Frequently Asked Questions
Hours and directions
Shopping
What
kind of dresses do you have?
What
is the price range of your dresses?
Are all
of the dresses used?
Do I need
an appointment?
What
should I expect at my appointment?
Why do
I have to wear gloves?
How
many people should I bring with me?
Can I take
pictures?
Will
you hold a dress for me?
Are the
prices negotiable?
How
long do dresses "hang around"?
Can
you let me know when a dress I like comes in?
Do
you have accessories for sale?
How
do I know if the dress can be altered to fit?
Can
I order a dress I like in a different size or color?
Can I rent a
dress?
How
often do you get new dresses?
Selling
What
does consignment mean?
What
is the fee for selling my dress?
Do
I need an appointment to bring my dress in?
Does
my dress have to dry cleaned?
Will you
take my dress?
How
much will you sell my dress for?
How
long do you keep my dress?
What
if my dress doesn't sell?
Purchasing,
Altering, and Caring for your Dress
What
forms of payment do you accept?
Does
my dress need to be cleaned before I wear it?
Will you
store my dress?
How
do I get my dress altered?
Can I return my dress?
Can
I resell my dress after the wedding?
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What kind
of dresses do you have?
We
offer new and gently used pre-owned gowns, organic hemp and
silk gowns, and designer reconstructed wedding gowns in sizes 0 to 18.
With an occasional
vintage or couture exception, all of our dresses were made within the
last
five years and are current styles. We do not have any
bridesmaids
dresses or evening gowns (unless it was worn as a wedding dress!).
Most of our gowns are white, ivory, blush, or champagne.
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What
is the price range of your dresses?
Our dresses range from $200 to over $3000, with the largest selection
usually between $450 and $800. The prices depend on a number of factors, including the
designer,
the age, and the number of times a gown has been worn.
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Are all of the
dresses used?
The
majority of the dresses are pre-owned, but many
have
never been worn. Sometimes the wedding was canceled or
postponed,
but in most cases the consignor is happily married, she simply chose
another dress for the wedding (she changed her mind or there was a
change in date, venue, weight, etc etc etc.). If a dress has
been
worn in a wedding, it has already been drycleaned and inspected.
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Do I need an
appointment? To
serve you better, we do require appointments at all times.
Appointments are available Tuesday through Saturday and can be made by
calling us at (206) 783-8700 or filling out our online appointment form.
We check messages frequently and make every effort to accomodate
same day appointments (though 24 hours notice is greatly appreciated
when possible!).
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What
should I expect at my appointment?
Expect
to relax and have fun! When you arrive we'll ask you to slip
your
shoes off (slippers available) and don a pair of cotton gloves for
handling dresses. You are allowed to browse all of the gowns that we have, and a dedicated consultant will be on
hand to offer suggestions based on your preferences. There is
no
limit to the number of dresses that you can try on. You will have a
private dressing room and your consultant will help you with all the
zippers, layers, and buttons. Most appointments take about an
hour to an hour and a half.
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Why do I have
to wear gloves?
Unlike
most salons, we do not have samples, so the dresses you are trying on
are the ones that will actually be worn in a wedding--maybe
yours. Bridal fabrics are often delicate (and expensive!) and
too
much handling and even too much cleaning can leave damage. Most of the gowns are on
consignment, too, so we want to respect the women who have trusted
their wedding dresses to us.
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How
many people should I bring with me?
You
are welcome to bring as many people along as you like, though we are
small boutique and it may get a little crowded with groups over five.
Many women find it helpful to come to the first visit alone
or with one friend and then come back
for a second appointment with additional friends and family after they
have
narrowed their selection to a few gowns.
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Can I take pictures?
Absolutely!
If you come by yourself, we'll help you. We are
also happy
to provide you with all of the information we have on any gowns that
you like.
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Will you hold
a dress for me?
A
wedding dress is a big purchase, and we respect that you may want to
"sleep on it." We can hold a dress for three days with a
non-refundable deposit of 20%. The dress will be put in a
garment
bag in the back and no one else will be allowed to try it on or
purchase it until the hold period is up. If you decide to go
ahead with the purchase, the deposit is applied to the cost of the
dress.
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Are the prices
negotiable?
The
prices of the dresses are firm. When a gown is placed on
consignment, we negotiate a price that balances the interests of the
seller with those of our clients and reflects the condition and age of
the particular gown. If you would like, we will only show you
dresses at your appointment that are within your specified price range.
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How long do
dresses "hang around"?
There is no good answer to this question! The average is
about
three months, but individudal dresses vary widely. Some
dresses
are sold the same day they are dropped off and some dresses take nearly
a year to find the right home. All we can honestly say is that "if it's meant to be, it will be"!
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Can
you let me know when a dress I like comes in?
