About us, Our Service and Shop Policies

Walk in Wardrobe was founded in 1997, and quickly established itself as the South Coasts leading supplier of dresses for day and evening events to Hire and Buy. The demand for a more extensive range of dresses and expansion into bridal wear instigated the move to larger premises in 2005.

The new boutique complete with a catwalk is modern and spacious with a glamorous feel. The catwalk is a useful asset for customers to see properly how dresses move and how well they fit, also to show dresses to friends and family.

Prior to opening the boutique Katherine, the proprietor, studied fashion and design at Sussex University and gained further experience with top designers John Richmond & Helen Storey. The knowledge gained is now applied in the boutique when serving customers to offer a rewarding shopping experience.

Walk in Wardrobe is all about a personal service; we are on hand to offer guidance to find the right dress or outfit to flatter your figure. Tell us about your event and what your likes and dislikes are and we are happy to select suitable dresses for you to try on. 

For styling advice for your special occasion, please either phone the boutique or send an email with your enquiry and a daytime contact telephone number to info@walk-in-wardrobe.co.uk, and a Stylist will contact you to discuss your needs.

Our service.
We strive for exclusivity, you don’t want someone else wearing the same dress at your event, so, when a customer hires a dress we will diarise where the dress will be worn and not allow another dress hired with Walk in Wardrobe to go to the same event.

If you purchase a dress we will also diarise it but cannot guarantee that the same dress will not be there if someone has purchased it prior to the event and has not informed us that they will be wearing it.

Once a dress has been hired and any damage incurred by a previous wearer, we will reduce the purchase price on that dress. If a customer would prefer to buy a new dress and there is not a new one already in the shop, we will do our best to order a new one for you.

Minor alterations
To ensure a great fit, we can carry out minor alterations, whether you Hire or Buy your dress from the boutique, such as replacing or altering straps, adding bust darts, adding or reducing fitted bra cups. Each dress will be individually accessed, please ask to see our stylist.

Our Shop Policy

Once you have selected your item/s to Hire or to Buy and have either purchased or signed the Hire Contract, we do not offer refunds or exchanges.

We do not accept returns for changing your mind, we only accept a return if there is a manufacturers fault. Ex Hire items and sale items are “sold as seen” so please check that you are happy with your items prior to purchase.

Our Hire Policy

As soon as you have chosen your item/s to hire the Hire charge is payable, each item is individually priced.  Then the CONDITIONS OF HIRE contract is filled out and signed by you, (please see below).  Payment for the Hire charge is accepted by any debit card such as: maestro/delta/solo/electron or cash
We can also accept credit cards: MasterCard and Visa.

The Refundable Damages Deposit
Finally, prior to the Hire item/s being released from the shop a refundable damages deposit is required, each item is individually priced.  This is usually between £100 & £200 depending on the value of the Hire item/s
IMPORTANT: Payment for the Refundable Damages Deposit is cash or cheque/s with your valid cheque guarantee card.  A member of staff must see your cheque guarantee card. Cheque/s are only accepted up to the limit stated on your cheque guarantee card.
Hire Items will not be released until the damages deposit is paid as stated above.

Hire item/s are collected on the day you wish to hire them and returned the next day (accept Sundays).  For a weekend Hire you may make a request to collect on a Friday and return the items on a Monday. In the case of a bank holiday items are returned the following day.

Please speak to a member of staff should you require a longer hire period. This may incur a small additional charge.

CONDITIONS OF HIRE
The Contract of Hire form must be signed which states:
1.  Goods are the sole responsibility of the hirer when hired from Walk in Wardrobe. Items
are hired on the understanding that they are returned on the date due back undamaged.
   If the goods are damaged you will forfeit all or part of the damages deposit.
2.  Overdue hires will be charged at the rate of one third of the hire price for every day late.
3.  In the event of goods not being returned within 14 days of the date due for return, the
customer shall be liable to walk in Wardrobe for the value thereof at the current selling price as at the date of hire together with hire charges under condition 2 until payment is received.
4.  Walk in Wardrobe will not be responsible if by any reason beyond their control any article
is not available for hire.
5.  Walk in Wardrobe shall not be liable for any injuries caused by or from any of the items.
6.  There are NO exchanges or hire charge refunds for cancellations, a hire credit note may be issued in certain circumstances.
7.  Collecting & delivering back hired item/s is between 10.30am to 5.30pm.

Damages WARNING.  Do not spray perfume near a dress, only use stainless deodorants. Be careful wearing bracelets and carrying evening bags in case of snagging the fabric.  Be very careful wearing stiletto heals if the dress is quite long.

Damages in more detail
If goods are damaged whilst in your care and can be repaired to an acceptable standard, then we will charge you for the repair. If goods are damaged beyond repair, for example the dress is ripped or stained badly and the stains can not be removed and the rip or hole can not be repaired to a satisfactory re usable standard, then all of your damages deposit will be forfeited.  Damages forfeiting all of the damages deposit is very rare and each case will be individually accessed.