L’Mode Bridal Alterations Specialist

I bought my wedding dress at a sample sale from Mariposa Bridal in Anaheim. My dress had been a VERY well-used sample; it had holes in the lace from the try-on clips, it was super dirty, and the zipper was broken. In addition, it fit me, but just barely. Long story short, I knew it was going to need a lot of work. I found Dorie on Yelp; she was responsive and easy to schedule an appointment with. As others have mentioned, she works out of her condo in Tustin, but she provided clear and easy directions and her working space is set up nicely. Dorie seemed unphased by the amount of damage repair my dress needed and gave me a couple of options for ways to let the dress out; she showed me that my dress presented some challenges because of an all-lace section at the top of the back of my dress. We settled on one of the options, which Dorie called "major reconstruction" in her notes =) I had no idea what to expect in terms of cost, but the amount that Dorie quoted me seemed reasonable considering the amount that needed to be done (repair, shortening, adding a bustle, and the "major reconstruction"). I went back a few months later and everything was great - the holes were repaired, the length and fit were perfect, the zipper worked, and I think Dorie had done a bit of work to the top of my dress to ensure no "boob gap". The only issue was that the "major reconstruction" option I had chosen required adding panels on the sides of my dress and Dorie had not covered the added panels with lace (I didn't take any photos of me wearing the dress at that appointment, but you can kind of see the panels in the photo of my dress on the hanger). We hadn't explicitly discussed that at my initial appointment and the way it looked might have been ok for some people, but I really didn't like how much the added panels stood out without lace. Luckily I had purchased some extra lace from the manufacturer through Mariposa and Dorie hadn't used it for anything else yet, so I asked if she could use the lace to cover the added panels - Dorie charged me a bit more for that (which was fine with me) and sent me off. At my final appointment with Dorie, I was thrilled to see that she'd had enough lace to fully cover the side panels and you would never even know they were there! Everything was perfect - I loved my dress so much! I've attached a couple photos from my final appointment with Dorie and from my wedding day =) Overall, I'd highly recommend Dorie to any bride, whether your dress needs a little bit of work or a "major reconstruction" like mine did. She was very communicative and easy to work with and got everything I needed done in plenty of time for my wedding. Dorie is clearly very good at what she does and she's trustworthy - your gown will be in good hands with Dorie! Thank you Dorie for making this whole process very easy for me and for turning my beat up sample dress into the dress of my dreams!

This woman saved my dress (and my sanity!)! I had gotten my dress tailored in NC where I currently live, but the tailor really messed up my dress. I was stressed and was about to give up on the dress until I came into her lovely shop. I felt crazy because of how much my prior tailor fought me on my concerns, but within a minute of looking at my dress, she knew everything that was wrong with it. Fixed all of it, and I felt so sexy and beautiful! I got so many compliments that night and my husband was VERY pleased! 😉 Yes she’s pricey, but at that point, it was worth it. If you can afford it, she’s a guaranteed professional and fairy godmother!

My experience at L'Mode Bridal was incredible and Dorie was a true LIFE saver with my wedding gown! I had lost about 30 pounds and my dress was hanging off of me. As you can see from the photos, my dress had a low back and open bust line, making it very difficult to alter correctly. I had taken it to a previous OC "tailor," who shall remain nameless. She promised me the moon and stars, and was sadly disappointed. Although that tailor had said she could, "bring the dress in no problem," I picked it up a month later only to find it was still utterly hanging off me. (The first photo I uploaded was taken the day I picked up my "altered," dress.) With only 2 months before the wedding and serious issues to my dress, I had a full break down. One of my friends recommended LaMode Bridal and within an hour of making the call, I was in Dorie's studio. She heard my story and immediately squeezed me in. Her, "bed side manner," when dealing with an upset bride was amazing, by the way. Dorie informed me that the dress would have to be taken apart and re-built (which is what I expected initially.) I asked Dorie if she had the time to fix the dress and she eased my mind telling me, "No problem!" <--- and she wasn't lying. Although the alterations were a little more than expected, I will say it was much cheaper (and better) than paying for a new dress. Considering Dorie re-built the entire back line of my gown, I will say the price was definitely worth the work. I picked my dress up less than a month later and it fit like a DREAM! Because I got such a good feeling from Dorie, I ended up taking my husband's suit to her as well as my mother in law's two dresses even before I saw my dress. We weren't disappointed, as she did a great job on all three! TLDR? Dory is fantastic. Her attention to detail and communication is fantastic. She is straightforward in costs and extremely pleasant to work with. So worth it! Thank you Dorie for all of your amazing help!

I purchased a sample size wedding dress at another location, but the shop referred me to Dorie at L'Mode Bridal for alterations and fittings. Dorie was fabulous! She met with me over a year before my wedding and stored my dress free of charge. I purchased a sample size dress (10) and it had to be altered to size (0). I was never limited to a specific number of fittings like a standard dress shop. Each time Dorie and I met she would give me another appointment to attend and continue to store my dress. She told me exactly what to do in order to make sure the dress fit perfectly. A timeline for each fitting was created and I would have a new task to complete such as finding my shoes, determining which inserts to use for a bra, etc. She never made any of the alterations final until I would try the dress on in the shop and give my approval. The final product of the dress was beautiful and it looked like it had been made for me all along. You never would have known just how many alterations had to be done. One day when I was in Dorie's shop I saw a dress that I loved and wanted to use as a potential option for my rehearsal dinner. The dress was too big, but Dorie offered to size it and alter it for me. The dress was made originally by Dorie and was nothing that I could have found in the stores. Again she met with me a number of times to alter this dress and in the end it looked like it was made for me. Dorie's work was impeccable and every alteration that was made was beyond precise. Not only did she store all of my dresses for free for over a year, but she allowed me an unlimited number of fittings. I truly enjoyed working with her and will continue to bring my dress alterations to her shop in the future. Thank you Dorie!!