Ok, I can't seem to do paragraphs. Sorry. I am so excited to say I found my dress and even more so since I am a plus size of 24W and had a good experience with the process. I found an old thread very useful when it came to what stores to try so I thought I'd give a brief review of the stores I went to and then show some pictures below.
1. First was David's Bridal in Lombard. I had a good experience. Went on a Wednesday evening with an appointment. The gal was helpful, the dresses were inexpensive (almost all dresses under $1,000) and they had plenty to try on. I came with a list from the online site and they had about half of the dresses from the list in the store, and in a size I could try. Overall a good experience.
2. Next was The House Of Brides in Glen Ellyn. Same Wednesday evening with an appointment. The consultant was less enthusiastic. She told us to pull our own dresses and didn't even ask about what styles I was looking for. They did have a very good amount of dresses to try on. I found an almost dress there. The prices were a little more expensive than David's but not too high (ball park of $1,000). Overall I would say fair for good quantity, good quality, decent price, but lack of service.
3. Next was Eva's of Orland Park on 94th. This was a waste of my time. I had emailed to ask about plus size selection of was told they carried plus size samples and were having a trunk sale. They consider 14 and 16 plus size. I can't get into those sizes. The consultant didn't seem to be taking my tastes into consideration. I think she just put me in every dress they had that came close to my size. My only poor experience.
4. Next was Eva's International on LaGrange Road in Orland Park. Very similar in name very different stores. They have signs posted for no photography. They were the only place I came across that. Christina was my consultant and she was good. Very efficent, not a lot of chit chat, but knew her stuff. They had a lot of plus size samples. I found at least eight in my size and taste to try on. They did run the most expensive of all the stores ($1,500 was about average) but they did have a range from under $1000 to over $4000. I also found an almost dress there. I would recommend this place if you have it in the budget.
5. Finally we went to House of Brides in Orland Park. We showed up on a Saturday without an appointment. I was hoping to try on the first almost dress I saw in Glen Ellyn and compare it to the almost dress from Eva's that I had just tried on. Maryann K was my consultant and she was wonderful. They had a similar good selection as the Glen Ellyn store and same prices. Maryann pulled more dresses for me to try on while we were looking for the specific dress. We found the Specific dress at the same time as another one by the same designer, Unforgettable by Bonny. I loved the second dress better and It's the one I went with. Overall I would highly recommend this store and Maryann K.
Now I have only ordered the dress and haven't gone through the full alterations and getting the dress in on time at any of these stores, needless to say. I will update when that time comes. Now for the pics.