"I've been prioritizing them by the dates of their weddings," Redmond said.įaced with looming wedding dates, brides, their mothers and other members of wedding parties are using Alfred Angelo's Facebook page to discuss how to retrieve dresses they've already paid thousands of dollars to purchase. Redmond said she wanted it that way, to be sure customers got a response. It is Redmond's email address, not one belonging to the bridal retailer, that is on notices that were taped to the front doors of stores that were shut down this week. The Miami bankruptcy lawyer who's handling the case for Alfred Angelo is Patricia Ann Redmond she told The Miami Herald that she's received "about 7,300 emails" since Thursday. Its "customer care" account hasn't tweeted since July 5. Michele Piccione retired in 2015, according to an article by industry magazine Vows.In the face of a desperate need for information, there's been no mention of the closings on the Alfred Angelo website or social media accounts. The founders' son, Vincent, and daughter Michele Piccione, then chief creative designer, ran the business after their parents' retirement. Edythe died in 2012 at age 91 in Palm Beach Gardens her husband predeceased her. In a note on the company's website, she warned customers that if a dress order has not been delivered, it will "remain unfilled" because of the "logistical and financial strain." Deliveries, said the trustee, are "no longer possible."įounded in 1933 in Philadelphia by Alfred Angelo Piccione, the business was joined by his wife, fashion designer Edythe Vincent Piccione, according to a corporate history on the company's website. "We have been able to connect over 100 brides with their seamstresses and they are working together on finishing alterations," Redmond said last week.īut around the same time, Alfred Angelo's bankruptcy trustee, Margaret Smith, delivered devastating news. Miami bankruptcy lawyer Patricia Redmond, who represents the company, said she and others had been "working hard" to reopen stores and let people get their dresses and accessories. "I did get my dress and everything worked out perfectly, besides that whole situation," said Castro, who married Kyle Bonilla, 28, on July 22 at Lake Pavilion in West Palm Beach. She had invested a total of $1,250 in wedding attire at the store. The lucky ones included Yadira Castro, 27, who said she finally connected with the Boynton Beach store's seamstress who had her dress, a Princess Jasmine-inspired design from the Disney line that had won her heart. Brides desperately hoped that representatives would unlock the doors and give them access to their chosen wedding dresses. The scene was repeated in Boynton Beach, Sunrise and Coral Gables. Many were left with unanswered questions and unreturned phone calls about the status of their dresses and their bridesmaids'. The dresses were aboard a boat from China when the company went out of business.īrides who drove to the store on N Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa found a "closed'' sign on the door. Today, a load of 10,000 dresses worth $1.2 million are locked away in a warehouse in San Diego, subject to a lien for unpaid shipping charges, lawyers say. Last month, Alfred Angelo simultaneously closed its headquarters and stores worldwide, including 18 in Florida. The failure to adapt ultimately forced the respected chain of worldwide stores to file for liquidation under Chapter 7 of the U.S. "Today's bride has a short fuse - they want things instantaneously from a store," said David Wood, president of the Association of Bridal Consultants in Connecticut. More brides are searching online for vendors for their weddings and search for dresses and jewelry by browsing on the Internet and engaging in social media.
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