Shoe Shoppe

Dropped off shoes and picked up about 20 min later. Convenient, quick and nice price for shoe shine.

I've been taking shoes to the Shoe Shoppe since I move to the DC area in 2009, and have only ever had one negative experience prior to this one where a pair of shoes that I needed by a specific deadline were promised to be done by noon on a certain day, and when I went to pick them up, they hadn't even been touched. I've trusted them with my Louboutins, Manolos, taken in a few day dresses to be hemmed, and had recently had a Carolina Herrera evening gown hemmed. They're weren't my go-to for altering designer clothing, usually taking my business to Do's Custom Tailor in Georgetown, but in a pinch, they'd always done satisfactory work, especially when it came to hemming. The other week I took in a Fouad Sarkis gown that had previously been altered by Do's, the dress was for waltzing and the hem was a touch too long. I asked that the hem be done exactly as it was, showed them the length it needed to be, explained that the gown had a separate train that also needed to be hemmed. The woman helping me looked very briefly at the gown, asked me when I needed it by--not until December I had told her--she said it would be ready November 17th, $95, original hem. Due to my schedule, I didn't pick the gown up until Sunday November 19th. They immediately tried to charge me $125 for the work. I told them I had my receipt, at which point the owner tried to argue with me that the work was more expensive than they'd quoted me. Which is now horribly laughable; I didn't inspect the gown when I got home, waiting until Monday to try it on with the appropriate heels to make sure the length was correct, when to my utter horror I realized that the hem was a complete disaster. The worst last minute hack job I've seen outside of some amatuer costume contest. They not only reused the horse hair which at this point was a ratty fraying mess, they taped it in. They put double sided tape onto the inside my silk ballgown to hold the horse hair in place instead of stitching it down. The hem had not been pressed, and the entire structured silhouette of the gown was ruined by the utter disregard and laziness of whoever had 'hemmed' it. I called the Shoe Shoppe to speak to someone about the state of my gown where I was given the excuse by the owner that I hadn't paid enough for them to do a better job. I wasn't the one calling the shots on the pricing when I took the gown in, I didn't ask for a rush job, I had until mid-December if they needed more time, they told me November 17th, $95, original hem. At this point I'm hoping it can be salvaged, as this demi-couture dress was hacked up and taped back together by some careless individual. I've been a loyal and constant customer, recommending the Shoe Shoppe to friends and colleagues, but never again. They told me to bring the dress back in so they could look at it, but I'd rather let someone in some intro to quilting class hem this thing than let them touch it again. My only hope is that I can get Do's to fix the damage the Shoe Shoppe did to what had been any otherwise perfect gown. Utterly disgraceful.med.