I employed Ms. Blake in 2006 to make several small items for me (mainly Victorian underpinnings and some Victorian nightgowns). She was not always timely with fulfillment, but her work quality was exceptional.in one order she sent a chemise that did not fit (yoke was too small). I returned it, she altered it free of charge and sent it back.
In January I approached her with a larger more ambitious project. I wanted a Regency/Federal period wardrobe consisting of underpinnings, gown, spencer (jacket), pelisse (coat), and two half-robes. I also ordered some additional victorian silk underpinnings, a Victorian nightgown, an Edwardian "Gibson Girl" costume (pintucked blouse, long gored skirt, and underpinnings), as well as some antique replica corsets.
Just our consultation on the project took nearly a month in itself as we discussed options and fabric choices. I also emailed Ms. Blake fashion plates of certain styles I preferred for specific garments.
The final ticket on this merchandise total was over $3,000. I paid her a hefty deposit to accomodate this purchase.
In the beginning, Ms. Blake expressed enthusiasm for the project but cautioned me the size of the order would delay fulfillment. Her normal turnover was 8-12 weeks. I accepted her projected completion date of five months to complete the project.
At the end of May (past the approximate deadline), Ms. Blake apologized to me because the order was not ready in full. She offered to ship the period underpinnings to me first so that I could try them on and take new measurements for the Regency wardrobe to be sure the clothing fit properly over the underwear. She promised the clothing would be ready "about two weeks after I emailed her the measurements." After the clothing, she would construct the corsets. I agreed to this. I also forwarded her additional payment for my account since the company policy required at least 50% of an order's total before construction began.
I received the shipment of underpinnings. Although the construction and fit were impeccable, I was disturbed by some issues. Ms. Blake, in our consultation, had advised me to purchase a "princess petticoat" (for the Regency wardrobe) as well as an "Edwardian combination petticoat" (for the Edwardian blouse and skirt). These two garments were obviously the same garments with some minor variations in trimmings!
Ms. Blake assured me the "princess petticoat" would work well with my Regency gown and be more comfortable than an empire-waisted Regency petticoat.in fact, the higher neckline of the "princess petticoat" could not accomodate the more daring neckline of a traditional Regency dress.
When I pointed this out to Ms. Blake, she apologized and promised to replace the "princess petticoat" with a new one with a more accomodating neckline.
From here on out, a series of new delays occured over a month and a half. Ms. Blake's excuses included illness, employment as a costumiere for a feature film, an inattentive neighbor who was supposed to ship my order but didn't make it to UPS on time.
In late July she claimed she'd checked her accounts and never received payment from me and could not send the shipment until that was up to date. I examined my bank statements and discovered my payment to her company, made in late May had never been paid out.
When I expressed concern for the fact that I'd emailed her authorization to debit my account almost two months ago to keep the account current, her only response was that her company's policy stated it was the client's responsibility to get payment to her and verify payment.
By this time I was stressed to the point I wished I'd never bothered with this project. I requested photographs of the garments which Ms. Blake declined to provide, claiming her camera was broken. The company's website specifies that all garments are carefully photographed prior to shipment for insurance purposes.
Ms. Blake emailed me the last week of July to advise me that she'd shipped my order AND to request an additional deposit for the corsets which still hadn't been made yet. I replied I would not authorize additional funds for her until I received the present order. She replied she'd "just put my corsets away until I was ready to pay for them."
I was suspicious I would be less than thrilled with my shipment and my suspicions were not disappointed.
The order was incomplete. Accompanying the order was a note from Ms. Blake claiming she'd had to keep two specific very expensive items "for additional work".in a prior email she'd assured me everything was complete and she could not wait for me to see all of it.
The Regency gown bodice was obviously meant for someone with a much smaller chest and the gown was lined like a MODERN gown with a slim-fitting straight liner that could NEVER fit over the underpinnings bought from and made by this same company!
The spencer and the pelisse had machine-sewn buttonholes. Because the empire waistbands of these garments had thicker fabric, the seamstress opted to place the waistband button just ABOVE the waistband... Which meant I had a button straining closed over my lower bust which (DD cup) is significantly fuller than my ribcage. This causes the skirt of the pelisse to flare and gap unbecomingly instead of falling smoothly at the waistband.
Instead of the delicate, slightly puffed slim sleeves I'd requested and provided a fashion plate as visual aid, the spencer had HUGE oversized leg 'o mutton sleeves! It looked monstrous, like some weird historical hybrid combining Regency bodice with thick-cuffed impossibly full Edwardian sleeves puffing out to my EARS.
The Juliet style gathers on the pelisse sleeves were so delicate half the gathers popped on the right sleeve with my initial try on of the garment. The sleeves are period accurate, but their construction doesn't accomodate the fit of sleeves of dress and underpinnings worn underneath.
Tami also opted not to decorate the pelisse with matching fabric bows (in her note claiming it was "too much trouble").instead, she made bows out of cheap single-edge nylon satin ribbon in a shade of pink that did not match the pelisse and attached those instead.
The lace on the Edwardian blouse was tiny and cheap-looking.instead of simple banded cuffs, she used ribbon drawstring (MORE of the cheap nylon ribbon which won't stay tied in bows). I've consulted three different historical seamstresses all of whom verify this is not historically accurate.
There is not one single garment in the order that wasn't somehow spoiled either in fit or in decoration.
I contacted Ms. Blake immediately and advised her this was not what I ordered and insisted she fix it. Her response was very catty and full of denial. She accepted no responsibility for her poor work. She made it sound like she was a good friend of mine who'd done all this work for me for free and that I was complaining needlessly.
I sent her photos of me wearing some of the poor-fitting garments. She again
denied responsibility and claimed all the garments were made to fit the measurements I'd provided. If they did not fit, it must be because I'd provided incorrect measures or my measures had changed. The fact that she did not construct them correctly to begin with never occurred to her.
She finally offered to alter the garments but said she would have to charge for the services since "it's not her fault because the garments were made to accomodate the measurements I gave her." Her total for the charges for alterations was almost another $700! She also offered to do some less complicated alterations (like sew in a "patch" of extra fabric on either side of the bodice to make the bodice bigger) free of charge.
She also claimed I was responsible for the poor fit because I could have invested in a bodice mockup to verify the fit before she made the garment. During our consultation she never offered or recommended such service.
I explained to Tami that it was HER responsibility to think about these things, SHE is the seamstress and SHE is more aware of what fitting challenges might occur. I told her I paid her not just to assemble garments but to THINK and to ADVISE me on how to get the nicest garments.
Her response was that I "seemed really dissatisfied and she doubted there was anything she could do to make me happy." At that point she offered to return my remaining garments (evidently they were not as "incomplete" as she'd claimed two days prior) and cancel the corsets. I accepted and the items were shipped at my expense.
Do not patronize this seamstress unless you are very knowledgeable about your needs and the period for which you are dressing. Tami Blake and Fashions Of the Ages lack the ethics and sense of responsibility to advise you properly. They WILL cut corners with work and will attempt to talk you into buying something "better" that is actually just easier for them to sew. They feel free to make extreme changes with your specifications and then conceal it from you until you actually receive the garments and see it for yourself!
On top of that, customer service and customer satisfaction is a nonentity to Ms. Blake. If you're dissatisfied, she just doesn't care. She rationalizes she was paid to sew and she sewed.
It is now November and I am still having these items altered through more ethical credible seamstresses. Although not cheap, it is still not as costly as what Ms. Blake would have charged. Some items are more salvageable than others and some have been "retired."
I do not reccommend this company.
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