Diana’s Couture & Bridal

Diana is as spunky and passionate as they come. I went to a few of the area custom wedding gown tailors, and no one spoke to me in-​depth about their technique as Diana did on our first meeting. I brought a sketch of a self-​designed dress, and Diana was able to right away understand and tell me the requirements and details needed.
As an experienced gown maker, she was also incredibly efficient. The final fitting was only the 5^th time trying it on. It might have taken fewer fittings, but I was detoxing and things got a little loose, and Diana was super sweet and fixed it all up in time.
Needless to say, the final result was truly a dream come true, with minor adjustments and tweaking based her expert opinion and my support. My design was inspired by Inbal Dror and Elizabeth Fillmore (all $$$$$ haute couture gowns), and funny enough Diana happened to have a signature Inbal Dror gown in her atelier at that time for alterations. But given the loving creation she made for me, I honestly adore it even more than the haute couture version (call me biased!)
Love you Diana!!! So glad I found you!!!

Diana’s Couture and Bridal did an amazing job on my wedding dress. She went above and beyond what she said she would do, and the final dress looked great.

Diana was very nice and transformed my mother’s dress that she handmade in the 80’s into a dress more my style. I had it shortened and Diana used the fabric she cut off the bottom to create a new neckline and sleeves for me. I loved being able to retain the same fabric, however, I didn’t notice until I got home that the holes from where my mom stitched were visible in my new sleeves and neckline. This was a little upsetting but ultimately turned out ok since no one else could really notice them unless they looked closely. I had no knowledge about dresses going in and I feel like that was a disadvantage. The fit ended up being a little off and I also later noticed a bunch of little strings that were hanging off the bottom that I had to cut. When I went in for my final fitting it seemed as if she didn’t have it fully complete for me as she was still ironing the bottom seam. She also didn’t have my paperwork so she was asking me how much I owed her for the final payment. For how much I paid, I just felt like all those little things shouldn’t have been a problem. In the end, I was very happy with my dress and was confident the whole time that my mom’s dress was in good hands.

Diana changed my mother’s early 1980’s wedding gown — pillow sleeves and all — into something that could be worn today without looking atrocious. The sentimental value of wearing my mom’s dress but still getting a dress that I loved was amazing. 4 stars, not 5 because she didn’t have a few things finished up during my last fitting so we ended up going for lunch while she finished up thing things that she was supposed to have done and she didn’t steam the dress before giving it to me so I had to go out and get it steamed at my own expense. Given how much we were paying it would have been nice to have had it all done but in the end, my dress looked great.

AVOID AVOID AVOID!!!
For your sanity, your wallet, and the sake of not having a ripped dress during your wedding!!! TERRIBLE STRESSFUL EXPERIENCE!!!
She accepted my dress and said she could do the work — promptly charging me over 700 dollars for the work. More than half the price of the dress.
The first fitting she had down the bulk of the major work of the dress, and I thought the rest of the minor changes would go well. I did notice at that visit however the lace was ripped in at least five places and she assured me she would fix it. A button also popped off in her hand — and I asked her to sew it back right then but she ran off to see a new costumer with it still in her hand.
The next week was the final fitting and I brought my friends to see the finished product. I was supposed to bring that dress home that day– so imagine my surprise when none of the ripped lace had been fixed and the Missing button hadn’t been sewn on! Seeing as I’ve already paid more than 700 $ I figured that more effort would have been put in.
When I drew her attention to the missing button — she asked me if I had it! And said she needed me there to do the rest of the changes which I had not heard previously.
During that same fitting I realized the dress wasn’t fitting well at all — completely lumpy in the midsection unless I stood with an arched back which is completely ridiculous. I had to go back two more times in the next two days to fix the fit of the dress and also because the cups she had sewn in fell out of the dress.
At the wedding my dress ripped before the dancing even started which might have been understandable. It was also ripped in a place that I had asked her to fix at the start of the day and is clearly visible in pictures.
I took the dress to my home seamstress who confirmed my suspicions about the lace ripping because she had not sewn the areas adequately.

