Leigh J.
Yelp
I was so excited for my bridal appointment at Happy Isles, but it turned out to be really disappointing. I never write negative reviews but really feel like this is important for customers to know. Their appointments are tough to get and cost $185 just to walk in the door. While expensive, I get that their inventory is designer and rare. I saw a gown on their IG that was at their LA shop, and asked if they could ship it to the NY location. They said they could for $150. Both the $150 and $185 don't go towards any purchase. While I fully understood these policies, I think it's obvious that $335 is an extraordinary amount to spend just to walk in the door and try on a dress. However, I happily paid as I was so excited about the dress.
The in-store associates, Courtney and Leah, were lovely and I have nothing bad to say about the shop experience. I will note that there were only a handful of wedding gown options so don't expect a super extensive collection. You can check most of them out beforehand on their IG.
I adored the dress when I tried it on, and asked if they could put it on a hold while I went to another appointment next door immediately after, with intentions to purchase it within a few hours. Putting the dress on hold would be another $300, which does not get refunded. After already spending $335, I found it too difficult to put another $300 towards this and potentially spend $635 with nothing to show for it.
When I contacted them a few hours later to purchase the gown, they told me they sold it to the person whose appointment was after mine. Of course, this was devastating as I spent months waiting for this appointment, felt like I finally found the one, and invested so much money which amounted to nothing. When I said this to them and asked at least for a refund on the $150 shipping I paid for another bride's dress, they declined. I will absolutely admit that they communicated the risk in not buying the dress on the spot, but it feels very unfair to have one customer pay $150 for shipping just to have another customer buy it immediately. I paid for them to sell it to someone else.
I expected better from a place with such a good reputation in the NY fashion and wedding world. I really hope they reconsider their policies and offer some sort of reimbursement for situations like this. It's really frustrating and surprising given their positive image, and exactly what's so disheartening about the wedding industry. Picking a vintage gown should be such a cool opportunity, and they could at least take the "loss" for the sake of decent customer service.
