57 Grand

After seeing a bridesmaid dress palette in Martha Stewart magazine, I fell in love with a particular dress (more like the shade of the fabric which I couldn’t find anywhere). Determined to get one of my bridesmaids a dress in *that* very shade, I looked up the dressmaker, who was 57 Grand, and ordered a swatch from their website. The piece of fabric came promptly a week or so later and after seeing the fabric in person, I knew I had to check out the dress in person.
So I made an appointment with 57 Grand and visited their showroom on a Saturday afternoon. I met the manager (owner?) of 57 Grand, a lovely and super nice Asian woman. She brought out the dress I was looking for, and let me browse through their other samples. She also gave me a lot of sample color swatches so I could take them with me when I browsed around for my other bridesmaid dresses elsewhere (they’re all different colors). She was so helpful and just incredibly nice (actually, everyone I’ve been in touch with at Grand was really nice and helpful — whether via phone or e-​mail). In the end I decided to order just one of the bridesmaid dresses from 57 Grand, as they are on the pricier side. I placed the order online after going home and thinking about it a bit more, and the dress came a little over 2 months later. Not too bad — usually it takes 12 – 14 weeks. And the dress is beautiful!
I believe they’re moving their showroom currently, so I’m not sure if you can visit their store, but I highly recommend them! Their online site shows all of their current styles and indicates which fabrics are used. But of course nothing beats visiting the store in person. They can also work with you and will sell some of their samples if the prices for new, custom order dresses are out of your price range.
Good luck!