Nova Chic Boutique (Appointment preferred)

I was extremely nervous to go in and look at dresses, as I rarely wear dresses. I wasn’t able to get the girls name that I had but she was AMAZING and so accomodating, The other girls on that floor were so welcoming as well, I was so overwhelmed with how many dresses there was in store but the girl that was helping me talked me through every step. She understood me and my facial expressions where she could tell if I didn’t like the dress or not, In the end I found the perfect dress and I am so thankful to the girl I had, You were Amazing and I don’t think you understand how big of a help you were! Thank you to everyone at Nova Chic!! xx

Initially I was nervous to go in here because of all the negative reviews but my experience deffinatly proves that you just have to go try things for yourself. I was looking for a versatile dress for my formal, a wedding, and cocktail party. The staff helped me find dresses based off of my likes eg. No pastel colours because they wash me out. We had a good laugh and joked around which made the atmosphere very welcoming. I was given altering suggestions and an alter to go to (I had waited too long to order in a dress) so this was a great alternative. I especially liked that I wasn’t pressured to purchase anything immediately. I was given a card with the two dresses I couldn’t decide on information and they held them for me to decide. Photos will be coming!

My daughter found the perfect dress that fitted perfectly. As we were completing the order another consultant came over and told us that we needed to order the next size up after taking my daughter’s measurements. The dress has arrived and it is too big. I feel the whole bodice needs to be remade to fit properly, not the small tuck like they suggested it might need when the order was done. The no exchange policy is too big a risk when paying so much for a dress , especially when you don’t get to try on your dress before you pay for it.

Staff are absolutely lovely! Helped me find my dream dress for my formal! Special shout out to Jasmine, she was so helpful!

Terrible experience all round with Nova Chic Boutique. I would strongly advise anyone against buying a dress here, as there were constant, unacceptable issues, and poor communication. I went in for my fitting in October and ordered my formal dress. The staff strongly insisted on a specific date for my school formal, even though I had doubts, and she entered that as the event date. They told us the dress would arrive between January and February. My mum called the store multiple times in January and February to follow up and clarify the correct formal date in March, but we consistently received vague, unhelpful responses. Every time after calling they had not updated the date of the formal. A few days ago, with my formal only weeks away, my mum called again being firm about either picking up the dress or ordering me a new one from another seller. The staff member was argumentative, refused to give straight yes-or-no answers, and repeatedly made excuses for not knowing the information. We received very snarky comments and flimsy excuses. Eventually, someone "more knowledgeable", the manager said she just returned from maternity leave, and told us the dress was still at the warehouse, even though we had been told a week and a half earlier it would arrive in less than a week. It never did. They even tried to blame us for their repeated failure to update the correct formal date. We were then told it would arrive in another week (which we didn’t know we could trust, as we were told that earlier), leaving almost no buffer before the formal. They also said alterations generally take 3–4 weeks, meaning the dress would only be ready less than a week before my event. Then suddenly we were told the dress has arrived, the day after we called - by 9am (when was this shipped again?) despite conversation the day before (around 5pm) that the supplier will ship it the next day, but this sudden change seemed extremely unreliable, considering it was so soon... When we went to pick it up, we were made to pay the remaining balance before seeing or trying on the dress, with no option for a refund. The whole situation was uncomfortable. When I tried it on, it was a big size, like the original dress. We had tried a size 6 in October, which was to big, and ordered a smaller size. I believe the store clearly gave us the in-store sample dress instead of the correct size. This is unacceptable for a $700 dress. The staff were rude, dismissive, and apathetic while we tried to resolve this. They told us that they had tailors, which we assumed would be in-store, but this turned out to be an expensive bridal tailor next door who quoted $280 on top of the $700 dress and couldn’t guarantee it would be ready in time (only being ready a bit less than a week before the event, leaving no margin for correcting alteration mistakes). We had to make our own arrangements to ensure the dress would actually fit. Significant alterations were required due to the wrong size, creating stress and uncertainty about the final quality. The strict no-refund policy (which is not compliant with Australian Consumer Laws), the repeated delays, the misleading information, and the unhelpful, argumentative staff made this experience incredibly stressful. The lack of transparency and documentation around orders also made it impossible to resolve the problem fairly. Never, EVER shop here if you want to be treated well, told the truth, and receive the actual product that you ordered. We will never be coming back here again.

