Divine Decadence

I’m so sad to see that people have had bad experiences here, because mine was so splendid! I bought my wedding dress here last week and Carmelita was the friendliest, least pushy salesperson I could have imagined! She totally worked within our price range, didn’t hover over us while we looked (my biggest pet peeve with wedding dress shopping has been just that), held my dress from about noon until the next morning so I could sleep on it, and it was just generally a completely wonderful experience!
I definitely do not have the budget for most things in her shop, and I suspect by my worn in shoes she knew it, but she was so kind, and honestly was just so fun.
Totally recommend this shop!

I visited my friend who lives in Toronto; we decided to visit the «ritzy» glamour area of town. She brought me to Yorkville and this shop left a very POSITIVE impression!
First of all, the owner is FABULOUS. She looked, sounded, acted the part of a very confident, free-​spirited, excited, knowledgeable vintage diva. She was awesome working with our limited price range. We were trying to find a dress for her birthday party and had a budget WAAAY under the 4 digit prices on most gowns. She was patient and friendly, completely catering to my friend’s preferences and trying hard to find the perfect dress for her. She came down on the price $ 200 from what she originally quoted, stating that she just «LOVES birthdays» and that she «liked our spirit of friendship».
I can see how some other visitors might be overwhelmed by the owner — she is very energized and she is *persistent* in finding something that speaks to the shopper. She will strong-​arm you into trying something on to «humor her», without telling you the price sometimes LOL. If you are window shopping or don’t want pressure, this is not the boutique for you. But if you’ve got some extra mullah and want to find something classy, sparkly, fancy, or outlandish — she will work with you in every way possible to make it happen.
The dress was a vintage black dress from the ‘60s with a large black and white bow. We got it and she did alterations for free. Thanks Carmelita!!!

If I could give a zero, I would. Please don’t trust the owner, Carmelita. Beyond my personal experience, I found similar dresses online in a similar state for usually 10% of what she charges. She likes to make you feel like she caters to celebrities and you are lucky she’s working with you.
She’s deceitful and completely manipulative. Went to try on wedding dresses here. First, she was late for the appointment by 20 minutes. I told her that I wanted to try on dresses and make a decision that day on whether I was going to hold a dress as I was leaving Toronto that afternoon and would not be back until May. If I loved one of the dresses, I would put a $ 1000 deposit to hold it until the spring.
When there, I tried on dresses and honestly liked 2 very much. However, I told Carmelita, the owner, that I could not purchase the dress without getting a second opinion from my mom and friends. This appointment was at 1030AM. I left her store at noon but a couple of weird things happened that should have tipped me off.
When I made the appointment, she said she was going to have her seamstress stop by (when I never agreed to it) to help me in the event I chose I dress. I was looking at 3 dresses and was going to send pictures to my fam and friends for a second opinion. She said I had until 3PM to let her know if I was going to hold a dress. I told her that she is welcome to take my credit card information in advance if she needed to, and to charge it when I called her back at 3PM if I was taking a dress. She ended up swiping it and writing me a receipt saying on it that it was a hold a for 3 dresses, and that I had until 3PM for them. I was fine with that as it was not a purchase.
I leave, send pictures and decide none are going to work for my wedding. I call her, no answer. I emailed her a 145PM that day saying I am not taking the dresses. She writes back Saturday night… saying that I can only get store credit.
Doesn’t make sense. I never made a purchase. She then says her seamstress starting sourcing materials to make a slip for my gown… How was that possible when she didn’t know which gown I would choose?
It was a weird situation. A 30-​min phone call resulted in an unpleasant exchange between the two of us. She was rude, patronizing, and made comments stating $ 1000 is «a very little amount» to hold a dress.
Don’t work with her. I’ve reported her to my credit card company. Stay away – I wish I listened to Jessica and Becky on Unilocal but was lured in by her dresses.

I definitely relate to Jessica’s experience. Owner is deceitful & unreliable. I purchased a bridesmaid dress here & was way overcharged on the original alterations quote, stood up for a fitting & made to feel like it was my mother & I who got the date wrong. She also took the liberty of adding an extra charge to our credit card without consent (luckily voided by the credit card company). This was several years ago but what reminded me of the experience was the owner’s recent request to be Linkedin friends! She may have forgotten the fiasco but I certainly have not. Most stressful shopping experience of my life.

I came here for the first time because a friend from out of town had read about it and wanted to check it out. I have walked past the shop several times but was kind of intimidated to go in! I was pleasantly surprised to find the owner, Carmelita (originally from Lima, Peru), was extremely warm, friendly, and unpretentious. I’m pretty sure she could tell we were just looking (I can’t really afford dresses with price tags in the 4-​digit range!), but she was still super-​helpful, telling us all kinds of interesting tid-​bits about the different vintage garments. It’s clear that this shop, which she has been running for a few decades, is a labour of love. It’s mostly designer evening gowns (think Dior, Valentino, Balenciaga), really well organized by style/​colour/​size, and she also carries some accessories and jewelery. She will also do alterations. Everything is in impeccable condition; quality tailoring really does stand the test of time. It feels more like visiting a fashion museum than shopping.