Glamour Closet

After an unsuccessful trip to Nordstrom’s bridal suite, we decided to venture to Glamour Closet because of its great reviews and being told that I was the perfect sample size. So thankful that we did, I found the most amazing Stella York lace cap sleeve dress that is everything I wanted!
1. Staff: We were warmly welcomed by multiple staff members right when we walked in! Even though they were busy, they had a solid process to make sure all of their customers felt supported and welcomed!
2. How it works: The shop is small, but they are so organized that it works. You are handed a bag of colored clips, wander through the dresses and clip those that you are interested in. After your done, your assigned attendant grabs your dresses and gets you settled into a fitting room. Because they are sample dresses, you walk out with the dress you try on! We went on a Saturday afternoon in February and it wasn’t crowded at all!
3. Variety: There were a TON of dresses, but I did feel like most of the dresses were strapless, which is not what I was looking for… But I came away with a non-​strapless dress! They also had a good variety of sizes, with a dedicated section for street size 10+.
4. Prices: There are dresses from $ 500-​$ 8000, tons of brands and well known designers, and all very marked down.
5. JANE: There are not words to describe how amazing Jane is! She is everything you want in the person helping you try on dresses. She is very knowledgable, honest, not pushy, and was equally as excited when I fell in love with the first dress I put on. THANK YOU, JANE:)

Amazing experience here after a less than amazing experience at a different (also non-​traditional) bridal shop. I arrived right at 10 AM on a Saturday morning, pleasantly surprised that there wasn’t a line. When I walked inside, they were already registering four brides who arrived before me and informed me that I could start browsing the gowns, but since there were four brides ahead of me, I wouldn’t actually start to try on gowns for about two hours. They said I could mark my gowns (with the eight clips in your specified color that they give you), leave and come back at noon if I wanted. I didn’t have any other appointments so that was fine for me. I noticed, however, that the bride ahead of me had to leave before trying on her choices because she had an 11:30 appointment somewhere else. I did notice she came back as I was leaving and as long as someone else didn’t purchase one of her selections, I’m sure she was able to try on the gowns that she had marked. Due to Glamour Closet not accepting appointments and the unpredictability of how busy they might be, I wouldn’t recommend setting up an appointment somewhere else within two or three hours after arriving at the store.
I actually did not end up leaving before trying on my selections and used the entire time searching through the many, many gowns they have. I appreciated that the gowns were separated into styles — fit and flair, A-​line, sheath and ballgown styles. As you search through the gowns initially to mark them with your clip, you are on your own, as the consultants are busy helping the brides who are in the fitting rooms. They do walk around looking for dresses at times, so they are available to answer questions as you browse. I anticipated gowns priced from $ 500-​$ 5000, as I read on other reviews, but found that most were priced between $ 1500 and $ 4000, and I think I only saw 3 gowns priced under $ 1000. It is also important to consider any tailoring expenses, including repairs and cleaning, which I have read can be quite expensive.
Personally, I didn’t go in with a really solid idea of what I wanted so I was a little overwhelmed with the idea of narrowing the many, many selections down to eight choices. As soon as it was my turn to try on the gowns, I immediately informed Colleen that I was a little overwhelmed and confused and not sure about what type of gown I really wanted for my beach wedding. She was incredibly understanding and immediately went out into the store and chose several more gowns based on my body type and how I reacted to the first dress I tried on. She did not make me feel rushed or pressured at all and was very honest and encouraging when giving feedback about the dresses I tried on, as well as her rough estimate of what would need to be done at the tailor. I ended up narrowing it down to 3 gowns, all of which she chose! I would’ve never selected these gowns off the rack, as I wouldn’t have thought they would’ve been flattering on me, but they were all three amazing and I really had a hard time choosing. I ended up purchasing an amazing Judd Waddell gown that will require minimal alterations and I feel so great about my purchase! I feel like I have a dress that is incredibly flattering on me, is special and unique and is obviously designer! Colleen was simply amazing and Christina was incredibly helpful as well. Glamour Closet is fantastic for those who want great customer service, love designer clothes but also love finding a great deal!

Let me start by saying if I could give them 10 stars I would!!! These ladies are amazing!!! As soon as I walked in the door they were pleasant & helpful. I had everyone in the stores help on several different occasions. Colleen was absolutely amazing! She was so patient… def went above & beyond. She made the entire process easy and made shimmying into dress seem fun. She helped me try sooo many dresses on and encouraged me to try my top options on a few times until we found the perfect dress!
I suggest everyone at least stop by here for your dress… they have a wide variety of dresses in all sizes for great prices! Waaaaaaayyyyyyy better service than I received at David’s bridal! GO CHECK THEM OUT!

Really liked the service & attention. My only complaint is the lack of selection for a bride who wants straps & is NOT looking for a fit & flare dress or ball gown. I would recommend it to anyone looking for those types of gowns, but maybe not for someone wants something less traditional.

Loved this place! I found my unique Vera Wang gown here at an affordable price. It was the most beautiful dress I had ever tried on. They have a wide variety of dresses, all in great condition. I appreciated how organized and clean the store was. Staff was super helpful and shipped my dress the next business day. You may have to wait a bit for a fitting room depending on how busy they are. Thanks for making my experience so enjoyable!

The worst customer service I have ever experienced. Although their policy is no returns or exchanges, they were not willing to correct an error THEY MADE which was sending the wrong veil. Management (specifically ELISE) even went as far as not returning phone calls regarding this issue and laughing at the problem rather than trying to help us solve it. After spending thousands, I would expect for a store/​company to treat their customers with much more respect than Glamour Closet does.

Had such a great experience here finding my dress. Lindsey is incredible. Although they are a little short staffed right now she makes sure to give you her full attention and expertise.
I took a photo of me in the dress to Davis, the altering service the recommend, and they were able to give me a rough idea of alterations needs before I bought the dress.
You can get dress tax free if you mail dress to address to any state where they do not have a store (do anywhere but Cali, New York or Illinois)
Since I saved so much on dress I have room to spend on customizing my dress!

Went in after having had one appointment elsewhere a month before. At the other location I found a mermaid that I absolutely loved but was quite pricey. Went in to Glamour Closet not expecting much, but wanting to find a dress to top the previous one. Walked out with my dream dress (that was nothing like the dress I found before).
There are no appointments, so all dresses are first come first serve. They give you maybe six colorful clothes pins and have you walk around and pin them on the hook of the dresses you like. If you pin something that’s already pinned and the bride who got their first loves it, you’re SOL.
After maybe a half hour wait I got into the dressing room, complete with a nice robe, and started trying on dresses. Because they are sample gowns, they cannot be ordered so if they are too small right away, then it’s a no go. I’m a 4 and, because of my chest, a wedding dress 10 or 12. Everything was big on my bottom half but pretty snug up top. That eliminated a few dresses right off the bat in the room. I was getting pretty discouraged. Then I tried on a beautiful lace mermaid that was super similar to the previous dress I loved and I got the amazing feeling all over again (but for a fourth of the cost). I would have been happy to walk out the door with it.
But, I had an amazing consultant, Colleen, and asked if there was anything that she thought would top the dress. She came back with another mermaid, that I didn’t care for, and a beautiful lace fit and flair/​a line. It was like nothing I had EVER seen on a bride before and fit like a glove up top and was everything I wanted in a dress but couldn’t put into words. It’s the perfect dress. She topped it with a veil and I suddenly became a bride.
Walked out with my dress and now all I have to do is a few alterations and wait for my WeddingMoon in Jamaica.
What a great experience! I would recommend Colleen to any bride to be!

Wow! Glamour Closet is a beautiful shop with amazing dresses. I was pleasantly surprised by the pristine condition of all of the gowns in the shop. The staff were friendly and helpful and were able to squeeze us in late in the day. Colleen was our consultant and she knew the store inventory well, and helped pull a couple of dresses that were so lovely and exactly the right size for me. I wound up getting a gown from another store but wanted to share that my experience at this shop was wonderful and would recommend to other brides to be!

I had an absolutely wonderful experience at Glamour Closet thanks to my consultant Tiffany and also thanks to Erica. This was the first place I went dress shopping and was pretty nervous, I’m a ¹⁰⁄₁₂ in regular clothes and wasn’t sure how I’d fit in the gowns. But! There was great selection of sizes and the dresses… oh my gosh the dresses. Stunning one of a kind dresses at 25% — 60% off.
This shop operates differently from most bridal salons and I actually much prefer it. You get to walk through the show room and put clips on dresses that you like. Then the consultants pull the dresses and you try them on. They are great at helping you narrow down dresses and when one is «out» they move it back to the racks. Because they are sample dresses you buy your dress (and accessories) and get to walk out of the store with them (which I love!). With the purchase of my gown they gave me a $ 50 gift card to their recommended tailor.
I tried on a few dresses and ended up falling in love with a gorgeous beaded Lazaro that I paid half of retail for. I also got an absolutely beautiful Carolina Herrera veil. I always dreamed about getting a designer gown and I didn’t think it would happen in my price range. But thanks to the Glamour Closet I did. I tell people «It’s like TJ Maxx for designer wedding gowns!» Ha!
I also have to give major kudos to the wonderful staff. Tiffany was my consultant and Erica was also super sweet and helpful. Both of them helped make my experience so special! The whole vibe of Glamour Closet was relaxed and friendly.
We left Glamour Closet to go to an appointment at BHLDN and I left after about 45 minutes to book it back to GC to buy my dress before they closed! There’s no comparison when it comes to both dresses and staff. Go here if you want not only a really special dress that will make you stand out on your wedding day, but also a great experience!

I just said YES to my dress at Glamour Closet this past Sunday, January 10, 2016. Backstory: I had been waiting to look for a dress until my mother could fly in from Florida. She flew in Thursday night January 7^th and I had appointments at various salons for Saturday and Sunday. It was of the utmost importance that I find a dress with my mother. She is my world and I know it was so special for her to be there when I found my wedding dress. We had found a dress on Saturday afternoon that was just… SO me… it was almost perfect. It was the designer, Hayley Paige, that I’d been following and everyone in the salon that day said it was PERFECT on me. I loved it, it was very me, but as much as I loved it, the designer price tag on the dress ($ 5,000) made me walk away. My mother was willing to pay it, but I just couldn’t rationalize her spending that much on one dress that I’d wear once… and I had options for Sunday that I was open to try. Even though my mother was wiling to pay for it, I just couldn’t pull the trigger. I figured if I didn’t find a dress Sunday, I could always consider the big price Hayley Paige dress I had loved.
We went to an early appointment on Sunday morning that had dresses that just did not live up to the Hayley Paige dress I tried on the day before. I was beginning to think I was going to have to spend $ 5,000 to have the dress of my dreams. Literally on a whim, my mother and one of my bridesmaids said…“Let’s venture out in the snowy cold Chicago air and go to Glamour Closet in the city.” I was at the point where I didn’t think I would find a dress while my mother was in town, and I was beginning to think that the «You know your dress when you find it» saying was a total lie.
At Glamour Closet you don’t need an appointment. You go in, sign in and then are given colored clips to put on the hangers of the dresses you like so your stylist can pull them. You are seen in the order you sign in. I’ll be honest, I walked around Glamour Closet thinking «they don’t have anything close to Hayley Paige… I won’t find anything here». But I looked through and clipped the dresses that called out to me, if even a little bit. And Judy, who is the owner, came up to me on two moments while I was having a hard time selecting (even though the store was very busy) to ask just what I was looking for and gave me advice on picking dresses. She might have done the same with the other brides looking, but for me… it seemed like she singled me out to offer help and made me feel extremely special. She learned from me that I was interested in Hayley Paige dresses and offered her insight while picking dresses.
I probably got really lucky, because I was paired with Judy, the owner of Glamour Closet as my stylist for the day. First, Judy is my mothers name, and if I had one way of describing Judy’s demeanor toward me toward the whole dress selecting process… it was Motherly. She was nurturing, open, honest, and gentle as I tried on maybe 10 selected dresses from her store. After my initial fitting, I narrowed it down to two dresses. And had to try them both on a few times to really decide. Judy was patient, encouraging, and honest in her own experiences with me while we spent time alone in the dressing room. The last time I put on the dress which is now MINE… I got emotional… and guess who did too? Judy… my stylist. Not because she was trying to get me to buy a dress… but I could tell that she knew that I finally knew that I had found my dress. It wasn’t my wedding party’s favorite at first, but she new from my reaction that it was the dress for me. She let me come out a THIRD time in this same dress to make another walk on their runway in front of my mother and two bridesmaids… and she was a support to me the whole time.
After a whole weekend of trying on many dresses and almost buying a dress that was way too expensive (in my opinion) for one day in my life… and getting to a point where I didn’t believe that «when you find your dress, you just KNOW IT»…I found my dress. And I just KNEW IT. I cried that third time I came out in my dress. Judy cried. My mom cried, and my bridesmaids cried. You do. You just KNOW your dress when you find it. And Judy was so helpful, PATIENT, NURTURING, and helpful after the fact… for alteration and accessory places to go to…
I didn’t think this was gonna be the road for me… but it ended up being the perfect spot for me to find my dress. Glamour Closet is really a hidden gem. I wanted to feel so special looking for my dress, and I made so many appointments at bridal salons to achieve that feeling, but the most special and cared for I felt was at Glamour Closet with Judy. I didn’t think I would cry over a dress, but I did. And I felt all the more awesome and important for having an emotional reaction than I think I would have anywhere else. I don’t regret not getting the HP dress! FIVE STARS! Thanks Judy!!!

