Your Online Dress Doesn't Fit: What to Do Next

Keep every tag attached, do not wash it and do not hand it to a tailor yet. Then work out whether the size is wrong or the cut is wrong, because those need two different replacements, and raise an exchange request with photos. S&C Style accepts exchanges but does not accept returns, so the aim is to land on the right replacement piece rather than to simply send it back.

What should I do in the first ten minutes after opening the parcel?

Everything you do in the first few minutes either protects your exchange or quietly cancels it.

1. Leave all tags attached. A cut tag is the single most common reason an exchange gets refused anywhere.
2. Keep the packaging, the poly bag and the invoice together in one place.
3. Try the dress on over the underwear you would genuinely wear with it, in daylight if you can.
4. Take three photos with it on: front, side, and a close shot of the exact spot that is not working.
5. Take one more photo of the dress laid flat with the tag clearly visible.
6. Do not wash it, do not press it on a high setting and do not get it altered. Any of those end the exchange option.
7. Write down what is wrong in plain words: "gapes at the bust", "tight across the hips", "hem stops at the widest part of my calf".

Ten minutes of this saves a week of messages later, because your request arrives complete instead of in pieces.

How do I tell whether it is the size or the cut that is wrong?

Measure the dress, not only yourself. Lay it flat on a bed, smooth it out, and measure across the bust, the waist and the widest part of the skirt. Double each of those numbers to get the full circumference, then compare with the size chart on the product page you ordered from.

• If the garment matches the chart but your own measurements point to a different size, it is a sizing problem. A different size will fix it.
• If the garment matches the chart and your measurements match the size you ordered, but it still feels wrong, it is a cut problem. The same dress in another size will disappoint you again. You need a different style.
• If the garment does not match the chart at all, say so specifically in your request and attach the flat-lay photo with the tape in frame.

What does each fit problem actually tell me?

How do I raise an exchange without losing time?

1. Decide the exact replacement first: same dress in another size, or a different style altogether. Requests that say only "does not fit" take longer because someone has to come back and ask.
2. Check that the replacement you want is actually in stock in your size before you raise the request.
3. Open your order and start the exchange with the order number to hand.
4. Attach the photos you took: worn front, worn side, the problem area, and the flat-lay with the tag.
5. Describe the issue in one or two lines, and give your bust, waist and hip measurements. Real numbers help far more than "it is a bit big".
6. Read the returns and exchanges policy for the current window and process, and the shipping policy for how the pickup and dispatch work, so you know what to expect.
7. Keep the piece unworn, unwashed and tagged until the exchange is complete.

What can a tailor fix, and what is not worth altering?

Some problems are genuinely cheaper and faster to fix at your local tailor than to exchange, especially if the dress is right in every other way. Just decide before you go, because alteration ends the exchange option.

Worth altering: shortening a straight or A-line hem, taking in side seams, taking in a back seam, narrowing shoulder straps, moving a button.

Rarely worth altering: letting seams out, because there is usually less than a centimetre of fabric inside; moving a waist seam; reshaping armholes; shortening tiered, pleated, bias-cut or embellished hems, which changes the proportion of the whole skirt.

If the dress needs more than two alterations, exchange it. The tailoring will cost more than the dress deserves and it still will not sit the way a correctly cut piece does.

What if the size was right but the dress just is not me?

That happens, and it is worth separating from a fit problem. Try it once more with different shoes, with a belt at your natural waist, or layered over a plain top, before deciding. The footwear guide for dresses covers how much the shoe changes the whole look, and it changes more than people expect.

If it still is not working, check the exchange policy for what a style swap involves, and pick a replacement from the dresses collection or the co-ord sets while you still have the tags on.

How do I stop this happening on the next order?

Measure yourself once, properly, and save the numbers in your phone. The guide to measuring yourself at home walks through doing it alone with no one to hold the tape. Then, on every product page, do four checks before you add to cart: open the size chart and match your numbers; read the fabric composition to see whether there is any stretch; look at the listed length and compare it with where you want the hem; and read what the description says about the fit, whether it is relaxed, regular or body-skimming.

Four checks take about ninety seconds and they prevent most exchange requests before they happen.