Seamstress Shelly

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...