Take your business somewhere else and save yourself the tears on your big day. My experience with Layla Chatoor was nothing less than a nightmare. She will shamelessly eat your money shrug her shoulders and say “I don’t remember writing that in my diary”. When you ask her to kindly write the discussed contract in the receipt she’ll shrug her shoulders and say “I don’t work like that “.
I placed my order in November for my bridal. I went one day with my mother and aunts to get quotes for the dress. It cost Rs ABC, 000 with work just on the front of the shirt and Rs ABC, 000 + Rs de, 000 for both FRONT AND BACK. I said I wanted just the front for ABC, 000, placed the order and promised to pay her advance the next day
The next day I placed the order, paid her Rs ABC, 000 + de, 000 and said I wanted BOTH THE FRONT AND THE BACK.
This was in November. Also in November, my sister ordered her dress for my wedding from Layla too. I went with her to help her with the selection. I ask her if I could change the order of the purse that I was going to carry on my wedding… She said “no problem” and she even drew the purse in her secret diary. My wedding was in **March. **Layla Chatoor called me in February- just a month before my wedding to confirm the exact color of the dress. So I ask her “are you sure you will be able to finish making it if you just start working on my dress now” Her reply, “I’m a professional designer not an adday wali” in a shop where I would “have to remind “her to give my dress on time. In her words, “If your trial is scheduled on 27th then it will be on the 27th” I say ok and avoid her yelling on the phone any further. But now I wish I had not trusted her as a “professional designer” that she calls herself
On the 27th of Feb, I go for my trial. She shows me an UNSTICHED shirt front and back. AND THE BACK HAD NO WORK. She showed me the back and pointing to the little border marking done with a golden thread she said “ I did a little extra on the back”. Both my parents and I remind her that we asked for complete work done in the back too. She shakes her head “I don’t remember that” but agrees to check in her diary
TWO DAYS before my wedding I call her to ask if I could PLEASE come to for the (real) trial- (the one in which people TRY clothes for the fitting not just see them unstitched – the one that I was supposed to have with a “professional” designer) She says “you can tomorrow”
So I went THE DAY BEFORE MY WEDDING.. THE DAY OF MY MEHNDI TO TRY OUT MY DRESS THE FIRST TIME. It was tight. And it was also the first time I saw the sharara. I asked her if she could change the color of stones in the sharara. She said “no problem” and she put pins around the shirt to mark where it needs to be loosened
THE DAY OF MY WEDDING I GET THE DRESS WITH THE WRONG PURSE. The dress was tighter than YESTERDAY. If I go back to her, I will run late for my make up appointment, hence my photo shoot which is scheduled to be done in DAYLIGHT. Great right Thanks Layla! It was hard to get into the dress and when a dress is tight, your shoulders look broad and I was a bulging out bride that didn’t get enough time to try the dress
After my wedding I ask her to accommodate me. She had not changed the stones as promised and said “There was not time to do it” but she agreed to change it now, after my wedding, as a customer service
She also agreed to fix the fitting of my dress now, after my wedding, as a customer service
She DENIED to having agreed to work on front and back of shirt but said she will do it as a customer service
She denied ANY conversation that we had about the bag and refused to open her “magic” diary again.
Having learnt from my mistakes with the whole front and the back fraud,I now ask her to please give it to me in writing that she will give me work on the back of the shirt too.“ I don’t work like that” She said. “My clients trust me” WHAT??? You don’t write an agreement??? HOW PROFESSIONAL IS THAT??? And God Forbid I mention what a nerve wrecking, hair pulling nightmare it has been especially on my wedding day… there she would start again ranting and singing on and on that shes a “professional designer”
You know what; I would have been ok with a “sorry I could not finish your dress in time. I know it’s a very special day for every girl but I will work on the back after your wedding” and just a “sorry I forgot to change the order of your purse” but No. The response I get from her is shrugging of shoulders and saying “I don’t remember that” and when I ask everything in writing, again a shoulder shrug and “I don’t work like that- my clients trust me”
My professor went to Vera Wang to get a dress and shoes for a certain event. The assistant at Vera Wang could not deliver the shoes, she asked my professor to pick any shoes from the display that would go with her dress and it was for her to keep.Now that’s professionalism. Nobody wants to deal with attitude especially when you have an option of taking your business to another, genuinely professional, designer.
Here in the USA there is something called a small claims court where you take petty injustices such as these to court just because you are confident that you will get justice. How sad there is NOTHING you can do in Pakistan. Even if it’s about principles- nothing. There is no price for the turmoil I had to go through but the money that she charged me and delivered only half of the agreed upon product cannot be recovered in Pakistan either. (I have five women and one man (my dad) as eye witness when she quoted the price to me.)
So learn from my experience. Either get Layla Chatoor to WRITE EVERYTHING and give it to you and heavens forbid you forgot something, be prepared for denials, songs of being a professional and the shoulder shrugs oh yes! OR take your business elsewhere where they won’t treat you as riff raffs –somebody they can take advantage of to the fullest and then get away with it.
Also, Sheila chatoor is her-sister in-law not her sister and she refused to give her number to my sister
