‘I Feel Like I Kind of Got Ripped Off’: New York City Woman Paid $6,000 for a Wedding Dress. It Came Out Looking Uneven.
A reception dress is optional for brides, but all eyes will be on it when guests arrive for dinner. Franki Bartoli (@frankibartoli__) recalled shopping for her second wedding dress in a hurry. When Bartoli commissioned Undone by Kate for her reception dress, the end result left much to be desired.
Recently, a woman went viral on social media after her designer from NYC made her a custom dress that looked like it came from Shein. Although the exposé didn’t disclose the designer’s real name, other women have recently come out online to share their experience with Undone by Kate, a custom bridal shop.
Bartoli is one of these women. In 2024, she was in a rush to find a second wedding dress for her reception. She was going to wear a ballgown for the main event. However, she figured that it would be difficult to move in her wedding dress during the reception.
She only had eight weeks before her wedding, and the ready-to-wear dresses available didn’t suit her tastes. But then, she checked Instagram, and that’s when she found Undone by Kate. She wanted a fitted, corset-type dress with lace, and Kate charged her $150 for a consultation and a sketch.
“I was thrilled by the initial plans and everything that we were going to do,” Bartoli said. The former bride said that Kate immediately sent her four fitting dates. Because this was a rushed job, Bartoli understood that she was going to be charged higher and agreed to the price.
The dress had too many issues
“We ended up going with a corset that she had previously already made for someone,” Bartoli alleged. Although she wasn’t too pleased, as she’s paying for a customized dress, Kate reminded her that theey were working on short notice. Because of the time constraints, Bartoli agreed.
But right after the first fitting, she was already charged $1,200.
By the second fitting, the dress was already coming together. But Bartoli did have several concerns about the craftsmanship. The zipper at the back of the corset looked crooked. Moreover, there was no fish-eye hook on top of the zipper to keep the fabric from awkwardly sticking out. Aside from the structural changes, Bartoli wanted Kate to put some lace on her chest area so that it would match the bottom part of the dress.
When the third fitting rolled around, two weeks before the wedding, the modifications were still not implemented. The zipper was still oddly curved, and the lace was still not attached to the corset. Bartoli also noticed that as she was walking around, she could hear the crunching of the beads of the dress.
“It was not hemmed to the length I needed, which I’m also 90% sure that we went over in the second try on,” Bartoli stated. But to make matters worse, Kate informed Bartoli at this time that nothing could be done with the zipper anymore.
“And so, she heavily convinced me that they had to leave the zipper the way that it was because it was so reinforced, that if basically, I moved wrong and they changed the zipper, it wouldn’t hold,” Bartoli recalled. But she had already completed three payments and only had two weeks before her wedding. She just went along with the designer’s suggestions, given her circumstance.
It costs too much for it to look cheap
Bartoli said they had to squeeze another appointment in just so the team could finally put lace on her corset. When time came for her to pick the dress up, Bartoli noticed that the lace on her bust looked uneven. One side had more lace flaring out than the other.
“Looking back, it does look like it was pretty cheaply made,” Bartoli commented. In total, she said she paid roughly $6,000 for the dress. For the price she paid, she expected better craftsmanship from the store.
“I feel like I kind of got ripped off,” she added. Bartoli also claimed that the store came off “pushy” with the payments. Nevertheless, she had no personal issue with Kate, calling her “sweet.” Despite not being completely satisfied with how her dress turned out, Bartoli still rated the experience a seven out of ten.
(featured images: Franki Bartoli)
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
Follow The Mary Sue:
