Renee Strauss For the Bride

06/09/2008 Posted by tuckerriley

For all you brides out there, I want to seriously warn you to stay away from this place. Not only is the selection of merchandise sub par, the owner of the boutique is honestly one of the rudest, most arrogant and sarcastic women I have ever come into contact with. They charge you high quality prices for low quality merchandise and when you request that things be fixed they will refuse. Don't let this Beverly Hills address fool you -- you'd get better customer service in the bargain basement of Macy's!

03/29/2008 Posted by jlew42

Great selection of bridesmaid dresses, very knowledgeable sales staff. My swatch came in promptly, all the dresses came in with ample time to spare for shipping and alterations. The flower girl dresses are adorable and i highly recommend Renee Strauss!

Pros: Huge department

03/29/2008 Posted by eisen221

I found my dress here and LOVED the experience! My parents flew in for a few days to help me with the search of my dream dress. We came here first. Shopped several other stores just to be sure and came back to buy. We are so glad we did! The service was really top-notch. The selection was fabulous, no other store compared, in atmosphere or in anything else. Even my father felt right at home and he's a man in a bridal shop for heaven's sake! Renee was so warm and such an expert. This definitely is superior over all. The store was really busy today and everyone was in great spirits, customers and staff! I would come back again and again with all my friends.

Pros: Diverse selection, great customer service

03/24/2008 Posted by mollyhp

After ordering my bridesmaid dress it took almost five months to receive. At one point, I got a call saying my dress came in. I made an appointment, showed up and, "Oops, our mistake, it's not here. We were thinking you were someone else. What's your number again? You'll have to come back another day." Talk about incompetence. I was obviously irritated but then treated beyond rude for having any expectations of quality service. I would never recommend this place to anyone, ever.

Cons: Unprofessional and arrogant

03/23/2008 Posted by Jess2wed

I really gave up on finding a dress I would fall in love with. Everyone says you'll know it when you see it and it just didn't happen after being in 2 stores in Pasadena (really nightmares) and 3 in Los Angeles. Renee Strauss was last on my list because I thought it would be way out of my price range. We were greeted warmly, invited to taste wedding cake while we waited for our appointment and wandered through their racks of bridesmaid dresses. When my turn came up, I was asked my price range was not at all offended by the question. i was told it was to my benefit not to fall in love with something I could be uncomfortable buying, and I agree with this philosophy, after all, I was looking to buy, not just get ideas. I ended up going over budget because I found a gorgeous dress I asked to try on. I am glad the experience was methodical and straight forward. Down to earth and really helpful - not to mention a stunning collection of wedding gowns.

03/17/2008 Posted by caligrl625

I went here because of the reviews I saw on this site and because one of my friends had found her dress at Renee Strauss. It turned out to be the only bad experience I have had planning my wedding so far! This was the first shop I went to and was going to be the first time to try on dresses. I was SO excited. The first thing my conultant asked about was our budget. I told her we planned to spend around $2000. She just stared at me and said they had a few things in that price range. My mom then told her we'd be willing to go up to about $4000, but she told us that still didn't get us much. It was awkward from that point forward. I told the consultant I wanted to look like a princess and described what I had in mind. She pulled dresses for me, but none looked like what I had described to her. She kept telling me I was a modern bride. She took me into a dressing room and and none of the dresses fit. They only have one size of dress to try on. She told me they could have "a special size made for me" (I found this funny because I am an average size girl. Not overweight, but not a stick..so the fact that they did not have a dress that would fit me to even try on seemed ridiculous). I asked her why none of these dresses were what I had described (because I had seen princess type dresses on other racks), and she told me those were not in my budget. I told her I didn't want to waste her time and try on the rest. She went to grab Renee, and as we were leaving Renee said she was "trying to be creative with our budget" in a very snobbyway. I told her no thank you. We ended up going to Alfred Angelo and had a FABULOUS experience! We found a dress, in our budget and got royal treatment. Very different from what we had experience from Renee Strauss and her team. My family and I were treated like second class citizens, not something you want to experience when trying on wedding dresses! Even the expensive dresses ($15,000) were not that fabulous.

Pros: Can't think of one...

Cons: Snobby staff, overpriced gowns, not a lot of options, not a lot of sizes

03/02/2008 Posted by hsla

Thanks to the others who wrote reviews on this store -- I went there based on the reviews that I would find a professional staff, and I was not disappointed. The lady who helped us was warm and listened to my ideas and found so many beautiful dresses for me to try on, all within my price range. It was a lovely experience, and best of all, I found my dress! I couldn't be happier. If you have an exact idea of the dress you want, they can help you find it, but they are also great in matching the dress to the personality of the bride -- that was the expertise I was looking for.

Pros: comfortable atmosphere, expertise

02/07/2008 Posted by 2bwed2

it's true this place is very busy, but the owner is there and each stylist is really trained to know her stuff. They take the time to really understand your vision and work hard to find the perfect dress. I found mine after shopping at least 10 stores. The ambience here was not only warm and friendly but highly professional. Sure you want to shop around, but this is the place to buy! Don't forget the amazing selection of incredible veils and head pieces. Pricey, yes, but once again, nothing compares. Blanca upstairs in bridesmaids is AMAZING.

Pros: Parking, Selection, Service

Cons: Closed Sunday!

01/22/2008 Posted by quetee02

I had a weekend appointment here during a Liancarlo trunk show and despite how busy it was, my consultant was wonderful and gave me a full 90 minutes of her time without rushing. She listened to my concerns and understood that I still have 18 months left until my wedding so she didn't pressure me as I've experienced elsewhere. I met Renee and the designer from Liancarlo and both were very gracious. Although I didn't find THE dress, I did find an option for my reception and will strongly consider returning as I make my final decision. Overall, I had a fabulous experience and would highly recommend a visit.

Pros: Attentive, patient

Cons: None

01/08/2008 Posted by renaissancewoman

Having read the previous reviews, I knew I had to try Renee Strauss. I made an appointment on a weeknight to have the most time available. It may have been an off night, but the sales lady was clearly not listening to me throughout the experience and was not at all committed to helping me find a dress. She asked me to talk about what I was looking for but then promptly cut me off before I could give her much information. I'm getting married on the beach in the Dominican Republic so I knew I didn't want a dress with extremely heavy fabric, which I was able to communicate before the sales associate started looking for dresses. To make a long story short, she brought in dresses that continued to be less and less what I wanted. I almost thought she was playing with me because I would try on a dress with lace and say "I don't want lace since I'll be on the beach" and she would then bring in a dress that had even more lace. This happened with styles (I can't wear a mermaid style and didn't want a chapel length train) until she brought in a dress that was the antithesis of what I had tried to describe. How "off" all the dresses were (and progressively moreso) had my friend and I laughing by the end. My friend finally went out and found a handful of dresses closer to what I wanted but none was "the one" (not the store's fault of course). We went upstairs to look at bridesmaid dresses and the staff up there was extremely helpful and knowledgeable. I even found one that might have worked for my wedding dress (if I got it in Ivory) and the sales associate offered to mail me a swatch of the fabric at my home. I received it in a few weeks.

Pros: Unattentive service in bridal section

Cons: Good service in birdesmaid section