Masako Formals

Thank you so much Masako Formals and especially Zoe for helping me find the perfect wedding dress! Zoe is on top of everything, she was very pleasant to work with and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with her. She had such great service and I would definitely recommend Masako Formals to all of my friends! Thank you Zoe!

My sister is getting married so we scheduled an appointment with Masako’s to go dress shopping.
First of all, since my sister had made an appointment to go in, you’d think they would minimally have enough employees to adequately service our party. Wrong. Not only did they seem surprised when we walked in and told them that we had an appointment, but the only person «helping» us was also doing a fitting with another customer, which meant that the «service» we received was spotty at best. The only «service» we actually got the whole hour that we were there was being handed dresses after having to ask for them several times. No assisting with putting on the dress, no pinning the dress so that the bride-​to-​be could see how it would fit in her size. If you’re paying a couple grand for a dress, great service is definitely not too much to ask for. We also browsed through the bridesmaid dresses and their selection looks way too gaudy and NOT cute.
Thankfully, our next stop was Princess Brides, which was totally on the other end of the service spectrum from Masako’s. My sister ended up saying yes to a dress from Princess Brides, and I’m so glad she did! They deserve the money much more than Masako’s!

First off — their dress selection, variety and style is the most beautiful I’ve seen in town. However, I already had a dress that I had purchased from BHLDN in LA, and took my wedding dress to be altered here. I read many reviews for wedding dress alterations and this one was the one that had the least complaints about alterations. And every girl doesn’t wanna gamble their wedding dress on just any old shop, am I right? :P
There is plenty of parking in the small lot outside. There’s an inviting waiting room, but I never had to sit there too long since I always had an appointment for a fitting. I had 3 fittings over the span of my journey here. The fitting room is nice and spacious with flattering light. It also has a 3 fold mirror and a stage to ogle at your gorgeous self. There’s a clear cabinet with accessories if you want to experiment and see what you’d look like with a veil or tiara, etc. There is also a table with a couple of chairs for your fans to sit.
The staff is very sweet and accommodating! Their price breakdowns for each of their alteration services were pretty reasonable. My dress looked great and fit me well! Although, I had a fairly good experience — there were a couple of hiccups to explain the deduction in stars.
1. I had reschedule my second appointment twice, but they never acknowledged the changes in their appointment book. I walked in at the time I had changed to, and they told me I missed my appointment — which I definitely rescheduled. Even IF I was supposedly late, I was a little surprised they didn’t even try to contact me to ask where I was or if I was not attending my appointment. However, they accommodated me so that was nice.
2. On my second fitting, the seamstress forgot to do part of my dress. She was sick earlier in the week, so it was understandable. But I literally made the effort and took the time to go to a fitting when there were no changes to my dress. I tried it on, but it was almost a waste of time. Nothing was done/​offered for this mishap. I eventually changed my shoes, so therefore — had to change the length again. I hoped they would discount that service or something for the inconvenience… but nothing. Charged me full price for another hem service and full price for steaming service.
3. Lastly, although my dress looked great and fit well — upon closer examination, the hem wasn’t very professional looking. It literally look like they took fabric sheers and cut it to length blindly. It wasn’t very noticeable, but I do expect fine workmanship on a wedding dress, ya’ know? Since this place was affordable — I guess you get what you pay for…
Overall — I enjoyed my experience here and yes — I would still recommend this place for alterations, but if you’re looking for perfection… maybe look elsewhere!
Happy Wedding Planning! (:

I made an appointment and came in to try on dresses with Zoey. She was amazing. Did not get my dress here but great service!

On my search for my wedding dress I came across Masako. I called on Friday & was able to make an appointment for Saturday. My first stop was Bijou & I thought I had found the dress but I wanted to see what Masako had to offer before I counted them out. My appointment was scheduled for 3:30 but I was already around the corner so I called to ask if they could take me early. They said they could so we headed over. No parking in the parking lot so we parked on the street & I fed the meter for an hour. I was probably there for 5 minutes.
We walk in & Zoe was my «helper». Not much help. She seemed really stand offish, not very talkative. Kinda snooty in my opinion but she was not dressed very professionally. She pulled 2 dresses. Neither of them worked for me. Honestly I think she said a total of 20 words to me in the whole time I was there. When we left I asked my friend if she found that experience as awkward as I did. Lol she agreed.
Definitely wouldn’t recommend them to other brides.

My gals and I decided to go MOH and Bridesmaid dress shopping. I chose an area where bridal boutiques were at least a block from each other and just so happen Masako Formal was one of it. Like the previous store we went in, we felt welcomed, sales lady was very helpful. Having that feel of «this day is getting a very well productive start!» We thought this next one (Masako) will keep our enthusiasm going… WRONG!
Right when we walked in, we got the look up– look down look from the OWNER HERSELF! it was that look of «this store is not for you, you don’t have our kind of taste». I just knew it. So she rudely asked us «what are you looking for?» I answered back in her tone… «Dresses for my bridesmaids». She literally did not nor her other associates give a time a day to us. She just pointed where sale items were.
She didn’t even get or prepare our fitting rooms. We felt like chickens with our heads cut off.
My girlfriend tried on couple of dresses and was over it. I was over it real quick. We decided to leave and right as we exited, the owner was outside with I guess some vendors and asked us with a smile «did you like?» We answered with a resounding «no»
*oh now you smile cause we’re leaving?*
DO NOT GO HERE!
Go to Bridal Boutique… NOW THAT’s a place we felt very welcomed (even with restless toddlers)

THIS SHOP JUDGES YOU AS YOU WALK IN.
This boutique judges you as you walk into the store! I caught one of the sales associate looking at me and my girls as if our ‘name brand bag’ didn’t fit her taste. or perhaps i weren’t using the right color shade of my channel purse.
Please don’t judge the book by its cover. thats just wrong when it comes to customer service! I wouldn’t recommend this shop to ANY of my friends or future brides. Save yourself a trip and check elsewhere.

We came in to look for a prom dress. While they have a nice selection of dresses, they didn’t have any customer service today. I understand they are more of a wedding boutique however an associate walked right passed didn’t say a word to us let alone smile. A sale is a sale right?

*This review is only for the furisode photography session*
Ever since I can remember, I’ve always admired my grandmother’s photos of her and her best friend in kimono. I even wanted to do my senior portraits that way, but didn’t end up doing it.
Cut to a million years later … this past Cristmas my (not so) Secret Santa got me a photo session for Furisode (kimono dressing) at Masako Formals. I called and made my appointment (which was really easy), and today was it!
I was greeted by Hitome, a very nice Japanese national who would be doing my hair and makeup. She showed me a few hairstyles to choose from and she went to work. She has a very soft touch when applying makeup and she did an awesome job!
After my hair and makeup was done, we went upstairs to their dressing area and photo studio where I had to select from a whole bunch of different colored kimono. It was so hard to choose! But I picked a pink one. Then I had to choose an obi and other accessories… there was so many choices to make!
Finally it was time to be dressed. There are many layers to a kimono and they tie some of those layers tiiiiiight! She put a few fake flowers in my hair and led me to the photo studio. The photographer and his assistant are a different company (from what I can tell) — and they were very nice, guiding me on my poses and making sure the angles were just right.
The whole process took about 2 hours and in a few days I’ll be able to view my photos and order what I want. The packages are a little pricey, but it’ll be worth it!

I got two of my wedding dresses from here. Pua who was working at that time was super helpful recommending which style suit the best for my body shape. Even though a lot of people have specific style that they wanna wear and don’t wanna try something else but I was glad that I was open to anything because the style you like doesn’t always fits your shape. Zoe and Mariah were really friendly helping me when I went back for alterations. Kim did perfect job on alteration so I was super happy with how they came out. They have professional opinion and knowledge about all different dress brand and the store has so many variety of dresses lower end to high end designer dresses from New York, Italy and Spain etc. I totally recommend to stop by! I fell in love with my feather wedding dress and fitted satin mermaid dress. It made my day on my wedding day!

