my wedding gown...absolutely no complaints. Good luck!!
I agree with Amy. This shop is very dishonest. I went to the shop a few weeks ago and found a really great dress. My sales associate was really nice and I did feel rushed or pushed towards any dress. So I made an appointment to come back after the New Year because they were going to get in some new dresses and to try on the dress I loved once more. I walk in and see the same associate from my previous visit. I tell her that I am not feeling well. She says she understands. I ask her if the dress I love is still available, she says it is. I ask her if she thinks it will be discontinued any time soon. She says no and that’s it very popular. She would call me if it was going to be discontinued. So I try on some of the new dresses and the one I love. I ask to make an appointment to come back next weekend when I am feeling better to try on the dress one last time and to purchase the dress. She says that’s fine. Another lady comes out and starts questioning me about why I don’t want to buy the dress that day. I say I don’t want to. She says she can take 10% off today. I say money is not problem I rather try it on one more time. She tells me the dress has “been called back to the designer.” I ask her why. She then goes to back and pulls out boxes to “prove she wasn’t lying.” I say I do not want to buy the gown to today. She ask’s me what is holding me back. It was very unprofessional and turned me “off” to the shop. The sales associate seemed to be as angry as myself and asked the older lady why she wasn’t told about the stituation. The sales associate then tells me it’s okay, I can still order the gown next weekend. The older lady then tells the sales associate that it is discontinued as of Tuesday and I would have to order it right away. I don’t know if the older lady was pulling my leg to make a sale but I sure am angry about this shop. It’s not like I was in there playing dress up. I just wanted to try the dress on when I didn’t have a fever to be 100% sure. The dress is also a private collection gown. I am in the process of trying to find a corporate number to call to confirm the dress is actually being discontinued. I left the shop feeling like I was at a sleazy used car dealership.
wow... I don't understand being a business owner and treating customers in such a manner, or letting the staff. That terrible, I am shocked they are still in business.
Thank you for the heads up - a lot of people in the MD area will appreciate this post.
Update:
So the TRUTH about Private Labels or Private Collections is that it's one big scam.
I talked to a bridal shop owner in VA when I was trying to find my dream gown else where and she said that almost all shops remove the labels and call it a Private Collection gown so you can't go elsewhere. Basically they creating a stituation where they have all the power because of the illusion of limited supply.
On Wednesday I contacted the store. The owner apologizes and says the will hold the dress for me to try on until the following weekend and that I can order until the end of the month. I get even more suspicious and start to research online.
During my research I learn the following :
It is illegal for any manufacturer to remove labels from garments(THE TEXTILE PRODUCTS IDENTIFICATION ACT). This includes wedding gowns! http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/textile/textlact.htm
When a label is removed there is no proof of country of origin. But even more importantly there is no proof of materials. This is extremely important because it often defines the price of a wedding gown. Without the labels a bride cannot verify the materials used in the gown.
After hours of searching I found the gown. http://www.houseofbrides.com/jacquelin-exclusive-wedding-dress-style-9660-p-33-35-5883.aspx The bridal shop had asked $899. Online it is $499. Elegant Touch had established “The Private Collection” scam in order to create a false sense of limited supply. It also gave the shop all the power. It is shocking that many brides fall for this scam when purchasing there gowns. I know I almost did!!!
No savvy consumer would ever purchase a car if they were told “it is a private car manufacturer.” But because a bridal gown is a once in a lifetime purchase and a very emotional one – many brides fall the scam and do not blink twice.
So LADIES don't give into the Private Collection scam.
I wish you all luck. :)
I first want to say that I'm sorry to hear that people had such horrible experiences at Elegant Touch Bridal and Tuxedo. We have enough stress when it comes to planning our weddings, and we certainly would prefer good customer service when purchasing something as important as our wedding gown.
However, I would like to let area brides know that I have had a wonderful experience at Elegant Touch. I actually live over an hour away from the shop, but I decided to get my dress there because the customer service was and has been excellent. I received a 15% discount on my gown...it ended up costing less than a lot of people are selling it for preowned. All of the assistants have been warm and helpful, and most importantly, I feel they went out of their way to treat my mother with kindness and respect. The woman who does alterations is a hoot!
I'm not sure why someone thought the original post was offensive...it was an honest description of a horrible experience. I just wanted to let others know that my experience at Elegant Touch Bridal and Tuxedo has been wonderful, and I would highly recommend them to other area brides.
Wow I am sorry to hear that. I too was not knowlegable of the textile productions act. It is unfortuanate because I ran into a similar situation although not as harsh where I was told that the gowns were exclusive.
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I just wanted to write a review about my experience at this shop in Bel Air Md in order to save future brides from experiencing similar service.
I went with my sister a couple of weeks ago to try on gowns (she is also getting married) and she found the dress that she had tried on over a year ago at this same shop and realized that this is the dress for her.
The consultant was extremely rude the entire appointment and seemed to know very little about wedding gowns (when asked what the material was she would not know, when this particular gown was described in detail she could not determine which dress in the store it was- it is a very unique gown and no other gown in the store was at all similar!)
I asked who the designer was while she was trying it on and was told that it was an Illusions gown. We asked how much it was. (They were clearly charging too much for a gown that was at least 1 1/2 years old)
My sister called to ask what style number it was because we were not able to find pictures of it online (in order to show our Mom) and she was rudely told that it was a private label and would not be given that information.
So I tried calling. The owner answered and I very nicely explained that we would like the style number in order to find a picture of it so that we could show our Mom. He explained that designers create gowns special for his shop and that it is probably a coutour gown but he would check.. 10 min later after being on "hold"- meaning the phone was on the counter because I could hear him answering other phones and rustling around with papers etc... I was told that it was private label. I explained that I already knew it was Illusions, please give me the item/sytle number. He said he could not do that. I expressed that it was illegal for him to withold this information (as I was told to do so by Weddingbee member response to a post where I asked for help finding this same gown). And he blew up at me (he had been extremely rude the entire phone call as it was) and told me to get a lawyer and HUNG UP ON ME!
I called back 5 min later and explained that I did not apprecaite being hung up on, that I was attempting to have a civil conversation about a gown that we wished to purchase, however we wanted to see a picture of it so that we could show our Mom. He then stated he did not appreciate being told it was illegal, that he has been in the business for 15 years and this is the way he runs his business, that he would be having a 1 day sale after Christmas where the gown would be 20% off and if bought in full would be tax free as well. I asked again nicely for the style number. He then very rudely told me to F off and called me the B word! I quickly stated that I would be reporting him to the BBB and posting reviews on every wedding website before he hung up on me, again!
So please ladies- I share this and ask you not to give this man and business your hard earned money! Not only is this shop dishonest (taking the labels out of gowns & not sharing this information with customers) they are rude, and are dishonest with their pricing because they ask for waaaay more than even the designer recommends!!