Why Is There No Swatch Program at The Briar Patch?
A very frequent request we receive in customer service is for a swatch of material to match with special event theme colors, such as matching a flower girl dress to the other wedding attendants.
In the beginning, The Briar Patch was strictly a brick and mortal specialty shop. With the addition of the online catalog, many of our policies and procedures were modified to accomodate online retailing and customer service. We did work to create a swatch program at the initial success of the online shop, but the swatch program was not very helpful.
The first concern is from our designers, who worried the unknown demand of an endless online audience may deplete their own precious material resources more than could be afforded. So, we were limited on the amount of fabric available to us. Then, dye lots and material bolts would change between production runs and we began to notice that swatches were not a good representation of the actual color of the dress. There were some unhappy customers who laid their swatch on a newly received dress to show one or the other was a shade lighter (or darker) than expected. No matter the upfront discussions we made on dye and material lots, such disappointment was very difficult to manage.
Very lastly, as a full service storefront shop, we know the importance of proper fit and the attitude of a young person towards a special event garment. For a flower girl, it is extremely important the flower girl dress fits comfortably, fits well, and also makes the young girl happy to wear it. For all these reasons, there is no substitute for actually trying on the garment. Even if the color is the perfect shade of periwinkle, if it makes the flower girl miserable, it is not a good choice as a flower girl dress.
For all these reasons and the inescapable need to try on the dress or suit, we do not offer a swatch program at this time. Please email us anytime at brpatch@sbcglobal.net and we will happily discuss colors with you prior to placing an order should you need additional information on a particular shade of green, blue, pink or any other color of the rainbow.
In the beginning, The Briar Patch was strictly a brick and mortal specialty shop. With the addition of the online catalog, many of our policies and procedures were modified to accomodate online retailing and customer service. We did work to create a swatch program at the initial success of the online shop, but the swatch program was not very helpful.
The first concern is from our designers, who worried the unknown demand of an endless online audience may deplete their own precious material resources more than could be afforded. So, we were limited on the amount of fabric available to us. Then, dye lots and material bolts would change between production runs and we began to notice that swatches were not a good representation of the actual color of the dress. There were some unhappy customers who laid their swatch on a newly received dress to show one or the other was a shade lighter (or darker) than expected. No matter the upfront discussions we made on dye and material lots, such disappointment was very difficult to manage.
Very lastly, as a full service storefront shop, we know the importance of proper fit and the attitude of a young person towards a special event garment. For a flower girl, it is extremely important the flower girl dress fits comfortably, fits well, and also makes the young girl happy to wear it. For all these reasons, there is no substitute for actually trying on the garment. Even if the color is the perfect shade of periwinkle, if it makes the flower girl miserable, it is not a good choice as a flower girl dress.
For all these reasons and the inescapable need to try on the dress or suit, we do not offer a swatch program at this time. Please email us anytime at brpatch@sbcglobal.net and we will happily discuss colors with you prior to placing an order should you need additional information on a particular shade of green, blue, pink or any other color of the rainbow.
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