My first impression was not very good when the woman answering the phone told me that I was running late with finding a wedding dress (need at least 6 months, important part of the wedding, blah blah). But I decided to keep Masako Formals on my list of wedding dress shops anyway. Glad I did. It was the only dress shop with tea-​length wedding dresses — I was hoping for even shorter ones, but oh well. After this shop, I was super hopeful that I could find a dress at a good deal; there was a discontinued and heavily discounted wedding dress just in my size, still within budget after estimated alterations. I ended up getting my dress at Bijou Bridals. Still good I stopped by Masako!

This review is for their Kimono Studio.
Shichi-​go-​san is a festival celebrated by parents on November 15 in Japan to mark the growth of their children as they turn three, five and seven years of age. The custom is practiced in Hawaii as well.
I took my daughter to the Kimono Studio at Masako Formals when she turned 3. Although the photos came out priceless, she was not a happy camper and I had to giggle when the lady dressing my daughter told me to come back in 5 years. Well, I came back in 4. My daughter is now 7 and my son is 3 and this time he played the party of the unhappy camper.
After promising stickers, candy, and endless hours of Plants and Zombies play time, I was able to successfully bribe both children to smile for the camera. I had several panic attacks in response to my son’s unwillingness to get off the freaking floor and take pictures, but the staff at both Masako Formals and Satok Hawaii Photography were so patient and accommodating.
I was lucky that when I made my appointments, they were running a special. Kimono fitting for girls was $ 200 and $ 120 for boys and included free 5×7 prints. I thought it was kind of pricey because I paid $ 125 for my daughter’s fitting 4 years ago, but the time and attention they gave us was what we needed and I decided the splurge would be worth it. The years are just flying by and I haven’t figured out a way to slow them down. I’m thankful that I’ll have these images to remember these precious moments. Even if my kids’ antics nearly gave me a heart attack.

Went there today, and before I did I consulted the comments on Unilocal and was kinda nervous since I didn’t specifically request for Pauline. But she ended up was the one that helped me this afternoon. She was just as wonderful as everyone had said here, and then some. She is patient and friendly, and didnt even frown when I told her I would need time to think about my options before I make decision. I plan on going back in a week with more girlfriends, and hopefully decide my dream dress there. Pauline made today’s experience very painless and full of fun. She’s the best!

Talk about «Pretty Woman» scenario. My sister & I went there to look at wedding dresses. I guess a Japanese couple just left there all dressed for their wedding, since the limo was waiting for them & some of the employees were standing outside helping them.
Two of the employees were standing in front of the entrance «guarding» the door. They looked at us & rudely said «yes», I asked if we could come in to look at some of their dresses, they asked if we had a reservation, by then, I felt like they didn’t even want us to go in the store, I said «no» & they didn’t even move from the doorway. I told them forget it & we left.
Mind you, we were not wheeling a shopping cart & talking to ourselves, we were dressed in jeans & shirt, my sister is very fashionable, carrying her designer purse, we came in a nice car, not a BWM or anything high end, but that shouldn’t matter. I would NEVER step foot in that shop again.
There are A LOT of other formal dress shops out there, that provided better service.

Pauline was awesome. Very helpful. I find this place to be a hole I the wall as its hidden. Parking kinda sux though. If you are local, pauline would be best to help you. But… shes always busy. All the other ppl who work there seem that they only can talk japanese. I seen many japanese couples there.

The dresses are BEAUTIFUL here! I def recommend this place as I might be purchasing my wedding dress from here! The staff was very helpful! They allowed me to look for dresses and also try them on even though I didn’t have an appointment. The lady (which I didn’t get her name) was very polite on giving me privacy and at the same time helping me zip up dresses or lace them. I told the lady what i wanted and that’s exactly what I got! She knew exactly what would look amazing on me. Lets just say I was very surprised because when I first saw the dress she suggested, I said no! But my mom pushed me to try it on! Boy was I wrong! Who knew I’d be saying «yes to the dress»!!! Now I’m
Just waiting to hear back if they can ship it on time. Crossing my fingers!!!

