Ducky’s Bridal and Formal Wear

Holy shit.
I mean, I like to keep things classy here on Unilocal,but my god. This place is a disaster. I had the honor of being a groomsman for my friend’s wedding and I went to pick up my tux. I ended up paying $ 115 for a cheap, synthetic, POS tuxedo. It did not fit, it smelled like sweat (did you not fucking CLEAN the tux?!), the shirt was stained. When I asked for a shirt that wasn’t stained, the person looked at me like I was bleeding from my eyesockets and shuffled back to get a shirt. There’s so much polyester and rayon in this place that the EPA will have quarantine the entire block when some disgruntled customer burns the shack to the ground and dances in the light of the flames. The whole store was filthy, the owner rude as all hell, and the music selection terrifying. There were several young female employees there who were all smiles and extremely helpful, but I suspect they run for the hills as soon as they realize where they are working. When I got married, I rented a beautiful woolen tuxedo for the same price, albeit it was from Men’s Warehouse. I thought this would be a small and independent men’s clothier and I was SOO wrong. Be sure to triple-​inventory all of your rental goods, because they nickel-​and-​dime you for everything you lose or stain, and they will make you pay. A lot.
Brides and grooms! Don’t punish the people you love and make them go through this! There are plenty of good formalwear rental operations out there. Stay away from this one.

They don’t clean their toilets, unless you consider dried bright yellow stains that have been sitting for a few hours a sign of cleanliness. I personally do not.
You can only take photographs of specific dresses. Either do let me take photos, or don’t, but refrain from making it super complicated.
Yo, your dresses are ugly. Seriously. Do something about it.

Yeah, not so much.
Pros:
–I got to make a same-​day appointment.
–There was no one else in the store, so I had a sense of attention and privacy.
Cons:
–They rip the labels out of the dresses, so you have no idea what brand you’re buying. This could mean you’re getting a great deal (which is what they claim on their website) OR you’re getting ripped off. I’d tend to think the latter.
–They have 99% very, very traditional dresses, mostly in the same style (read: very froofy).
–They allow you to take pictures of SOME dresses, but not others. They make it seem like it’s based on designer, but I felt like it was arbitrary. I was allowed to take pictures of every single dress EXCEPT the one I actually liked. Coincidence? Probably not.
–This has nothing to do with wedding dresses, but they really have some shockingly hideous dresses for other occasions. I mean like, «Peg Bundy Goes to the Prom”-hideous.
Now for the best «Con» on the list:
A lady who I assume was the owner was hovering around me and my saleslady. She gave opinions here and there, and I didn’t really mind her presence in general. When I tried on my second dress she said, «Are you planning on wearing a veil?» I told her very definitively that no, I was not going to wear a veil. «Oh, you HAVE to wear a veil,» she said. Bemused, I said, «Oh? Why’s that?» She picked up a veil, shoved it down into my hair, fluffed it out, and said, «There. See how it makes your head not look so small in relation to the rest of your body?»
Oh hell no she didn’t. I wasn’t aware that I had a teeny tiny pea head in relation to the rest of my ENORMOUS BODY. Thanks, lady. I think I’ll be going and not buying anything from you now.
In sum: I liked them better than David’s Bridal, but not by much.

I bought my wedding gown from Ducky’s, and I just want to thank all of them for helping me have such a wonderful day! The sales associate who helped me was extremely friendly and professional, and I especially liked how she didn’t show me any gowns outside my price range! She also took my figure and coloring into consideration, and suggested gowns I would not normally have tried. In fact, she found «My Dress» for me; I wouldn’t have tried it on, but she told me that it would look beautiful on me, and lo and behold, she was right! I also loved the fact that she didn’t pressure me or try to rush me into making a decision.
Alterations were great, too; they have a wonderful seamstress there who takes the time to get your measurements right, and does everything to perfection. My gown fit perfectly on the big day.
Ducky’s has code names for all their wedding gowns, so if you’re looking for a gown by a specific designer, this isn’t the place to go, because they won’t tell you until your dress is bought and paid for. I personally couldn’t have cared less about who designed my dress, so this wasn’t an issue for me.
As with all bridal shops, avoid them on weekends, as they’re packed. You will get much better service if you go during the day on a weekday. Make sure to make an appointment if you want to try anything on, and as with any bridal shop, accessories such as veils, tiaras, shoes, guest books, etc. are all hideously overpriced. eBay is a wonderful source for wedding accessories.
Thank you so much, Ducky’s, for all you did to help make my wedding day special!