Oh, where to begin. I found a gorgeous Oscar de la Renta gown at a sample room in NYC and fell head over heels for the lace and floral appliques. However, the top of the gown was much more covered than I wanted it to be (we were having a beach wedding) so I knew I needed to find the best alterations woman in town to help me open it up, but keep the beauty and intention of Oscar’s original design. After scouring the web, I met with Diana.
Diana knew it would be a big job due to the delicate material and the reconstruction that was needed. So yes, it was pricey as far as alterations are considered, but Diana more than earned the cost I paid. She had me in for probably 5 – 6 fittings, and worked tirelessly until she had achieved my vision and the fit I had wanted. It took a lot of trust, but believe me, the end result was amazing and was the most commented-​on part of the wedding. In the end, it truly was an Oscar de la Diana.
I noticed some of the reviews comment on Diana’s workspace, and while her Georgetown store is very small and congested at times, this is because she is so busy and she takes her work back and forth to her other shop which is in her home in Annandale, VA. For only 15 – 20 more minutes in the car, her Annandale location is much more comfortable, and I ended up doing the majority of my fittings there. You don’t hire Diana for a bridal salon type atmosphere, you hire her because she’s the best in the business. I never could have trusted a standard alterations person at a bridal salon to do the work she did.
My original dress design:
And the «after» pictures:

If you’re looking for custom-​made anything, Diana is, without question, the one to call. I had a vision for my wedding dress, brought in a sketch, and she delivered exactly what I wanted. It was several months later, during my first fitting, when I saw the dress, and honestly, I didn’t feel the same way about it as I had when we first met. The thing about Diana is that her first and foremost priority is your happiness. So undeterred, Diana worked with me over the course of the four months leading up to the wedding, to alter the dress to create something I was happy with. She ultimately created a dress I fell completely in love with.
Diana may sometimes seem frazzled or in the clouds, but that is because Diana is a workaholic, always busy with projects and delivering women clothing they covet. I give Diana all the credit in the world for sticking with me through all my wavering and mind-​changing. Her talent, knowledge, creativity, and patience maker her an ideal seamstress/​dressmaker. I highly recommend her.

Diana is a master. I contacted Diana with less than a month until my wedding with a very complicated chiffon Matthew Williamson gown I had purchased several sizes too large. Diana accommodated me with an appointment right away, and began work on my dress immediately even though she wasn’t feeling well and we were in the middle of the holiday season. She gave honest and sound advice — Diana has a great eye for how things should fit and what flatters. In a short period of time, Diana altered my gown to fit me impeccably. It presented every challenge — delicate fabric, pleats, beading, twists, proportionality challenges (she took a dress built for a runway model and made it fit my 5’2″ frame) — AND my body changed sizes right before the wedding! She is not inexpensive, but her skill makes the cost of her services worth every penny. I would trust her with my finest garments. I felt both beautiful and comfortable in my gown on my wedding day thanks to Diana, and my wedding day pictures prove that it was a perfect fit. Thank you for everything Diana!

Diana is nothing short of a miracle worker! I ordered my wedding dress from a designer in LA. Production was delayed and the dimensions of the dress were completely off when I finally received it just two weeks before my wedding day. Panicked, I visited Diana and she immediately re-​assured me that she would be able to make it right, even on an extremely tight timeline. She completely re-​worked the entire top of the dress and altered the hem. Now it fits like a glove! I honestly do not know what I would have done without Diana and her magic hands. She is so kind, efficient, calm, and talented. She helped ease my nerves and I have total faith in her abilities. Enthusiastically recommend her, especially for those brides in a pinch!

My wedding took part this past weekend in D.C. where I live. I got my dress at Kleinfeld’s in NY. I decided to get it altered closer to home. I found the shop on Unilocal and loved that reviews. Upon my first visit, I had a bit of sticker shock… however Diana made all my visions come true. While she is a bit pricey, it is Georgetown and it is the most important dress you will ever wear. She is helpful and responsive. A week and a half prior to the wedding, I noticed a few pulls in the dress along the waistline. This was NOT a section that Diana had even altered, however she responded to my 11 PM frantic email and had me in her shop the next day. She fixed it right away and sent me on my way.
Diana is extremely talented and definitely worth a trip to see her. She made changes to the dress to make it the dress I had dreamed of but could not find!
If you use Diana, you will surely not be disappointed!

