Through my placement
I kept a day to day diary where I wrote each task down at the end of the day. However,
as most days were pretty much the same I decided that a day to day update of my
placement would have been pointless so I have given a weekly diary of how I got
on.
Week 1
I started my first
day at Belles Bridal Boutique on the 5th August where I went to meet
with Geraldine, the boutique owner, to have a chat and discuss my role. I also
met with Abby and Paula, one of the seamstresses. As they were having a busy
day in the shop I was asked if I could help that day so my first day began. As
it was a day of fittings there was a bride who came in for her final fitting
before taking the dress. When she tried her dress on there was no need for any
further alterations as it fitted perfectly from having the previous fittings. It
was a tea cup length dress with a bow tied around her waist and meshed straps
that covered her chest, it really suited her! Her face lit up when she knew
there didn’t need any other work to it and her and her mum started crying. It was
a really nice experience to see someone so happy over her perfect dress.
For the rest of the
week I basically got to know how the business worked and made myself familiar
with everything that went on. For brides to visit the boutique they had to make
an appointment which meant they were given the full attention and help from
whoever was running the shop that day. Each appointment was given a 1-2 hour
slot where they would go to the top floor where all the dresses where kept and
place a red heart around the hanger on the dresses they wanted to try on. The
brides and there family/friends who they had brought with them would then be offered
tea and cake while the dresses were brought down when they then tried them on.
In the first week I
spent most of my time with Abby so I help to assist her with bringing down the
dresses to the changing area, help making tea and cake and basically just
helping to make the brides feel comfortable. I also helped the brides with the
wedding dresses, as some of the dresses had so many layers, they needed a hand
getting them on. As the dresses are only sample dresses and are made to order,
the majority of the dresses didn’t fit the brides so I had to clamp the dress
at the back to give a better idea of the fit. The brides then shown their dress
to their family/friends and we helped and gave advice while also choosing
different veils, shoes and accessories. Though this week I feel as though I learnt
a lot about how that specific boutique worked and started to get familiar with
the different designers and styles of dresses.
Week 2
Week 2 began on the
12th August, so when it came to this second week I felt I was fully
aware of the boutiques daily appointment routine. It was a busy week of orders
as everyone was buying their dresses for the summer 2015 weddings so I got to
overlook a lot of orders that were being taken. When a bride had decided on her
dress, I took her required measurements and they were placed on the order form
along with their details and date of the wedding as the dresses took 6-9 months
to be made. I was surprised at how long the wait was for the dresses and never
would have thought it was that long!
Through this week I
learned more about the designers and started to recognise what dress was
designed by who from certain elements each dress had. My favourite designer in
the boutique was Jesus Peiro whose dresses were absolutely stunning and looked
really elegant and sophisticated, they were also popular with the brides.
This week I also
helped Carol and Paula, both the seamstresses with more fittings and they
explained how they would alter the dress. I found out that wedding dresses allowed
more seam allowances to add a dress size, so if a bride had ordered a size 10
but was too small, the dress could be let out and into a size 12. Unfortunately
I didn’t take part in any of the alterations with not having enough experience
it was left to the professionals to alter such expensive dresses. Although I did
help with the delivery of each dress. When the dresses were final dispatched
and arrived at the boutique they came heavily packaged and wrapped in paper, we
then had to check the dress to make sure there were no mistakes or anything
missing. To do this, I had to wear white gloves to prevent any marks on the
dress, it was scary to think how expensive each dress was and how careful I had
to be whilst handling them. I had to make sure each dress was perfect with
every button, no missing embellishment and no holes or extra thread anywhere.
Week 3
Week 3 began the 19th
August which wasn’t as busy as the previous weeks and didn’t have as many
appointments and fittings. However, as I was now a lot more comfortable and
aware of how everything ran, I helped to answer the phone and take appointments
and answer people’s queries which was good to be completely involved.
With the boutique
not being as busy, this gave me a chance to spend more time with Charlotte who
was in charge of marketing the boutique through social media. This was a good
opportunity as I helped her take new pictures of the new arrivals that hadn’t already
been put on Facebook. I was able to ask her questions about how she markets and
get to know her previous experiences which was really interesting and I learned
a lot. The marketing through social media is really important for the boutique
as well as word of mouth and she explained that a lot of the customers they had
had found them through Facebook.
As the week wasn’t busy
there wasn’t much to do so we had a top to bottom clean of the shop and tidied
everything.
Week 4
Week 4 beginning
the 26th August was again a quiet week. As the shop wasn’t as busy
as usual Geraldine gave me a task to complete which was to check all the
dresses which had been discontinued and make note of what needed repairing to
them. The dresses that designers had discontinued meant that there could be no
more orders for them in which case the sample dress would be discounted and
sold ‘as seen’. As a lot of the dresses had been tried on a lot, there were
things that needed repairing such as missing buttons, missing hook and eyes,
missing beads, holes, the dress needed dry cleaning or the hem needed tidying. I
had to make a note of all this with each dresses code and was given materials
to help repair them ready for a sample sale which Geraldine was organising to
help sell the ‘as seen’ dresses.
I enjoyed doing
this as I felt more productive and had originally wanted to better my sewing
skills. So for the rest of the last week I mainly continued with repairing the
dresses as well as the appointments we had through the day.
Overall I enjoyed
my placement at Belles Bridal Boutique and learned a lot about how a small
business is ran. I got familiar with a lot of bridal wear designers and
introduced to new styles. I also enjoyed learning about the marketing and how
social media is a big help to attract customers and without marketing there wouldn’t
be half as many customers that visit the shop. I loved seeing each bride and
hearing their different wedding plans which I was genuinely interested in, it
was nice to see them so happy when they had found a dress they loved. The boutique
was really welcoming and made every bride and their guests feel comfortable. A disadvantage
in my placement would have to be that it wasn’t hands on. Unfortunately I didn’t
get to make anything or better my sewing skills which I would have liked to
have given me more experience.
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