Found this gem of a store on a cruise ship stop in sydney. The saleslady really knew her clothing…read moreline and sizes, picked some things out for me that I would not of dared try and they looked absolutely fabulous on!! Wonderful clothing lines, great sales personnel (or owner? either way - absolutely the BEST!). Would highly recommend for anyone. I am in lower 50's and larger - and they actually had cool clothes that fit me as well. GREAT STORE!

I'm not one to ever write a bad review but I'm just so flabbergasted by my experience with Alyssa's…read moreFormals in Halifax that I feel I have no other choice but to warn my fellow brides about what happened to me. In October I flew from my home in Goose Bay, Labrador to Halifax to shop for my wedding dress. I had an appointment at Alyssa's formals on a Saturday. I arrived on time with a few minutes to spare but they didn't have a room ready for me or a consultant or anything. They were very busy with grads shopping for their dresses which I totally understand, however it would have been nice to have someone tend to me since I had an appointment booked in advance. I picked my own dresses off the rack and went into the dressing room to try them on. Again there was no one around to help. My mom did the best she could. After the first couple dresses we did have someone come to check on us and help when she had time. I must say she was great but extremely busy and not able to pay as much attention to us as at the previous salons we went to. I ended up finding my dream dress there. It was slightly too small, needing about an inch of the dress to be let out in order for it to fit properly. The consultant told me it could be altered to fit no problem. They never once offered to get the alterations done on site- I didn't even know this was an option. I bought the dress off the rack. Their debit machine was down and my flight was in a couple hours. I didnt have time to go to the bank and come back with cash, so I paid through etransfer and got a handwritten receipt. I was so pleased with my dress and excited to get it all fixed up to fit me properly. There's also currently no seamstress in Goose Bay so I had to travel again to get my alterations done. I decided to go to Corner Brook where my mom lives so I could visit her at the same time. I had my appointment yesterday and the seamstress tried everything she could think of. Unfortunately, the second layer of my dress didnt have any extra fabric meaning it could not be let out at all, unless I wanted to have 2 gaping panels where there was no fabric. Since you can't just make fabric appear out of thin air, she said that unfortunately I would be better off trying to find a new dress as my wedding is only 3 months away and it would be near impossible to lose the amount of weight needed in time. I was completely devastated. My wedding is only 3 months away!! The dress I was dreaming of wearing was not a realistic option! At this point I'm out $2000 and have no dress to wear. Today my mom called Alyssa's Formals to explain the situation and see what our options were. The lady we spoke with was extremely rude and defensive. It was almost as if she didn't believe what we were saying. She was laughing at us in disbelief. There are no words I can use other than arrogant and ignorant. She didn't once show any bit of empathy. She never apologized once. She continued to argue that we were wrong and it wasn't their fault. Even though the dress is brand new, never been worn, never been altered, and still has the tags on it, she said returning the dress was not an option because a) she doesnt believe that it can't be altered b) she thinks the seamstress doesn't know what she was talking about c) I didn't go to them for alterations (which they never once offered to me as an option) When my mother questioned if I could have brought it to them for alterations in the first place, she said no because I wasn't in town long enough d) she already has another dress exactly like it in her store right now and she doesnt want two of the same dresses on the rack "because that's not how they do business" e) I took the dress outside of the province I never once laid eyes on a return policy. I would completely understand not being able to return it if any of these reasons were valid, however I feel like she was making up whatever bullshit she could to get us off the phone and to keep the money from the sale. Devastated is not the word. I was left having to buy a different dress on a whim, off the rack (from a different salon, obviously!!) Because at 3 months out, I just don't have the time to order another. In saying that, I want to give a huge shout out to Kathy Evans Bridal in Corner Brook who were absolutely phenomenal. There was only one consultant working, she was extremely busy, I was crying my eyes out. I didn't even have an appointment, and she took care of me like I was the only one in the store while still juggling a million other things. I literally couldn't have asked for a better experience there. I wanted to post this review to warn other brides about my experience there. Definitely don't take their word on what can and cannot be altered. And don't purchase anything before requesting a copy of their return policy. I wish I could say that it's all worked out but unfortunately I'm still out $2000 and I'm stuck with a dress that I cannot wear, and Alyssa's Formals doesnt care

From the owner: Alyssa's Formals carries a large variety of formalwear in a range of colours and sizes, with a…read moregreat emphasis on providing outstanding customer service!