I have been here 3 times in the past year... each time I've been helped by Pauline. She seems to be the only English speaker in the store, so when there are other groups in the store at the same time, she gets busy. I just bought my wedding dress here, but I had been to David's Bridal, Casablanca, Princess Brides, Bridal boutique, and a few here in Cali. Masako's had the best service! Their clientele is mostly Japanese, so there aren't as many customers waiting in the dressing rooms or families crowding the mirrors. read more

Pauline was awesome. Very helpful. I find this place to be a hole I the wall as its hidden. Parking kinda sux though. If you are local, pauline would be best to help you. But...shes always busy. All the other ppl who work there seem that they only can talk japanese. I seen many japanese couples there. read more

My sister is getting married so we scheduled an appointment with Masako's to go dress shopping. First of all, since my sister had made an appointment to go in, you'd think they would minimally have enough employees to adequately service our party. Wrong. Not only did they seem surprised when we walked in and told them that we had an appointment, but the only person "helping" us was also doing a fitting with another customer, which meant that the "service" we received was spotty at best. The only "service" we actually got the whole hour that we were there was being handed dresses after having to ask for them several times. No assisting with putting on the dress, no pinning the dress so that the bride-to-be could see how it would fit in her size. If you're paying a couple grand for a dress, great service is definitely not too much to ask for. We also browsed through the bridesmaid dresses and their selection looks way too gaudy and NOT cute. Thankfully, our next stop was Princess Brides, which was totally on the other end of the service spectrum from Masako's. My sister ended up saying yes to a dress from Princess Brides, and I'm so glad she did! They deserve the money much more than Masako's! read more

On my search for my wedding dress I came across Masako. I called on Friday & was able to make an appointment for Saturday. My first stop was Bijou & I thought I had found the dress but I wanted to see what Masako had to offer before I counted them out. My appointment was scheduled for 3:30 but I was already around the corner so I called to ask if they could take me early. They said they could so we headed over. No parking in the parking lot so we parked on the street & I fed the meter for an hour. I was probably there for 5 minutes. We walk in & Zoe was my "helper". Not much help. She seemed really stand offish, not very talkative. Kinda snooty in my opinion but she was not dressed very professionally. She pulled 2 dresses. Neither of them worked for me. Honestly I think she said a total of 20 words to me in the whole time I was there. When we left I asked my friend if she found that experience as awkward as I did. Lol she agreed. Definitely wouldn't recommend them to other brides. read more

Girlfriend just got engaged and I was in town for a quick visit so we decided to do last minute wedding dress shopping. They were able to accommodate us with a last minute appointment. Zoe was super helpful and patient with us. She didn't pressure us at all. Thought the selection and prices were reasonable. We are fans and plan to be back. read more

Rented a wedding dress for my best friend wedding it was gorgeous made by a Ukrainian designed and got very good discount on the rental. The staff was very helpful and got us it the same day. read more

This review is for the Kimono Studio. My husband and I decided to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary with a Kimono Studio photo session this past Sunday (1/21/18) and there are no words that can express how happy and pleased we are with our experience! Masako Formals is the perfect example of おもてなし (omotenashi or true Japanese hospitality)! Kumi San and her staff are so professional, kind, and hospitable. They go out of thier way to ensure every detail of your makeup, hair, and kimono dressing is paid close attention to for an unforgettable & fun photo session experience. My make-up artist did an awesome job with my make-up & hair! I absolutely loved how pretty she made me look and how it made me feel like a Japanese princess! She was very kind and easy to talk to and I really enjoyed my time with her & everything about her! Our photographers were so friendly & professional too! They were so easy and fun to work with! We would definitely recommend Masako Formals to our family, friends, or anyone looking to do a kimono photo session! If you want to experience おもてなし(omotenashi) in Hawaii, Masako Formals is the place to go! Kumi San and her staff are awesome!くみさんとMasako Formals、親切なおもてなしを、ありがとうございました!!! ほんとありがとうございました!!! (Kumi San and Masako Formals, thank you very much for your hospitality!) read more

I really loved my experience at Masako Formals! I was a walk in customer and treated really nicely. I didn't have Pauline as a sales person and still it was a great service and no language issues (this is referring to the other reviews). In fact I had Kumi who was really nice and helpful. read more