Diana came recommended by a friend. I went to her with an unusual request — to make a cocktail dress out of an old sari for my non-​traditional wedding. She was incredibly enthusiastic about the project and dove right in. Thanks to her creative eye, we were able to come up with a design that stayed true to the original sari but was modern and chic. She was very flexible about fittings and last minute changes. And even after my wedding, she made herself available to make alterations. She does charge a premium, but her work is terrific and worth every penny.

Wow! Diana was amazing. I found a dress I loved, but the designer was out of business. I brought that photo and my re-​design ideas to her and she helped me select the best fabric and custom designed my dress that was really a dream realized. It was so comfortable and so me. I had so many compliments. You need to trust her– she is decisive and gifted. I am very type A and organized, and Diana is artistic. Her ways may seem unconventional — but just let her do her thing, you will not be disappointed! I can not thank her enough!

I went to Diana to get my wedding dress made. I had the design in my head and she drew it out in 15 minutes. I live in Hawaii and D. C part-​time and I only had a short window to get it done. Within a total time of 1 month is was finished and fit like a glove. She is quick but she sews with amazing accuracy. I purchased very expensive silk and it was not an easy material to work on. My mother is a seamstress and is older now and she could not make my dress. She was impressed with her talent. Thank you for a gorgeous dress for an amazing

I had a good experience with Diana and the custom wedding gown she made me earlier this year. I found her online and arranged a meeting at her home the following week. I brought pictures and drawings of what I had in mind. I had to get a custom gown because my church has a modesty standard that requires shoulders to be covered. It is impossible to find one at any store or online that fits the standard unless you want an ugly dress! She measured me and assured she would get it done well before the big day even though we didn’t have much time. After a couple visits my dress was complete! Diana is so talented and upbeat, and always assured me it would be perfect. By the time of my last fitting there were a few things I would have wanted fixed but she was going out of town so there wasn’t much time and I was the least picky bride ever. I know that because I worked at a bridal… Anyway, for example, we agreed on satin buttons down the train but when I got the dress they were all just normal fabric. Its not like I was going to tell her to take them all off and do it again! It was not a big deal. The seams were a little crooked and the fabric didn’t lay smooth under the satin belt. It was visibly lumpy. Some things such as the tightness of the sleeves and neckline I would have changed if I had more time but it wasn’t worth the trouble.
In the end, everyone loved my dress. It looked great in all the pictures, was perfectly comfortable, and served it purpose well!
I even went back to Diana to take in a gown I needed to compete in at Miss Va. She did a wonderful job on that. It was just crazy expensive :(One problem I had with the pageant stuff was she was supposed to alter some straps on my swimsuit and when I came to pick it up a few weeks later she had forgotten and quickly did it while I was there. I didn’t feel like it was worth the whopping $ 300 for the two min swimsuit alteration. I had no choice though with the pageant coming up so soon.
Diana is kind, talented, and willing to do anything she can to make you happy. We could of worked out the kinks with more time, but in the end, everything I needed was just fine.

This is where dreams are made… just bring your picture, vision, and any idea to Diana and let her do the rest. Not to many people dream of having a purple wedding gown and when I shared that with Diana she didn’t frown upon my idea at all. She just grabbed her pencil & paper to sketch out my most dreamed about wedding creation.
Diana has a loving personality and will go above and beyond to get the correct fabric, on point measurements, and most timely delivery possible. I enjoyed working with Diana and for the great work she did I had no problem with the price. I would highly recommend Diana and will use her services in the future!!!
Thanks Diana!!!

