Wedding dress maker Alfred Angelo’s slogan is “Your Dream. Your Dress,” but that dream turned into a nightmare for at least 100 local brides and bridesmaids Thursday with the unexpected closure of the company.
The company officially announced Monday that they had filed for bankruptcy and have provided an update on the open dress orders.
The company put out a statement on their website, announcing they offically closed on Thursday, July 14 and filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy claim on the same day. Alfred Angelo Bridal is slated for bankruptcy court in Flordia Thursday morning.
Additionally they provided an update on the open dress orders. Those who have open orders with the company can email alfredangelo@mjstrustee.com and will eventually be given an update on the status of their dress. They plan to update their website with dress order statuses as well.
The company's plan for customers who have already placed orders is as follows, according to the New York attorney general:
1) For dresses that are completely paid for and are in a local store, Alfred Angelo will open the store and give the bride her dress.
2) If the dress is in transit from China or California, the company will try to match the dresses to the brides and get them delivered.
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3) If the customer has paid in full but the dress has not gone into production, their claim will get priority in the bankruptcy after the trustee and employees up to a maximum of $2,800. Some consumers may be able to receive credit on the charge card used to make the purchase.
This update comes after a spokeswoman for New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman told News 4 New York that they have been in contact with Alfred Angelo, a staple in the bridal industry for over 80 years.
The spokeswoman, Sarah Rutherford, said consumers should file their complaints with the attorney general's office.
Alfred Angelo operated 60 signature stores nationally and offered an exclusive Disney-inspired wedding dress. But brides who purchased dresses from the label have no idea if they will receive them, or whether they will get a refund, now that the dress maker has closed up shop.
Alfred Angelo representatives were not reachable immediately after Thursday's announcement for comment at either company headquarters or its customer-service line.
Bridal retailer R.K. Bridal, located in the Garment district, was one of very few local stores who still carried dresses from Alfred Angelo. They have 100 open orders with the company and have no idea what will happen now.
"I have a good amount of customers whose wedding dates are in the next four to six weeks. Consider the fact we have a huge volume of bridesmaids sales, there’s a substantial amount that are going to be facing very very tight deadline," R.K. Bridal dress buyer Madison Debany said.
The apparent end of Alfred Angelo is completely of out the blue for those at R.K. Bridal and other bridal stores around the nation.
As recently as three days ago the company posted a tweet highlighting one of their mermaid dresses for sale. The account has been mute since.
Alfred Angelo customer service phones have also been mute. When Debany and her co-workers tried to call the Alfred Angelo customer service center three days ago, they were told it was experiencing phone troubles. Every time they called since they have received the same answer.
Debany found out the national chain was experiencing problems through a private Facebook group she is a part of for bridal store employees. She says there has been speculation in that Facebook group that something was wrong at Alfred Angelo for past three days.
"[I read on the Facebook group] that some stores around the country were getting calls from Alfred Angelo employees for job hiring and that’s where things began unraveling. And then yesterday we heard the people who work in the Alfred Angelo signature stores were told, that is it," said Debany.
Bridal stores around the nation, such as R.K. Bridal, have offered discounts and other assistance to those affected by the dress maker's shutdown. This morning, national wedding dress chain David's Bridal also announced a series of discounts to those affected.
"Immediately as speculation was stirring yesterday, I called several of my manufacturers to really push them to step up to help the stores who can then help the customers...we are definitely committed to helping all of our customers who are affected by this," said Debany.