Jane was fantastic!!! I got my dress in 1 day. The selection and quality of the dresses was 100x better than Gold Coast (where I felt like the dresses were nothing special and you would end up spend 10 grand). They had a huge selection with prices for almost every budget. There system is super organized and only the lady’s working there are the ones that move the dresses so you don’t get people dragging them on the floor. I couldn’t be happier finding my 100% silk dress that fit perfectly with no need for alterations.
I also saw another review commenting on no large sizes, this simply isn’t true anymore as they have a section dedicated to 14+ that were beautiful.

So I said, «Yes to the dress» and I couldn’t have done it without the amazing Judy. She was so compassionate and honest as I tried on all 7 of my «pulls» from the racks. I’m not a wedding dress type of girl so I was putting off this task until the last minute. I decided one morning to swing by Glamour Closet and what sold me was that this shop doesn’t accept appointments, its first come first serve. I was first in line and shared the main fitting room with 3 other ladies, each of us with our own consultant and changing room.
A beautiful 1800 dress ended up costing me 950. So happy I went the discounted, sample dress route. Only con was that the people shopping for dresses were very snobby but I’ll just blame it on the area. It wouldn’t hurt to smile a little, I mean we are all getting married.

Solid if you’re looking for more «traditional» /​not on trend or «of the moment» type gowns at super reasonable prices.
Sort of «wedding thrift chic» if you will. Concept is great and potential savings are serious.
Make sure to check the condition/​wear on the dresses (many were previously samples at other stores!) but great deals to be found if you find something you dig. Seriously. Like save a thousand dollars plus type deals. Pretty rad.
Keepin’ it real: my overall experience was colored by some really mixed feelings about the lady who helped me out. While she was nice and honest and attentive enough with me at the start, she became increasingly more pushy as things progressed. After surprisingly really digging but deciding not to go with a particular dress, she made a super passive aggressive comment about «…smart people knowing this store’s worth,» etc.
I get the savings potential, homegirl.
I get that you spent your time helping me and I didn’t end up buying.
But flipping on that rude switch? Definitely uncalled for. (… and as someone who rarely calls that kind of stuff out here on Unilocal,I’m calling it out as the only reason I’m going with three and not four stars.)

I got my wedding dress at Glamour Closet and even when I loved it when I bought it, I wish I wouldn’t have bought it there.
Tiffany helped me on the process. She was kind and helpful since the moment I entered the store and I thought I got a good price for an «almost perfect dress».
According with Tiffany, the dress required minimal adjustments and I know they always do, so I was ok with that. But I had a big disappointment back home, when weeks after I tried twice to show it to some friends and every time I tried it, I found more and more and more «details».
I understand that by buying something at a reduced price is expected to find imperfections or things that need to be fixed, but with this dress was to much. At the end I feel like I got a terrible deal for an «almost ruined dress».
Be careful if you are planning to purchase here. Look for the details on the dresses, review the stones, ribbons, everything! Trust me, it’s never enough! And take someone with you to look for details/​imperfections while you are wearing the dresses! You will need help to keep track of them!

After a Google search of ‘how to find an affordable wedding gown in Chicago’ I happened upon a blog that pointed me to this store. Everything is sold off rack and no appointment is necessary. The dresses range widely in style, price, & designer notoriety. My stylist, Jane, was spunky and very helpful. She assessed my price range ($ 1K) and my style and helped me & my bro choose dresses. To my surprise, my most favorite gown, from Australian designer Henry Roth, was within my budget & absolutely stunning! If you are a bargain shopper, and want a lovely designer gown, this shop is worth trying. All the staff were friendly, enthusiastic, and helpful. Added bonus: they don’t try to push extra accessories/​veils on you.