After all the positive reviews for Diana’s, especially compared to other area dressmaker/​bridal shops, I felt compelled to try my luck here.
NEED/​CONTACT: I am in need of a short, simple sleeveless dress for a family wedding in late September. In latter June 2013, I contacted Diana through the website (
) to make contact for an appointment. I received no reply. Almost a week later I emailed her directly at her address (
). The same day I received an email apologizing for the lost email, providing me with her schedule between DC and Annandale. I called her then to make an appointment. She was readily available and I chose DC the next day!
LOCATION: There is no off street parking but Diana recommended parking on the more residential 33^rd St (by Q and Wisconsin.) That worked out very well. The small (3 room?) office is on the 2^nd floor in a narrow, warm building. It is NOT handicap accessible.
DESIGN AND COST: I showed Diana some dresses I liked I had clipped to Pinterest. She drew up a design Very Quickly (!) merging the details and choosing wonderful materials. She’s quite talented and a good listener.
While I was there a middle aged patron came in for a very quick final fitting check for a beautiful, albeit skin tight, beige sequined lace floor length sheath for a wedding. To the patron it was a perfect fit and length.
Unfortunately I was unable to afford her talents. The estimate provided was $ 1065. That’s just not in my budget except if I were the bride. The dress she designed was knee length, open neckline like a wide V, sleeveless, empire slightly gathered waist with a sheer silk (like organza) in a navy overlaying an amethyst. The overlay was split down the middle to peekaboo the amethyst underlayer. Very interesting and appealing.
When I stated that this was not affordable, she suggested I make an off-​the-​rack purchase and customize the dress with her alterations. She asked my budget and I stated that I was hopeful to spend $ 250 maybe up to $ 300 (Hey! I was not expecting but hopeful!) She stated that would not even cover that kind of alterations. I appreciated the suggestion and her honesty.

I initially found Diana here on Unilocal.The vast majority of the reviews were glowing, so I went in to see for myself. Prior to our first appointment I was able to send her images of things I liked. When I arrived I walked into a small work space strewn with tools, dresses awaiting more work or final pick up, fabric, everything to indicate a real workshop.
All I came armed with was a vision and the few pictures that best reflected what I liked, but nothing right on point. From the pictures Diana was able to walk me through why every seam was where it was in each dress. We discussed what effect I was going for and she suggested ways to best accomplish it, deviating from the images when necessary. She gave me the pros and cons of different design decision and explained (sometimes demonstrating) everything in detail. By the end I was completely comfortable that this petite, charming, Vietnamese woman, knew her craft!
In that first meeting we looked at fabric swatches and discussed price. While Diana and I chatted my friend called her mother (an experienced seamstress) who said that from what we described the material costs and labor costs were reasonable. I was to pay $ 2000 for everything. Furthermore, Diana would guarantee the fit right up until the wedding day, regardless of weight gain or loss, with the exception of pregnancy. I thought that was an absolutely reasonable caveat!
My first email to Diana was 10÷15÷12, my wedding date was 2÷22÷13 in Mexico. Apart from the first meeting, I had 3 fittings (which includes my last when I picked up the dress). When I came in for my first fitting I learned that Diana had upgraded my fabric, it was lovely and she didn’t even charge more! At that meeting I did want a few changes. She worked on it a bit while I was in it, tore out some seams, pinned things here and there, and on my second visit all was great. She measured for the hem then, pinned a few more spots, and we decided to keep a slight train. On my last visit, on the spot, we added an impromptu bustle, because we could so why not!
Prior to entering this process I was overwhelmed and daunted. Diana was amazing! My dress was amazing. It is the classiest, most elegant dress I’ve ever seen. I did not want the standard strapless number, and that was all I was really able to find in stores. Instead I wanted a silk, form fitting shape, backless drape with a cowl neckline. It had a very 30’s glam feel. You’d think a backless dress couldn’t be form fitting, but you’d be wrong. Diana managed to defy the laws of fabric physics. She executed amazingly, anticipated my needs while also helping me to make the whole thing my own creation. I cannot recommend Diana more highly. You will not be disappointed.
It isn’t the Kleinfeld experience, so if that is what you want you won’t get it here. You might get a mimosa, but you won’t get a better dress!
Thank you Diana!