I really liked this store. The service was great and the people were friendly. Once I walked in I was greeted and they were very friendly. The lady that helped me was very attentive and patient. She let me try on lots of dresses and helped me pick out dresses I would like. The dressing rooms were big. Having big dressing rooms helps a lot so that my friends can actually fit in the room with me to help me put on my wedding dress. Then when you have your dress on there's a nice stage with a 3 perspective mirror so you can easily see how your dress looks all the way around. They were having a sale of whatever was in stock and even if I special order a dress they would give me percentage off as well. So overall I was very pleased with my experience here. No complaints. Definitely a place to try out when looking around. read more

This place is great. I ordered my wedding dress here a few weeks ago after trying dresses on at multiple stores. Pauline is wonderful to work with and will help you as best she can. I look forward to my dress coming in hopefully in 6 more months. I didn't feel how other reviewers did about the place only catering to asians, but I almost didn't go here because of reading some of the reviews, however I am glad I did because the selection was great, and the prices were the best I had found for the same dresses. Pauline picked my dress from the back and i loved it. I called a place I had thought I wanted to buy from and they didn't offer me the price Pauline did until I had to tell them I would buy somewhere else for that price. But Pauline offered the price up front. That is an honest business woman. Give this stop a try, you won't be let down! read more

My worst dress shopping experience thus far (and I've been to 5 bridal shops). I went on a Sunday with my mom and arrived shortly before another group of 3 women. When we walked in, the lady sitting at the counter looked up and asked (without greeting us), "are you together?", motioning to the group behind us. We said no and she let out a groan, then stated that she was by herself that day. She asked us to fill out an information form, which I did, but she basically ignored us after that. We started browsing through the dresses and tried a few on (without her assistance), but left after 10-15 minutes because we got absolutely no service. I decided to give the shop another chance (mainly because they were having a 30% off promotion from the bridal expo) and went back the next day. The same lady was there, but there were also 3 other people sitting behind the counter. I was greeted this time, but that was it, no service or asking what I was looking for, if I needed help, etc. I browsed through the dresses again but left after 5 minutes of being ignored. Can't really comment on the quality of their dresses, but from what I saw in the short time I was there, I didn't see anything I really liked. read more

one thing you got you understand about masakos is that 99% of their business is PRE-BOOKED in japan (hence the name masako) if you walk in and especially if you don't speak japanese you may not get the best or kindest of service, they was great working on my wifes dress though. read more

My first impression was not very good when the woman answering the phone told me that I was running late with finding a wedding dress (need at least 6 months, important part of the wedding, blah blah). But I decided to keep Masako Formals on my list of wedding dress shops anyway. Glad I did. It was the only dress shop with tea-length wedding dresses - I was hoping for even shorter ones, but oh well. After this shop, I was super hopeful that I could find a dress at a good deal; there was a discontinued and heavily discounted wedding dress just in my size, still within budget after estimated alterations. I ended up getting my dress at Bijou Bridals. Still good I stopped by Masako! read more

This place is very easy to find with ample parking in front. The first time I visited, I was searching for my wedding dress. Inside it's was clean and seemed organized. After trying what seemed like the 20th dress, I gave up. Although, I did not find what I was looking for, the personnel, Pauline, was so helpful and sweet and really knew what she was doing. Today I visited again with a friend to help with her search for her wedding dress. Among all the employees present, only one person in the front greeted us, Pauline. She helped my friend search the entire store and pulled dresses one after the other to try. Even dresses from the sale rack were searched. Once again, Pauline did a wonderful job. She was not a pushy sales person at all! And my friend happily found her dress! Although they do have a huge selection of dresses, just as anywhere else, it's the help and knowledge that makes you comfortable with your purchase. I would go back again just for Pauline's customer service. read more

I got two of my wedding dresses from here. Pua who was working at that time was super helpful recommending which style suit the best for my body shape. Even though a lot of people have specific style that they wanna wear and don't wanna try something else but I was glad that I was open to anything because the style you like doesn't always fits your shape. Zoe and Mariah were really friendly helping me when I went back for alterations. Kim did perfect job on alteration so I was super happy with how they came out. They have professional opinion and knowledge about all different dress brand and the store has so many variety of dresses lower end to high end designer dresses from New York, Italy and Spain etc. I totally recommend to stop by! I fell in love with my feather wedding dress and fitted satin mermaid dress. It made my day on my wedding day! read more