I found my dress at Glamour Closet and I was very happy with the experience I had. One of my bridesmaids and I stopped in on a Sunday afternoon. The way it works is they give you a bag with colored clips (6 I think?) and you go around and put a pin on the hangers of dresses that you like. The dresses are all organized by style. Then one the ladies comes by with your dresses and helps you get into them. I worked with Judy and I really liked her.
The dresses are all samples and I thought they were in pretty good shape. My dress needs only a couple small repairs. I would say that if you are bigger, you may not have that much luck as most of the dresses I saw were street sized 4 or 6 (Bridal 8 and 10). Their stock changes quickly so if you see something you like, you better buy it right away!

I had a great experience at Glamour Closet — I ended up buying the very first dress I tried on! My Dad and I went in on a Thursday evening at 5pm. They were able to help us right away and it was just me and another bride in the store the entire time. Tiffany was the saleswoman who helped me. She was great! She made the experience a lot of fun! I tried on six dresses and realized pretty quickly that I could spend the next 500 hours looking at dresses and comparing all of them to the first dress.
Tiffany also helped me pick out a veil that matches the dress perfectly. The veil was ordered and should arrive in 8 – 10 weeks. The whole process was easy, fun, and a very special moment for my Dad and I. Thank you Tiffany and Glamour Closet!

I went to the Glamour Closet on Feb 18, 2015. I showed up at opening, was able to park right out front on the street, and got help as soon as they opened. I was the only person there for most of my time (only one other person came in to shop for a friend).
I intended to go try on a variety of gowns so that I could get a better handle on what looked good on my body and what I could afford.
Let me give you a disclaimer: If you want the full bridal salon treatment, as seen on Say Yes To The Dress, this is not the place for you! If you couldn’t care less about being pampered as such, then give this place a shot.
Here’s how it works. You go in, you sign some papers to get your contact info, and then you get a baggie of clips. They explain street sizes vs bridal sizes (Hint: you’ll have to deal with a bigger number), and how their pricing works – each tag shows the retail price and their price so you can gauge how good of a deal you’re getting. All the dresses are new in the sense that they’ve never been worn at a wedding before, but most of them are samples, so dozens of people have tried them on in other salons. Since samples see some wear and tear, be sure to carefully inspect any gown you consider purchasing for damage.
You take your clips and go through the store, which I believe is organized by silhouette. You put a clip on the hanger of any dress you want to try on. Then an associate will take the dresses you choose to a dressing room (partitioned with a curtain if that matters). You get a bathrobe, and you try on each dress. This is a little different than other bridal salons in that if you don’t fit into the dress, you won’t be able to fit into the dress. The dress you try on is the dress you’ll take home. So try to find the best fit you can to save on alteration expenses. Once you exhaust your first selection, you repeat the process marking more dresses.
The way I did it is I kept a «maybe» selection of 3 dresses running in my dressing room. I always had my top 3 there, and would rotate new dresses I loved in to replace the ones I didn’t love. This method worked fantastically. I tried on 9 dresses worth showing my mom who came with me, and probably about 10 others that didn’t make it out of the dressing room.
Once I had exhausted the store’s selection I tried on my top 3 back-​to-​back and had them put on a simple veil with each to see how it would look. I eventually narrowed it down to one and purchased it! My dress was from a 2012 line and originally retailed for $ 2000. It was about $ 1200 after taxes. They also gave me a gift card for an alterations place, as they do not offer alterations.
I saw dresses for as low as probably $ 600 to $ 5000 and up, they have a wide selection. I remember seeing a $ 20 000 Carolina Herrera gown for $ 5000. They also had 2 «plus size» racks, which would probably fit girls about street size 14 – 18.
I definitely recommend this place to brides who want a bargain, but especially to brides who have NO CLUE what they wanted, like I did! It was a great learning experience to try on many silhouettes and styles to see what really worked on my body.

We were not impressed by the dress selection here. A lot of them were made with cheap fabrics. The sales people I encountered here also did not seem interested in helping out at all. They just hand you a bag of clips and then you are to try on whichever dresses you put clips on. My mom and I could not find one dress we wanted in the store.
If you are trying to find dresses in the price range I would suggest BHLDN or Mira Couture.