Please say no to the dress.
I generally agree with the dress decisions on both Say Yes To The Dress shows (NYC & Atlanta), but then there are the ones that make my head jerk sideways.
Personal taste accounts for a lot of what gets sent down the aisle, but brides going to Kleinfeld in New York should be prepared for the fact that if their budget allows, they most definitely will get house designer Pnina Tornai’s atrocious confections shoved on them by overeager consultants.
At least that’s the way it looks to me.
I’ve never been to Kleinfeld myself, but after watching a dozen or so episodes of the show, I began to see a pattern emerge. No designer was ever mentioned but Pnina. Anytime a bride had a budget over or around $6K, a consultant dutifully says something like, “I have this perfect Pnina Tornai gown in mind,” and hauls it in, all 30 pounds of it, to throw it on some unsuspecting bride about to get upsold by a couple grand. (Of course, they are almost certainly doing this because they know they are being filmed, and because I don’t have any personal experience with the store, I’m not sure if this is their usual sales strategy.)
All this wouldn’t even phase me (everyone needs sponsors, after all), but I just have to say it, and please don’t be offended if you’ve worn one: I think those Pnina Tornai dresses are some of the most ridiculous-looking gowns this side of $10k I’ve ever seen. There have been several I’ve liked on the show, but in almost every case, it’s a dress that looks a lot less expensive than it actually is and that’s not a good thing.
Here are some examples for back-up:
I’ve chosen the worst examples, obviously, but I just can’t believe it. The price, the overwrought fabric vomit, I mean. I just can’t. I really can’t.
Ladies, if you have $10-$20k to spend on a wedding dress, a Pnina Tornai gown should not be your first stop. In fact, if you have $20k to spend on a wedding dress, god bless you, because that thing better be jaw-droppingly gorgeous. (There’s a lot to live up to with a $20k wedding dress!)
Anyway, I understand that there’s a huge variation in personal taste that happens when people get married, and hell, there are things I would have changed about my wedding, but my heart hurts a little bit when I see women get upsold to gowns that don’t look like they are worth what the consultants get them to spend. Never underestimate the power of flattery and compliments from a retail consultant.
P.S. To demonstrate how easily you can be steered in the wrong direction, I nearly bought a gown that was quite full, more typical ball-gowny because I was hearing that it looked good on me and because it fit so well. I was in a haze of bridal bliss until I walked out of the store and realized I don’t even LIKE ball gown styles. It’s a jungle out there. Navigate intelligently. Do your homework. Stick to your guns—and your budget. Stay away from see-through corsets, etc.
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