Pauline at Masako Formals really did a great job in helping me find my dream wedding dress. I told her what I was looking for and she brought out several dresses, all of which I liked, but the one I ended up purchasing was more beautiful than I could have ever imagined! She was so nice and polite and really wanted to help. The store itself was very clean and bright. Another thing I liked was that you can just walk-in without having to make an appointment. I walked in a couple times and did not have to wait. read more

Talk about "Pretty Woman" scenario. My sister & I went there to look at wedding dresses. I guess a Japanese couple just left there all dressed for their wedding, since the limo was waiting for them & some of the employees were standing outside helping them. Two of the employees were standing in front of the entrance "guarding" the door. They looked at us & rudely said "yes", I asked if we could come in to look at some of their dresses, they asked if we had a reservation, by then, I felt like they didn't even want us to go in the store, I said "no" & they didn't even move from the doorway. I told them forget it & we left. Mind you, we were not wheeling a shopping cart & talking to ourselves, we were dressed in jeans & shirt, my sister is very fashionable, carrying her designer purse, we came in a nice car, not a BWM or anything high end, but that shouldn't matter. I would NEVER step foot in that shop again. There are A LOT of other formal dress shops out there, that provided better service. read more

I bought my wedding dress from Masako Formals in June 2010. I would suggest making an appointment if you're not Japanese. It seemed like Pauline was the only salesperson that works with English speaking customers. I just walked in, so I was lucky that she only had one customer that morning, and worked with me afterwards. She was awesome. I told her what I was looking for - and after trying on about 4 or 5 dresses, I found the ONE. AND it fit off the rack so I got a discounted price. After alterations, I still paid less than $1000 for my dress. They don't have too much of a selection compared to other stores, but what they had were beautiful. read more

Great experience!!! I had already found THE dress I wanted but was not willing to pay the $3,000 bucks the original shop was asking. I found a similar dress by a designer that Masako carried. Although they did not have the dress in stock, they were able to locate a dress by the same designer in the color I wanted to show me the exact color the dress would be, and they called the designer that day to ask about making alterations (removing beading, etc) from the dress that I didn't want. I had to go back the next day with my shoes to get correctly fitted and bought my dress that weekend.....they had AMAZING customer service and were extremely friendly. I would highly recommend stopping by and checking out Masako Formals. read more

Okay so I went to almost every bridal shop on the island and Masako's was by far the best experience. BUT you have to see Pauline!!! She is the best! Very attentive and so concerned about what I liked and what I want (big difference when compared with other shops). She really takes her time with you and bends over backwards too. There was a dress that I wanted to try on and no one on the island had it except for this store. And there were two other dresses by the same designer that I wanted to try on. They had ordered a bunch of samples that had not come in yet so she said she would check to see if those 2 samples were on the list. They weren't. But since she thought they were pretty too, she talked her boss into letting her order one extra sample for me (without any obligation to purchase). And then she asked the designer to send the dresses "as ready", rather than in one shipment, so my sample had a greater chance of coming earlier. She called me as soon as it came in (and oh....was it gorgeous). Then she ordered the other sample for me so I could see that one too. Seriously??? Awesome customer service! Since they had the sample in stock the dress came really fast and she called me as soon as it came in. Pauline worked with me on bustle ideas for my top 3 dresses. Plus she is honoring the Bridal Expo discount that is next month for me since I have to order my dress this week in order for it to come in on time. Wow!!!! I love love love Pauline. Some of the other stores made dress shopping uncomfortable and stressful. Pauline made the experience fun again. Thank you so much! read more