Diana was amazing! I hated every wedding dress I tried on in the bridal stores and went to her with some ideas on what I was looking for. Based on a bunch of photos and other ideas I shared, she sketched something out that was exactly what I was looking for. Since I had a lot of different ideas, she was very helpful recommending what would be flattering on my body type. I was nervous going into the first fitting since it had been a few months since our first meeting, but as soon as I saw the dress, I was thrilled with what she had created. I had to go back for several fittings (I guess the stress of the wedding got to me and I lost some weight in-​between) and Diana couldn’t have been more accommodating. Everyone at the wedding told me the dress was beautiful and asked who the designer was — some guessed Vera Wang and other top designers. When I told them I had it made, they all wanted Diana’s contact info.
As for price, I would say Diana is very reasonable considering her dresses are custom made and the materials are very high-​end. I told her what my budget was and she worked with me to try to stay within it.
Besides being an incredibly talented designer, Diana’s just an awesome, fun person! She always made me laugh and I felt like part of the family by the time I went for the final fitting. Even though she is a very busy woman, she always remembered what we had discussed previously and gave me her undivided attention during the fittings. which is way more than I ever got from the snooty bridal store sales people!
Bottom line: I can’t recommend Diana enough for any special occasion dress!

Diana puts a lot of energy and enthusiasm into her work, and she is extremely talented. If you are looking for the typical «bridal salon» you won’t find it here, but if want your money going towards a high-​quality dress and not «ambiance» then I would highly recommend Diana. I had no idea what I wanted at our first meeting but she helped me define my vision more and then sketched the perfect dress on the spot! Simple dresses can be deceivingly hard to construct, plus I picked a more expensive material, so it did end up costing more than I wanted to spend. But the final product looked even more expensive and it was worth every penny to know I really loved every aspect of my dress.
At the second fitting there was a part of the lining around the stomach area that wasn’t lying exactly right (and any imperfection would be impossible to hide on my dress). When I went to pick it up the next day I didn’t have a chance to try it on again, so I was little nervous (she did tell me I could bring it back for a quick fix if I noticed anything). Luckily when I put it on at home it looked amazing and it fit perfectly!
Diana has a great eye for design, in addition to being a crazy good seamstress. When I came for the first fitting she had added a little decorative piece of fabric at the hip and it was the perfect touch! She knows how to take a «regular» dress and make it a designer piece. EVERYONE raved about my dress, and it was pretty cool to know it was one of a kind. Diana suggested I come back after the wedding and she would modify the dress so I could wear it as a regular cocktail dress. I know she would do a great job so I just have to find the time!

I met Diana four years ago when I first commissioned her to do my wedding dress. The wedding never took place, but my dress remained in her shop. Fast forward to September 2011, I went back to Diana to see about my dress for my upcoming wedding (to my new betrothed). Fortunately, she still had it. Yay!
I went to Diana and told her about my vision. I brought pictures of a dress I saw Jennifer Lopez and Salma Hayek wear to two different Oscars. I told her that I wanted to marry J. Lo’s and Salma’s dresses (top and bottom, respectively). She nailed it perfectly. However, this time, this wedding is a lot more relaxed than the one I had planned before, so we took a lot of the volume out, i.e., less «poof» but with some kick. The outcome is gorgeous! She told me that while the gown was in her shop, her customers asked if my dress was for sale. That’s how stunning it is. After I get married this year, I’ll post a picture of the finished product. It’s really special.
Diana pays SUPER close attention to all the details, from the hem, to the seams, to the quality of material, to the buttons and lining, to YOU. She wants you to be happy and will go the distance for you. I’m all about pushing people creatively, and she was happy to go there for me. She even took it further by suggesting lowering my neckline and taking out the back lining to show off my back, even after we deemed it done.
If you want to have the dress of your dreams, skip all the manufactured dresses that every other girl in DC has. Go to Diana to have her make you a one-​of-​a-​kind dress. She is an excellent designer and dressmaker and stays on task. She’s one of DC’s best dressmakers. And I’m picky!