Dolly Couture

Hi guys, I've just been married and wanted to share an open and honest review. Dolly Couture as a company was amazing to work with. I went through the process of getting a custom gown and they were fast with designs and accommodating with ideas. My sales rep was gorgeous. When my dress arrived they'd messed up my order - after emailing them they were really fast to respond and shipped the separates to me via express and paid for a local dressmaker to fix it up (as I had a wedding date looming). The quality was really disappointing though. The dress was made in Vietnam and was basically a piece of sh*t. The hemming was crap, and on the night of my wedding the plastic on the cheap @ssed buttons had snapped off leaving me missing half the buttons which were meant to be a feature on my dress. Needless to say I refused to be photographed. In hindsight I should have just paid a local dressmaker the $900 to make my vision happen. This $900 dress could not even sustain one evening. Sorry if this honest experience offends anyone, but that was my wedding for yas!

For me, choosing a wedding dress was the easiest aspect of my wedding planning. I had been eyeing Dolly Couture dresses for about 2 years, so when the time came for me I already knew exactly which one I wanted: the Manhattan. I made an appointment at the Tarzana showroom, tried on a perfect fit, and went home to order it online. 10 weeks later it was at my doorstep, a perfect fit with no alterations required! How did I get so lucky?! I also love the Facebook integration allowing clients to tag photos and see what other brides have looked like in their custom Dolly dresses. It definitely helps get that inspiration flowing!

I was thrilled to have found Dolly Couture – a dress company that offered to make me a custom vintage-style dress in my choice of colors – but the results were disastrous. The online sales consultant was slow to return my emails. When she did return them, she was thorough and helpful. She was happy to modify a dress design for me and source two specialty fabrics. However, when I asked to get swatches of the fabric, I was told I could only get one of the fabrics. I should have known that something was wrong based on the service I received, but I had few options to get the dress I wanted. So, I took a chance on Dolly Couture based on very good online reviews. I had to pay for the entire dress upfront (rather than a deposit like most designers charge). The dress was over a month late in arriving, and, when it did, it was ill-fitted and poorly constructed. The fabric was of decent quality, but both fabrics were different colors than I requested. The custom crinoline I paid to have dyed to match was also the wrong color and did not match the dress. It was unwearable as received. Dolly offered to modify the dress, but I did not feel that we had time to modify the dress one month before my wedding given their poor history of construction and timeliness. Thankfully, I found a wearable dress at a sample sale, but I was almost without a dress due to Dolly Couture’s mistakes. I was also out almost $1,000 (not including the new dress) as they refused to refund any of my money based on their mistakes.

It was so hard to choose from Dolly's beautiful dresses but when I finally chose one, I knew I needed to make some changes. I sent them an email and they were more than accommodating. The price was incredible and I couldn't believe that the dress fit right out of the box! Everyone told me how much they loved the dress at the wedding.

Dolly made me an incredible custom dress for a fraction of the cost of most wedding dresses! We worked over email for a few days passing detailed drawings back and forth and when my dress arrived a few months later it was more than I could hope for. The quality was very good and the dress fit my wedding perfectly! Friend Dolly Thicke on Facebook if you want to see many happy happy brides!

So, I admit, I was your stereotypical "bridezilla", but hey, who isn't ;) I was skeptical at first ordering a dress online without trying it on, but once I found out you could do custom measurements, I was sold. I worked extensively back and forth with their sales associate. I decided to add capped sleeves to the dress and tweak the neckline in addition to shortening them hem an inch (I'm rather short). None of this was a problem. I always got the answer, "of course we can do that." They go above and beyond to make you feel like you are their top priority! When I got the dress I realized I had shrunk a bit due to the stress and dieting. I took it to my local seamstress to take it in and she commented on how well made it was. I thought that when I received the dress, but hearing it from a professional validated my first impression. Thanks to Dolly and her staff, I had the dress of my dreams for a great price! They really made me my perfect couture gown. I recommend Dolly Couture to any bride-to-be.

I was an early Dolly bride, before she had her Facebook page, and I dealt directly with Dolly myself. She couldn't have been friendlier or more helpful and was very patient as I vacillated between ideas and hesitated over whether to buy a dress online from another continent. In the end, I went with it and it was the best decision I ever made. The dress was extremely good quality and fantastic value, even taking into consideration the import taxes I had to pay. It was at least a size too big on the bust (fit perfectly around the waist) but this was not a problem as Dolly clearly states that you should source a local seamstress and allow time for alterations to ensure a perfect fit given that you are buying online. My dress was customised with a beautiful floor length tulle train decorated with flowers and ribbon that matched those around the hem of the dress. Beautiful as it was, this is where my only mild criticism is, because it came with 2 safety pins to attach it to the dress which were fiddly and I thought could damage the dress - I solved this by asking my seamstress to add some 'invisible' hooks and eyes which worked perfectly. All round, fantastic quality and service.

Oh yes. Dolly and her crack team (I worked with Nikki) will make you the dress of your dreams. I ordered a custom dress, and they were right on with every aspect. They helped with the timing of my order, measurements, and even a gorgeous sash. Oh yeah, and it fit (hooray). Check out her facebook for drool-worthy "real bride" photos.

I was so excited when I found Dolly Couture. She made dresses that were in the style I had dreamed of for my wedding. I was skeptical of the quality due to the reasonable cost, and the outsourcing of the dressmaking. I also was a little skeptical because a lot of the dresses on real brides on her facebook page looked ill-fitting/cheap. I decided to go with her anyway and was so excited that she could make my dream dress a reality. Dolly & her staff are very responsive and open to any idea you may throw their way. We went back and forth for maybe a month and finally nailed down exactly what I wanted. Well... it took a lot longer than expected to arrive and when it arrived it was HORRIBLE! It was a week before the wedding with little time for alterations. The quality was fantastic but the cut was all wrong. It was HUGE and the sweetheart neckline was about 5 inches too high. The sleeves were as loose as a t-shirt and they were NOT as we agreed upon (satin with lace overlay, they came as just lace) and I was pretty upset about the whole thing. I looked like a little kid playing in her grandmas closet. Luckily I was able to find someone to alter the dress on the fly and when I got it back it was stunning, but I credit the seamstress for that rather than Dolly Couture. The seamstress did remark about the fantastic quality of the dress construction though. If I did it again I would have tried to meet with Dolly in person to talk about the dress and take my measurements. No bride should have the stress I went through just 1 week before the wedding.

If you are looking for shorter, vintage style wedding dresses, Dolly Couture is the place to go. A little risky ordering online, but well worth it. Quality material, great customer service, and truly unique wedding dresses. I ordered the "Marin County" and loved it! You can even see "real brides" wearing these dresses on facebook. Made it a lot easier to imagine how I'd look in her dresses. Highly recommended.

I really loved the dress that I bought from Dolly! It's a one of a kind dress that was one of her sample dresses. She couldn't make anymore of them because the fabric was discontinued. I bought the dress at a very discounted price! It's beautiful! Dolly is really fun to work with and talk to. She completely didn't mind and even suggested that I take the dress to a tailor, so that it fit my style and myself better because it was a sample. I had such a hard time finding short wedding dresses and would often get let down by bridal shops who would tell me that short dresses aren't very popular or "in style." Dolly Couture is DEFINITELY the best place to find beautiful AND short wedding gowns!! :)