Due
to the volume of requests, we regret that we cannot provide individual
notifications. If
we don’t have what you
are looking for in stock, we encourage you to follow us on Facebook
for updates.
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Do you
have accessories for sale?
Yes, we have a wide selection of veils, including hair ornaments and
birdcage veils.
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How do I
know if the dress can be altered to fit me?
Most
wedding gowns, even those ordered brand new, need some alterations,
including hemming and bustling. In most cases we can provide
guidance on what sort of alterations a gown will need and the level of
difficulty. If the gown is going to need
significant work or there is a question as to whether or not the gown
can be altered at all, we will work with you to make arrangements for a
seamstress to examine it before a purchase is finalized.
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Can I order
a dress I like in a different size or color?
Except
for the organic gowns from Conscious Clothing, no. We only
have
the dress that is on display. If there is something you love
we
will do our best to keep an eye out for you.
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Can I rent a dress?
We
are not currently able to offer rentals. We will take most
clean
gowns back on consignment within sixteen months of its purchase and
give you an additional 10% of the proceeds. Please ask your consultant
for more information on a specific gown.
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How often
do you get new dresses?
We
receive new dresses every week. The fun (and frustration) of
consignment is that we never know what is going to arrive!
We do our best to post each gown on our Facebook page when it arrives or if the price is lowered so that you can monitor what comes in after your appointment.
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What does
consignment mean?
Putting
your dress on consignment means that you are authorizing us to sell
your gown for you. We will do all of the work setting
appointments,
advertising, handling payment, etc. When the gown sells we
send
you a check. If the gown does not sell, it is given back to
you
or other arrangements are made (see below). We do not purchase
gowns directly, and we do not know of any shops that are purchasing
gowns directly.
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What
is the fee for selling my dress?
There
is no fee for placing your gown on consignment. If we sell
your
dress, we split the proceeds 50/50 (unless the gown was purchased from
us, in which case you receive 60%). If we are not able to sell
your
dress, there is no charge.
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Do I
need an appointment to bring my dress in? Yes,
please make an appointment to bring your dress in so that we can ensure
that a someone will be available to examine it and answer any questions
you might have. The easiest way to make an appointment for
consignment is to email "info@blueskybridal.com" with a photo of your
dress and the information requested on the consignment page.
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Does my
dress have to dry cleaned?
If
the dress has been worn or is a sample gown, it will need to be cleaned
prior to being shown on consignment. We have partnered with
Lapels to offer discounted eco-friendly dry cleaning, or you can take
it
to the cleaner of your choice prior to dropping it off.
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Will you take my
dress?
We
take clean wedding dresses on a space available basis that are less
than four years old and in like new condition. To save a
trip, we
recommend first emailing a photo or two to info@blueskybridal.com to
see if the dress is something that we are able to accept.
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How
much will you sell my dress for?
We
need to physically inspect your dress before we can suggest a price,
because it depends quite a bit on the condition of the individual gown.
The general rule of thumb is that a pristine, once-worn gown
would
be priced at 50% of new retail.
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How long do
you keep my dress?
We arrange to keep dresses for three to eight months at a time.
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What if my
dress doesn't sell?
At
the end of your consignment period if you haven't received a check from
us, you will need to call or email and make arrangements for your
dress. In some cases we can renew the consignment
for a few more months (some dresses receive lots of interest but just
take longer to find the right bride). If the dress is not
renewed, you will need
to pick it up within three weeks or email us permission to donate the
dress to Brides Against Breast Cancer. If you choose to
donate
it, we will include your address with the shipment so that BABC can
send you a receipt.
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What
forms of payment do you accept?
We accept cash, personal checks with ID, Mastercard, and Visa.
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Does
my dress need to be cleaned before I wear it?
Dresses
are drycleaned before they are placed on consignment and are checked
over and spot cleaned before they go home. If the dress has
been
on consignment for a few months or has had a large number of "try ons"
we will have it drycleaned again. You will most likely
want to have the dress pressed after alterations (check with your
seamstress), but it should not need additional cleaning.
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Will you store my
dress?
We
are happy to store your dress for a week after it is purchased.
If you need us to keep it longer there is a small weekly
storage
fee or we can make special arrangement for long term storage.
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How do I get
my dress altered?
When
you purchase your dress we will provide you with a short list of
independent seamstresses in the Seattle area that consistently receive good reviews.
To avoid rush fees, you will want to contact them at least
two
months in advance of your wedding.
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Can
I return my dress?
Because gowns are on consignment or special ordered, we regret that we
cannot accept returns or exchanges.
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Can
I resell my dress after the wedding?
We
would be delighted if you are willing to pass the gown on to another
bride and offer an additional 10% on gowns purchased from us.
Please contact us for additional details.
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