This place is AMAZING!
When I originally called to make an appointment, it was short notice but they were able to fit me and my friend in to try on dresses for our weddings at the same time. They let us choose any dress we wanted to try on and most of the dresses were in our size which made it easier to tell how the dress would actually look (most dresses are a size 10 or 12 at other stores). Paula was there to help us get into dresses and even helped us picture how a bustle would look on the dress.
I found a gorgeous casablanca dress that was just barely too big for me & looked brand new. Since my wedding was 6 months away and I was worried about trying to order a dress in time, I asked to purchase the dress off-​the-​rack for a discount as some bridal shops do and without hesitation they were more than happy to accomodate.
I went back in a few months later to start my fittings and I was a little nervous about their alterations department as to whether they’d do a good job or not but I have to tell you they did a wonderful job the first time, I was blown away! My first fitting went by fairly quick. Pua and the woman doing the alterations were there to help me. We figured out how much to take in on the sides, bust, hips etc. and how much to hem the bottom. The seemstress knew exactly how much to take in on the sides since I wanted the dress to fit tight but not too tight. She also came up with a creative way to bring up the top layer (chiffon) of the dress without having to make a whole new hem while adding to the existing flow of the layers of the dress.
My second fitting was so fast and so easy. I tried on the dress after waiting two weeks for all of the alterations to be completed. It fit like a glove. Amazing. The seemstress took the dress in in all the right places and it fit exactly how I hoped it would (tight enought for the strapless dress to stay put but not too tight). The french bustle I requested was so simple! I was expecting several buttons and loops but with the layering of my dress, she was able to place just one button and loop which will be easy to explain to my maid of honor to help me with day of the wedding. Not only did they take care of every alteration I asked for and needed, but they took care of small details that I forgot like a few beads that were falling off.
I’m so happy with how my dress turned out and my entire experience working with them has been a breeze. I think the only tip I have is to make an appointment… like most bridal stores, I don’t think they like walk-​ins.

I visited 3 bridal stores. Even though Masako Formals is not the biggest, the sales rep. listened to what I want and found the dress that I love about. They are friendly and helped me with all I asked for. Highly recommended!

This was the most horrible experience EVER!!! My wedding is coming up next year and decided to call places to make an appointment to try on some bridal gowns.
My friend suggested coming to this place because she knew someone who works at masako’s. We’ll come to find out, she wasn’t available at the times that I was available to go, so I made an appointment anyways just to go in and try on gowns.
When we got there, someone was at the front desk who greeted me and told me someone will be with me shortly. I had my mother, maid of honor, and one of my bridesmaids with me. We probably had to wait about 10 mins for the lady to come and help me, which I didn’t really fuss over.
She finally came over and asked me what kind of styles I liked. I told her I liked more of the mermaid style and she said «ok you can look along this rack to see if there are any dresses that you would like to try on.» As I was looking, they had maybe 1 dress I wanted to try on, other than that their selection is very limited. I wanted to ask her of these were all the dresses they had but I couldn’t even find this lady… she was MIA because her cell phone kept ringing and every time she answered it, she would just walk away.
At this point I was kind of irritable. Not only did I only like 1 dress out of their whole selection, but she totally ignored the fact that I needed her help, but I guess answering her cell phone was more important! When she did finally come back, she kept asking if I wanted to try on another style, but I was adamant about my mermaid. When I was ready to try on the only dress I liked, she didn’t even come in to help me to zip me up, my mother had to come in and help me!
After I tried on that 1 dress, I was over it! I told everyone who was with me that I didn’t wanna be here anymore and that the lady was just rude. Going to try on dresses is supposed to be the happiest moment, but this place totally ruined it for me. I can totally see if they didn’t have much variety, but to be rude and not even help me?! That just astonished me.

I was a walk in customer, reluctant to visit the shop because of the multiple negative reviews.
I’m glad I went in. Pauline was so helpful and quickly found a number of dresses that fit the descriptions of what I wanted. I found my dress and purchased it that day because she offered a 20% off the rack price, PLUS an extra 10% discount (after hearing my fiancé cancelling my appt for another bridal dress store). What a deal!
I’m excited for my fitting and making the necessary alterations!