A 21-year-old self-taught seamstress has taken to social media to share what she describes as a disappointing experience after volunteering her services for a prom initiative organised by an influencer.
In a video posted online, Shania said she has been sewing since the age of 15 and was approached after responding to an initiative seeking volunteer service providers—including hairstylists, makeup artists and seamstresses—to help young women who were unable to afford their prom experience.
According to Shania, the influencer later connected her with a student and the student’s family, who worked directly with her to design a custom prom dress. She said they had roughly one month to complete the project before the June 30 prom.
Shania explained that an appliqué originally discussed for the front of the dress could not be sourced within the available timeframe. She said she informed the family that ordering the material would take approximately three weeks, leaving insufficient time to complete the hand-sewn work before prom. Instead, she said everyone agreed to use materials that were readily available locally.
She said the student selected the fabric and design herself and attended a fitting while the dress was still unfinished. According to Shania, the student expressed that she was happy with the dress during the fitting.
In addition to the gown, Shania also made a suit for the student’s prom date.
She said both students collected their outfits, with the only issue being that the suit sleeve was slightly tight. The following day, after being told the young man could not comfortably wear the suit with his shirt, Shania said she refunded the money so another suit could be obtained because she was unable to make alterations before the prom.
According to Shania, during that same conversation, the student’s grandmother indicated that the young woman remained comfortable with and satisfied with her dress.
However, on the day of the prom, Shania said she received a message from the influencer stating that she was disappointed with the dress, describing aspects of the sewing as looking “unprofessional” and asking whether anything could be done to “beautify” it before the event.
Shania questioned why those concerns were being raised when, according to her, the student herself had already accepted and was happy with the gown.
She also claimed the initiative required participating service providers to donate both their labour and materials. As a result, she said she personally paid for the fabric and other supplies used to make the custom dress.
According to Shania, she was never informed that the student ultimately wore a different dress to prom. She alleged that she later realised the influencer had removed her from Instagram and unfollowed her, before learning from someone else that another dress had been purchased.
She said she contacted both the student’s mother and grandmother seeking photographs from prom. After eventually speaking with the student’s mother by phone, she learned that the original gown had not been worn. Shania said she was not given a reason for the decision.
The seamstress also said she has asked for the return of the dress so it can be given to another young woman, but at the time of recording her video she had not received the dress back.
Despite expressing disappointment over the experience, Shania ended her video by offering the gown free of charge to any young woman who may need it for a future prom, saying interested persons could contact her directly without having to explain their circumstances.
The influencer has also shared a different perspective on the matter, and the disagreement has generated significant discussion on social media.
