A woman has revealed how she altered a wedding dress for her friend as a favor – but now faces a lawsuit for “ruining” the dress.
On the British parenting platform Mumsnet, the anonymous woman explained that an old friend contacted her “out of the blue” to alter the dress because the bride-to-be did not have time to take it to a professional dressmaker.
The woman hesitantly agreed, but revealed that she did not charge for the work, as it was “a favor” to help the bride at the last minute.
However, the woman who lent the bride the dress sent her a message threatening to sue, saying she “ruined” her dress by altering it and now she won’t be able to “wear it again.”
Many forum users were quick to comment, saying the dress’s original owner was being “ridiculous.”
A woman revealed on Mumsnet that she altered a wedding dress for her friend as a favour, but is now being sued for ‘ruining’ the dress (file image)
On the British parenting platform, the woman explained that an old friend contacted her “out of the blue” to alter a wedding dress because she didn’t have time to take it to a professional dressmaker.
He read post: ‘I have a “friend” who I haven’t seen for a few years and we grew apart. Their wedding has been canceled twice, once with Covid and once with the sudden death of their mother.
‘Her original dress is too big for her now that she has lost a lot of weight. She contacted me out of the blue to ask if I could take her new dress since she didn’t have time to get a dressmaker because they were eloping.
‘I make my own clothes, so it’s something I can do. I said yes if you’re in a bind. Then she brought me the dress, said it was her other friend’s and that it needed to be fixed.
‘When it was tried on, it also needed to fix a couple more small things where it was poorly built.
‘I cut 19cm off the dress, hemmed it (4 layers) and spent a lot of time unstitching the back seam and smoothing it out. I then made a sash with the hem as requested.
The poster continued: ‘Pick up the dress two weeks ago. I did this as a favor so that no money or anything would change hands.
‘The bride’s other friend contacted me on Facebook and told me she had ruined her dress. He said he was going to see a lawyer because he was broke and couldn’t wear it again (it’s a wedding dress made from fairly cheap fabric and wouldn’t have cost much to begin with and was poorly made). When I returned it, it was in better condition than what I received.
‘Can you sue me for doing this? As far as I knew, it was the bride’s responsibility to do whatever she wanted with him. I texted the girlfriend and she didn’t respond.
Many were quick to comment saying that the bride’s friend was being “ridiculous” and had been watching too many American legal dramas.
Many suggested that the bride’s friend is “being ridiculous,” saying she can’t really sue because there was no contract or money involved.
One person said: ‘There is no contract, no money has changed hands. I bet they just want to scam you out of some money.
Another said: ‘Of course he can’t. She’s being ridiculous. Another added: “Hahaha, tell her even half an hour of a lawyer’s work will cost her more than her dress in the first place.”
A fourth said: “He’s watched too much American television.” You can’t sue someone just because you’re unhappy with something.
“You have no contractual relationship with her and you didn’t steal her dress, so she can’t sue you, so relax and block her.”
However, others suggested that the dress owners’ problem should be with the bride and not the woman who made the alterations.
One person wrote: ‘No good deed goes unpunished! The dress owner’s problem is with the bride. She was a real CF if they took 19cm off the length and made other alterations to a friend’s dress without permission.’
Another said: “Clearly the bride didn’t tell her friend she was having it altered and now the friend is upset because it’s too short for her.”
‘This is a lack of communication on your part. A friend should have told the bride that she wanted the dress back, the bride should have told her friend that it is too long and would need to be altered. It’s not your problem at all!
Someone else added: ‘It’s not your problem. You acted in good faith on behalf of a friend, I don’t think there is any reason to sue you. This is between the other two. Keep your messages secure. Print a copy.
‘Maybe a response that says ‘this matter is between you and X.’ She contacted me and asked me to adjust the dress, which I did in good faith according to the specifications given. “I won’t talk about this anymore.” Then block.’
Meanwhile, a fourth person agreed: “The ‘friend’ needs to talk to the bride who asked someone to alter her dress.” It’s not your problem; You shouldn’t have known.
Several commenters suggested that the dress owner’s problem should be with the bride and not the woman who made the alterations.
“Be sure to take screenshots of your conversations with the girlfriend in case they disappear.”
However, others suggested that the woman was wrong to alter the dress without the owner’s permission.
One person said: “You knew the dress didn’t belong to your friend so you shouldn’t have altered it without the owner’s permission.”
‘I’m surprised you agreed as I wouldn’t want to be responsible for ruining a wedding dress! However, the fact that you had to cut 19cm off indicates that the owner is considerably taller than the person he lent it to, and must have realized that it would have to be modified to fit, otherwise it would drag around. the ground and it would look like garbage.
“Most wedding dresses have to be altered in some way to fit the wearer, so they are not suitable for lending. The moral of the story is, don’t lend out your most prized items.”
Another agreed: ‘The bride told you the dress was someone else’s. Therefore, I would not have made any permanent alterations without the explicit permission of both the bride and the owner: raising the hem and adding darts that could be removed, but not cut.
“However, the legal waters for deciding who is responsible for the damage seem decidedly murky and I doubt it is worth suing.”
The original poster added: ‘I just want to add. The dress is perfect. It is in better condition now than when I bought it. It seems the owners problem is that I shortened it to fit the bride. The owner is a little taller.
‘Thank you all. I have a series of text messages from the girlfriend explaining what she needs and why she is asking me for it (she doesn’t have time to go to a professional).
‘It also shows that I said I would rather not do it because I am not a professional. So I say I’ll do it as a favor but I don’t want payment because I’m not a professional. (I already have a paid job and I don’t need to muddy the tax waters by taking on sewing jobs too.
‘I received two messages from her saying that the dress fits her better than ever and even fits her body better.
‘I didn’t respond to the owner of the dress, but I messaged the bride on all the platforms I have for her. I’ll keep all the evidence I have just in case, but thanks for reassuring me.’
Some suggested that the woman was wrong to alter the dress without the owner’s permission.
The woman later shared a new message she received from the angry girlfriend. It said: ‘I was very surprised that you cut so much of the background!! Who does that? All you had to do was fold the hem a little and put a stitch on it.
‘It didn’t matter if it dragged a little. I didn’t ask you to fix the back seam, you did it to look good.
‘I’ll wear a cardigan so no one sees it. Xxxxx is screwed with me now, so I had to tell her that you did it, not me. She can fight you about it. I’ve got enough on my plate with the leak.’
The original poster added: “I am speechless. She was delighted when she picked up the dress that fit her so well and she herself said that the little sash I made with the hem really finished off the opaque waist.
‘I’ve blocked them both and I’m going to put this down to experience. I am ashamed that I let myself be fooled by a sad story. No wonder people don’t help each other anymore. I hope someone tells her that wedding dresses don’t have folded hems. Arrrggghhhh. I’m so upset!’