Avail & Company

Avail & Co. turns dreams into reality!
I could not have had a more stunning design for my dream dress! Rachel has an artistic romance about every one of her designs and I knew with confidence that she could take on something that has been so dear to my heart. Needless to say, she pulled it off FLAWLESSLY! from every little detail that was talked about over every email, she made sure not to let anything go overlooked. The design of the design of the dress was out of a dream and the execution was superb. She was able to take my idea (to have the sheet music to our song incorporated into the dress) and turn it into a musical masterpiece. not only did she work hard to embroider every note onto the dress, but she also took the time to make sure that every note lined up with the actual music. Every guest was amazed by my one of a kind dress and I felt so amazing in it! Rachel was such a pleasure to work with and I whole heatedly recommend them to every girl who dreams of the perfect dress. Your dream dress can come to life, and Rachel can make that dream a reality.

Rachel at Avail & Co made 2 dresses for our wedding: mine, and my wife’s. We both adored our dresses and felt very well taken care of in the design process. Rachel’s gowns are gorgeous and professional looking; they don’t look at all home-​sewn. If you’re thinking of a custom gown, definitely meet with her. She’s great to work with and can turn your descriptions into what you wanted them to look like!
Also: I got compliments all day from everyone who had to lift up my dress on how light it was. That’s because it was real silk. Most off-​the-​rack dresses are a blend of artificial fabrics, which are much, much heavier than natural ones, particularly silk. And, Rachel’s was thousands of dollars less expensive than anything I would’ve even considered buying off the rack. Just food for thought!

When I first got engaged, dread over finding a wedding dress immediately set in.
I envisioned going to bridal stores and hating everything, and that’s pretty much exactly what happened when I started my search.
Okay, not every dress I looked at reminded me of «My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding,» or as if it came from Party City, but really, most were hideous. It didn’t help that I am vehemently opposed to wearing strapless as it seemed that those were the majority of what’s in stores. When the best I could muster up was «I guess I can live with this,» I knew I had to figure out another option.
A wedding dress is (hopefully) a once-​in-​a-​lifetime purchase, and it should never ever be something one can «live with,» or «settle» for. It should make you feel beautiful.
Having a wedding dress made for me was something I’d never considered, until a good friend who works near Avail & Company told me about the beautiful bespoke wedding dresses she’d seen in the window.
I still poo-poo’d it as out of my price range, but as time began ticking away, I decided it was worth it to look into the cost. I had always loved the elegant dress that Carolyn Bessette wore when she married JFK, Jr., and emailed A & C to see if designing something similar was feasible.
Rachel got back to me quickly with prices and sketches, and from there, we picked a fabric and color, took measurements, and I chose the final design. It ended up being exactly what I wanted, and at a price that was less than half of what I was looking at at bridal salons. And I didn’t need to pay for alterations because the dress was tailor-​made to fit me.
I loved everything about my dress: the cut, the fit, the material, the color… everything. It’s a classic, timeless design that won’t look dated in photos twenty years from now. It was truly my dream dress.
The process was quite smooth and didn’t require tons of meetings. I suppose it helps if you have an idea of what you’re looking for, but Rachel has such a great eye and is extremely easy to work with.
If you think your perfect dress is out of your reach, I highly recommend checking out Rachel at Avail & Company for a dress made just for you!

I got my wedding dress from Avail & Co. and highly recommend Avail to any and all brides! This is a small shop, owned and operated by Rachel Avila and her husband. She is a dress designer and seamstress who can literally bring your vision to life, as well as adding creative touches/​suggestions to make your ideas even better. This was my second marriage, so I wanted something a bit non-​traditional, namely a light blue gown. Until I met Rachel, my options were basically champagne colored gowns or bridesmaid dresses. I described to Rachel the various dress features that I had seen and liked while shopping. She sat right down and sketched out a dress that was virtually perfect. A week later, she e-​mailed me a half-​dozen sketches of various versions of/​ideas for the dress, which we tweaked until it was just right. Seeing the dress in person several months later took my breath away, and putting it on made me feel like the goddess you want to feel like on your wedding day. Even better, her price is right in line with off-​the-​rack gowns, but you will be wearing a one-​of-​a-​kind dress that was designed just for you. I couldn’t have been happier with/​in my dress on my wedding day!

I can’t recommend Avail highly enough. I just got married and my dress was absolutely amazing — I got many, many compliments on the stunning design. Rachel made me feel elegant, beautiful and sexy on my wedding day. And working with Rachel was a dream from start to finish. I was specifically looking to avoid the drama of wedding dress shops, and Rachel was attentive, low key and above all an expert seamstress and designer. The whole process was effortless and yet the outcome was nothing short of exquisite. if you are getting married go to Avail!

Even though I did not buy anything from this store, I was really impressed with the service and the design. I called ahead, since Unilocal told me the store runs by appointment only. I explained that my high school is very weird and requires the girls to wear long white dresses for graduation, and was looking for some kind of floor-​length white dress. Rachel told me that I was free to stop by to look at the samples.
I had already been to a few dress shops and bridal shops, all of which had average dresses and variable customer service. However, Avail & Co. was easily one of the best shopping experiences I have ever had. I tried on three dresses, even though she knew I probably wouldn’t be buying any of them. She also gave me a quote, offering to rush a dress if I wanted. She made the process lots of fun. The dresses were a bit out of my price range but when I need a wedding dress, I know where I’m going.

I LOVED working with Rachel at Avail & Co. She made the dress I wore as the maid of honor at my sister’s wedding and it was STUNNING — I have never gotten so many compliments on a piece of clothing before, EVER. It was wonderful to know that I was the second most beautiful woman at that wedding. :)
Working with Rachel is super easy — we communicated by email during the whole process, and then I went to her studio in Rockford for a fitting. If you are in the area and can make arrangements for that, I would recommend it — my dress needed to be taken in a bit, but when the alterations were complete it looked AMAAAAAAAAZING on me.
She was great about working within my budget — I told her upfront what I was looking to spend, and she picked out fabrics for me to choose from that would keep the dress within that range. She also picked fabrics that matched a rangeof blues from a photograph of the Spanish Mediterranean I sent her — who does that? RACHEL.
The thing I loved most about this was that Rachel made the dress full length, but the bottom of the skirt zips off so I can wear it as a cocktail dress for other occasions! This makes me so happy — it was so beautiful, I’m looking for better places for my boyfriend to take me to just so I can rock that dress again.
Rachel is a delight and a pleasure to work with, and her work is superlative. I really can’t say enough nice things about her! If you are hesitant to work with someone whose name you find online (as I was) — DON’T BE! Rachel’s gonna make you look like a goddess on your special day, whatever that day may be.