I recently visited this boutique as part of a bridal party, and unfortunately, our experience was far from satisfactory. We tried on sample dresses and were measured, only to be told that we would need to size up. Despite questioning the staff member three times about this recommendation at the time and with other bridesmaids experiencing this at different fittings, we were assured that even though the size 10 fit perfectly, we should go with a size 12 because the sample was "a bit worn in", after this advice I wasn’t even offered the size 12 to try on or check the fit. The dresses took 13 weeks to arrive and were massive on us, to the point that they slipped down my sides. From the opinion of my seamstress, this means that the dress that I was measured for and the one I was provided with was NOT in my size range. After consulting with my seamstress, I learned that the boning and fabric of the dresses have very little flexibility. Other seamstresses used by the rest of the bridal party confirmed the same issue, leaving us all feeling overwhelmed by how OVERSIZED the dresses were. Despite questioning the boutique staff multiple times about the sizing recommendation, we were still given false information and inaccurate advice, which has caused significant frustration and disappointment. Now, each of us is facing over $120 in alteration costs on top of the original dress price of $335. As advised by a range of different seamstresses these are NOT MINOR alterations, as the entire bodice for at least two of the party members needs to be restructured. Another two also require significant alterations which are also not minor. While we expected to have the hems taken up, the incorrect sizing advice is now costing us a lot more. This situation is incredibly frustrating and reflects a lack of professionalism; accurate advice is crucial in such a significant purchase and in this specific industry. If the sizes did not match the manufacturer's size chart and align with the actual product, then this discrepancy should be corrected, and consumers should not be responsible for any additional costs resulting from this issue. To add to the disappointment, my complaint was not addressed by the business. Update: They have since contacted me after seeing my google review, however no resolution or accountability was offered, stating that we were in the appropriate size range, which is clearly not the case. This is not the only time that I've heard of this happening with this business and does not appear to be a "RARE" instance as seen and heard by other reviews. I would avoid it in the future. During pickup, I was not afforded the opportunity to try on the dress, as they were with another customer. I was given the receipt and no other assistance. Therefore, no issues on pick-up could have been raised due to lack of customer service at the time. If THREE different seamstresses all say the same thing, I'm going to go with their professional opinion that your sizes and conversion to the manufacturers' size chart and finished product must be inaccurate and not be due to an "unknown" seamstress' perspective. In further reflection to your response, the normal "hem, strap and waist"alterations that you mention were not advised during any fittings, only the hem was mentioned. I also asked multiple times if the 12 would actually be a good fit during the fitting, I was advised that it would be. Maybe don't violate Australian Consumer Law, maybe look in to the ACCC if you are unfamiliar with the legislation around retail sales and misinformation that result in a sale.

I’ve had a very poor experience at this dress store while attending a fitting as part of bridal party. During the fitting I was measured and assured that a specific size was needed, when I had tried on a completely different size which had fit. We tried on the sample sizes, in orange, but we ordered in the champagne and black colours. As seen in the photo, the dress fitted perfectly. The end product, the size up, that I was told to order was very large. I had to quickly book in a seamstress as the dresses took over three months to arrive and the wedding was only a few weeks out by that stage. It’s formal dress / wedding season and many seamstresses are under the pump. After contacting five different places I finally found one that would be able to provide the significant alterations to the bodice structure that I needed. I should note that the fabric of the dresses has no flexibility and the bodices were boned. So it’s pretty confusing that the size that fit me in store was not the one that I was told to order. We were already aware that the store offered no alterations and ordering another dress to address the massive size difference wouldn’t be possible in this timeframe (since it took over three months). I had asked if the new recommended size would actually fit me well and I was told that it would. My size/measurements have not changed during this period. My seamstress was disgusted by how significant the size difference was for a dress that was supposed to be measured and matched. Many of the other bridesmaids are now facing similar challenges. We also had to have separate fittings due to timing constraints. At the time, I was not fitted/measured by a dressmaker. I was not offered to try on the larger size that they recommended during the fitting or to try on the dress on pickup, as the staff were occupied. I had questioned their "professional" advice multiple times. One of the other girls in the bridal party, who was making a complaint to the business regarding these issues, was advised when she mentioned how costly the dress had firstly been, plus the cost of alterations (now costing with the additional work $500) that our bridesmaids dresses were on the cheaper side of bridal party dresses regarding pricing, therefore we should not be affronted by the overall cost of the dress and alteration fees. I think having to pay $335 plus alteration costs over $150, in this economy is not acceptable to receive a dress that the customer is told would fit them well. No additional customer service was provided to address this issue. At no point during the experience was I told that I would need anything more than the hem adjusted to make the dress fit well. What a waste of money. Definitely don’t recommend.