MILWAUKEE -- Some Milwaukee high schoolers are crushed after the dress they ordered for prom wasn’t done in time for the dance.
Indira Ali, Riverside University High School Senior, wanted a custom made prom dress for her dance on April 20.
Back in February, she met with Milwaukee designer, Kelvin Hayden and they came up with a design. She said weeks went by and she couldn’t get a hold of him.
“I’ve been trying to contact him about it see how my dress is coming along. Every time he would give me an excuse on why I can’t see it, why he’s not returning calls,” said Ali.
Ali said her mom put down a $240 deposit for the dress through PayPal.
She was promised the dress would be done before the dance, but it wasn’t. Hours before prom she was forced to find a different one.
“He told me it was going to be done in four weeks and those four weeks came and went by and I still didn’t have a dress,” said Ali.
Her mom and others were furious and shared their stories on Facebook, demanding Hayden give these girls their money back.
Hayden talked with TODAY'S TMJ4 over the phone. He said he refunded everyone and has apologized to the young girls and their mothers.
He explained the company he ordered lace from for one of the prom dresses kept sending the wrong kind and weeks went by and he was forced to order a different material.
“I ordered some of that fabric and paid for express shipping which was well over $100, it came in and mind you, it came in the day before her prom,” said Hayden.
Issues with that one dress, Hayden said, delayed his work on three other prom dresses.
With 25 years experience as a designer, Hayden told TODAY'S TMJ4, he’s never had anything like this happen before.
“There’s nothing I can say that’s going to bring their special day back,” said Hayden.
A local photographer, Timothy Ricketts, saw the story on social media and decided he would find a way to make it up to the girls.
He plans to get hair stylists and makeup artists involved and take professional photos of the teens for free. If anyone is interested in donating their services, you can email: Promprojectmke@gmail.com