When I first went to Masako's I was very excited aside from they have alot of beautiful dresses, the salesperson named Pauline was very nice and helpful. She help me find a dress, helped me put the dress on and whatever else I needed she was there. I was happy with the dress I choose. There was a few problems and wasn't sure if I wanted to buy it but the seamstress assured me that she can fix it so I went ahead and bought the dress. When I went for my first fitting, the seamtress couldn't remember the problems with my dress and told me that she can't fix it. I was very upset. My maid of honor had to argue with her and reminded her that she assured us that she can fix the dress. Then she looks at my dress and put pins here and there and said okay no problem I can fix it. No worries. I went back for my seconf fitting and the dress is still not right. The top part of my dress is crooked and you can see my bra. There are alot of folds in the mid section, she have broken the lace at the back of the dress and it looked really bad. I told her about the boob section of the dress all crooked and she said she didn't even touch it. Well, I said it wasn't like that before. I also mentioned about the folds and she kept telling me she can't do anything about it. The seamtress was yelling at me and getting mad at me about the dress. They kept telling me don't worry it will be fixed. My wedding is 3 weeks away so I don't have any time for mistakes. The dress didn't even looked right anymore. So i told them that they should replace the dress or give me my money back. The owner can't even give me a straight answer. She kept telling me don't worry it will be fixed. She said that 2 months ago and my wedding is now 3 weeks away. I went to to look for another dress and the seamtress asked me to go to her working area then she told me, " Do you see how many dresses I'm doing right now? " Your dress is not the only dress i'm doing right now". I ttold her I understadn but I don't really care right now since my wedding is 3 weeks away. By the way, you kept telling me it's going to be fixed the next time I come in. So I was fortunate enough to find a new dress and it was even better than the last one. I really appreciated Pauline's help. The seamtress is horrible in doing her job. i just hope that she won't mess my new dress. If you are going to look for a dress go to Bella Wedding Boutique or at Vow's Bridal. They have great customer service and better treatment of customers/. read more

Pauline was 5-stars! I walked into the store with my Fiance and was ignored by the female employees! They were all Japanese speaking and catered only to the Japanese tourists. Pauline was the only English speaking employee that cared to talk to us. My fiance worked with Pauline and picked out a beautiful dress. In the meantime, i went outside and sat in the car. An older Japanese male approached me and said I cannot park in their lot. I asked why, he said customers only. I said my wife is trying on a dress! So he walked away with no apology!!! Very rude male and it made me feel that this place only caters to Japanese Tourists. Being born and raised in Hwaiii, this business ignores the local ohana. Pauline was the only "local girl" working there and the only one who helped the Hawaii residents that came into the store. If you need service with a smile and am a resident of Hawaii, go see and ask for Pauline. She's no longer here, she's at Bijou!! Congratulations Pauline!!! read more

I went to Masako Formals with one of my friends when she was looking for a wedding gown in the fall of 2001. They weren't very helpful, we left disappointed. March 2010 - my turn to get married. I stopped by with 2 of my bridesmaids to look for their dresses. We arrived around 6pm, the "open" light was still on and the door was unlocked. We were told they were closed and they reluctantly offered to show us dresses. Needless to say, we left since we were clearly bothering them. We ordered bridesmaids dresses from another store! July 2010 - I'm looking for a flower girl dress. Silly me, tries again. I walked in and no one was around. I found the flower girl dresses and looked through all of them. There was one, I was interested in, but I couldn't get a sales person to talk to me. I could paper shuffling in the back, so I know someone was there... I put the dress back and left. I will not go back. read more

Pauline at Masako Formals is absolutely outstanding! I recently purchased my wedding dress from Masako Formals but this review is really about her. Her level of care and dedication to making you happy and to making your wedding day special is unmatched. She absolutely goes above and beyond to provide themost highest level of customer service and even offered to come on her day off to assist with my dress fitting and held the store open a few minutes late for me to come in and make sure the dress was correct. There turned out to be manyproblems throughout the process of purchasing and altering my dress (problems I could never even imagine, like getting sent a dress that was made differently from the sample dress that I tried on) and Pauline completely advocated for me, called me almost daily with updates on the status of my dress, and kept me calm throughout the entire process. In the end, because of Pauline,I got sentthe dress that I loved andthe dress turned out perfectly- exactly the way that I wanted. She is genuinely one of the most caring, sweet, reliable, responsible, hardworking, and honest people that I have met and I feel so lucky to have worked with her throughout process. Not only did she do an outstanding job, but she even got others to correct their mistakes as well (and made sure I got compensated) and always came though for me. In my opinion, she deserves promotions, raises, and awards. Best person I worked with throughout my wedding experience. read more

if u come here, see Pauline. she works well with everyone and gets the job done. although the fitting was done more than 3 times, we were satisfied. i recommend u check the steaming of the dress before u leave the store. i had to get mine redone. i can say that Pauline will definitely help u. u may have to be persistant on some things like the length of the dress. it took another seamstress to see that the dress was uneven. but i'm glad i pursued it. when u get ur fitting be sure to be proactive and go to all ur fittings. it may be more times than u think but don't leave without being satisfied with what u want. read more