'AITA for being upset my wedding dress designer took my dress to France?'
"AITA for being upset my wedding dress designer took my dress to France?"
After trying on countless wedding dresses, I decided to collaborate with a local dress designer to design my dream wedding gown. Not only was this gown was VERY expensive to make (in the 5 digits), I designed several dresses with her for my wedding - an I am definitely her top client the year.
We had excellent rapport with each other, and I sincerely enjoyed working with her. She listened and executed every design idea I had. It was a very collaborative process, and I put a huge deal of effort into making this my perfect dress. Of course it was a collaborative effort, and what we created was super special.
I had my wedding back in September, and when I got back she offered to fix a small tear and dry clean the dress. When I stopped by her studio to drop it off, she even surprised me with champagne and we all toasted to the amazing work her team put in to bring my dream to reality! She said she was heading out to France for a photo shoot workshop so I won’t hear from her for a while. Didn’t think anything of it, and I was excited for her.
Fast forward to a few days ago when I saw that she posted pictures of a model tagged in France IN MY WEDDING DRESS. My heart instantly shattered into a million pieces. I feel like she broke my trust. This dress is so sacred and special to me and I can’t bear to see a stranger wearing it. I feel like crying as I write this now. I know it’s just a dress and I’ll probably never wear it again, but it’s so much more to me. I also paid so much for this.
She didn’t even ask if it was ok to take my wedding dress half way around the world. Yet, for a stranger to wear it and be part of a photo shoot. Would I be an asshole to tell her how I feel?
Here's what top commenters had to say about this one:
lnfsworlfgsfdf said:
Definitely NTA. Your feelings about your wedding dress being used without permission are entirely justified.
iamnoking said:
She stole your property. You paid for that dress. I would definitely cause a huge stink about this.
Emergency-Aardvark-6 said:
Talk to the designer/maker. Explain that she/he used your dress without your permission. At the very least you should get a partial refund/rental cost. I'm assuming there was no contract stating she could use it for advertising? Failing that, kick up a stink on her socials. Do warn her you will, as that is usually quite a good incentive. NTA.
frog_ladee said:
She really should have asked for your permission to use your dress in the photo shoot. NTA. At minimum, she should pay for the dress to be cleaned, not charge you for the repair, and make something else for you for free, as compensation/rent for using your dress this way.
mrafifdgfgffd said:
Not at all. You have every right to feel upset and betrayed. Communication is key; let her know how you feel about the situation.
FlaxFox said:
NTA - She's lucky you don't go after her for theft! What the f-k is wrong with her? She deserves a piece of your mind, and you deserve some sort of compensation. That's incredibly messed up. She clearly set you up for that "fix" so she could do exactly what she did.