Trudy’s Special Occasions

I am writing this review for Trudy’s on
400 Chestnut St.
Mifflinburg, PA
(I think someone posted the address incorrectly on Unilocal)
So, if you don’t want to read the review, here are the highlights:
— great prices! :)
— nice location
— kind lady
— alters dresses not bought from her shop
— unsavory expected callback time
— hard to get a hold of because she’s the only person who works in the shop
— fast with alters but waits until last minute to finish
I had a wedding dress that I bought from a different store that needed to be altered. I got the recommendation from a coworker who knew a local bride that actually used Trudy for her alterations without a hitch. At this cozy store filled with prom and bridesmaid dresses, I first met Trudy who was super friendly and welcoming. I called ahead to make sure it was okay to come in. It’s a good thing to call ahead because I later found out that she is the only person who runs the store! Don’t forget to bring the shoes you will be wearing so she can get the length right.
I brought in my wedding dress three months before my June wedding to make sure she had ample time to work on it and I would not be going crazy with last minute details. She dove right in and took note of what I needed done and pinned the places that needed to be hemmed. She gave me an estimated date of when I should expect a call from her. She had one of those big desk calendars to keep her straight and saw her pencil me in for a scheduled call. I left the shop and felt like I was in good hands and marked my calendar as well.
It was the week of (beginning of May) when I was supposed to expect her call, which also had been the same month as prom season. Trudy had not followed up with me yet. I gave her a call during business hours and it always rang enough times for me to leave a message. I finally left a message after days of trying, gave her the weekend to get back to me, but still no call the week after that. I finally called some weekday and got her. By this time, it was the end of May. She explained to me that she was very busy with wedding season starting and prom season in full swing. I was holding back my anger and tried pressing her with questions of when she would call me back for the second fitting. She assured me that it would get done. She looked and asked what my wedding date was and said that she had plenty of time to have it done by then. She asked me when I would like to come in next, so I told her what would work for me. By this point I was so frustrated with what she saw was miscommunication, which was really a delay in contact. A nice heads up would have been nice to know that she did not forget about me. I kept contemplating on taking it to another place but with limited amount of time and her already knowing what I wanted, I did not and could not find a place that would take my dress because I bought it elsewhere.
Let me tell ya, I did not get my dress back until THREE DAYS before the wedding. Good thing I had off a week before my wedding AND I was in town. My wedding was not held locally, so the fact that I had these days off were helpful. Brides, beware! I noticed this is how she works. My coworker who is getting married is experiencing the same thing. She is getting married next weekend, she came in SIX MONTHS before her big day, she experienced the no callback, the trying to get a hold of her, and also her groom and groomsmen’s stuff was not even ordered yet. Their stuff should be arriving… hmmm, let’s see… THREE DAYS before the wedding! Not to mention, these guys were measured FOUR MONTHS before her big day. Way to make a bride worry!
The exciting upside is that her prices are great! Got my extremely difficult lace dress length shortened, bustle created, adjusted straps (that had tiny beads on it), bra cups sewn in, and other minor things all for under $ 100! She even did a last minute hem on my brother’s pants for the wedding for five bucks! Love iiiiit.
I honestly wish the best to her, but making a bride worry like this is too stressful!