Cicada focuses on elegant, unique designs, fabulous silk fabrics and a personal fit that makes for an exceptional shopping experience at an affordable price.
I love Cicada and would highly recommend it to any bride-to-be. The best thing to do is to make an appointment since they are so small and can get busy quickly. I found the best time to go in and try on dresses was right around when they open because then the store is pretty much empty. All of their dresses are custom made right there in the store. If you want a one of a kind dress, Cicada is the place to get it. I love my wedding dress and I am going back to Cicada to find a dress for my brother's wedding. All of the people that work there are so great and helpful. I am so glad I went with Cicada for my wedding dress. I've never felt so beautiful and have never gotten so many compliments on a dress.
Posted 09/07/09 | Report Abuse
Was this review helpful to you?
2 thumbs down
by Anonymous
I found the dress I wanted but not the service. Terrible customer service!!!! You would expect more when you are going to drop $1800 but a combonation of bad communication on the sales person's part and making me feel as though I am imposing when I set an appointment and they let a walk-in use my dressing room, I am glad that I decided to not purchase my dress at Cicada. Sorry but it's true.
Posted 02/03/08 | Report Abuse
Was this review helpful to you?
Wonderful custom made and locally designed wedding gowns. They also have tons of special occasion dresses that would be perfect for the mother of the bride, bridesmaids or any special occasion. The shop is owned by two women who design and make all the dresses. This was the first place I tried on wedding gowns and it was so much different than any other store I visited. Where else can you say I like the bottom of this dress, and the top of this dress, but without this and maybe add a little of this and they respond with okay, no problem?! I didnt ultimately buy my dress here; however I would recommend a visit to this store for any bride to be!
Posted 10/24/05 | Report Abuse
Was this review helpful to you?
I got my dress custom made for my May 2005 wedding at Cicada. The minute I walked into the shop, I knew I would buy my dress there. The range of fabrics and choices was amazing. Dresses aren't the typical poofy white gowns and are modern, unique elegant styles that you can't find in regular bridal shops.
They even incorporated some fabric my mom brought back from India 2 weeks before the wedding and redid the hem because the woman who was doing the fitting didn't like the way it fell (I didn't even notice!). The dress itself was amazing quality, not a stitch out of place. I got a ton of compliments on the dress.
They also made my husband a matching tie and pocket square to go with the fabric they used for the dress. That was a little pricey for the quality but it looked great in the pictures.
Very expensive, but totally worth it. Make an appointment if you want to try on dresses on weekends or evenings, and you'll get better service. Parking is the usual mess since it's right downtown.
PROS: unique designs, huge choice of styles and fabric
CONS: expensive, hard to find parking
Posted 08/29/05 | Report Abuse
Was this review helpful to you?
I have always admired the beautiful displays in the window of Cicada. However once it was time to start looking for a wedding dress I was extremely disappointed. I made an appointment and came prepared to try on several dresses. Even though there was only one other patron in the store, and three staff members on hand, I was told they were too busy to work with me and that I was free to look around! I carried my own dresses to and from the dressing room and was not offered assistance one time! I did not find anything in store that suited me and attempted to ask the same staff member how frequently items change. She very rudely informed me that they keep the same dresses on hand for 6 months?! I still don't understand how the inventory only changes twice a year, yet the dresses featured in the window seem to change weekly.... Very disappointing experience.
Posted 08/16/05 | Report Abuse
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
Everything in this shop is absolutely beautiful. I found the dresses and fabrics/designs to be quite unique which was appealing to me. However, I was ultimately not able to consider getting a dress here due to the budget I was on for the wedding. Also, I had a short engagement and there wouldn't have been time to have anything custom made. I found the staff to be a bit stuck up and not very helpful in my limited encounter with them.
PROS: Beautiful, unique
CONS: Expensive, staff - not helpful
Posted 07/18/05 | Report Abuse
Was this review helpful to you?
when my boyfriend and i walked by this store, i just had to step into the store. just so eye-catching like a star flying. the dresses are absolutely drop dead gorgeous. and you can even get your dress custom made. these dresses would be great for a bride (mainly for brides and bridesmaids), but for a girl like me, you can actually get a dress designed for the academy awards or the global awards. and there was this one dress that just sparkled with bunches of jewels. it was just breathtaking!
Posted 06/28/05 | Report Abuse
Was this review helpful to you?
When my best friend was getting married, we thought we would need to search all over Seattle just to find the dress she wanted. When we looked a couple places and found what we wanted the first day looking at Cicada, we were thrilled. They made all alterations arrangements for her and stored her dress there in the shop till a couple months before her wedding. It was on sale, too, which made the experience even better!
Posted 03/01/05 | Report Abuse
Was this review helpful to you?
Beautiful wedding dresses with excellent service
by dendres
Cicada bridal is wonderful. I am a former Seattlite now living in Utah. After looking through all of the shops in Salt Lake City, I could not find a single wedding dress I liked. On a trip to Seattle, I stopped in at Cicada and found the perfect dress style--the Lucy. The dress was exactly what I imagined for my wedding dress. It was elegant and simple. Since the floor version was too short, I ordered a customized version of the Lucy dress. Elizabeth did an amazing job. I only needed one fitting on a second trip to Seattle and with a few minor alterations, I received my dress in the mail just a few months later. It fit perfectly and looked fabulous. I received so many complements on the dress at my wedding. When I was in for the fitting, the service was excellent. Elizabeth answered all of my questions about the dress and helped me pick out the perfect jewelry to go with it. My best guy friend came with me to the fitting and was so impressed with the dress, the service, and the shop in general. In a nutshell, cicada dresses are unique, elegant, and beautifully made. The service is excellent. And, they saved me from having to settle for a big, poofy, frilly, not-my style wedding dress. I'll definitely be back for more cicada--not for another wedding dress, but for their great selection of party dresses.
Posted 09/21/08
Gorgeous work, reasonable prices, *fantastic* customer service
by bhattrm
I had my custom wedding dress made here and was incredibly impressed with the designer's skill and their customer service. The train of the dress incorporated sari fabric; when they sketched and priced the dress I had not yet purchased the sari. The fabric I later purchased turned out to be really hard to work with. They had to alter the design, really work with the structure of the dress, etc, and through the whole experience Elizabeth was incredibly helpful, gracious, and able to solve any creative problem. They even honored the originally quoted price, which I couldn't believe given all the extra work they had to do. The finished product was gorgeous and all for a price less than that of most of the dresses you could buy at a typical store. Highly, highly, highly recommend!!!
Pros: Design skills, incredible value and customer service
Cons: Parking is difficult, but that's just downtown Seattle
Posted 08/18/08
If I knew I could have a dress like this, I would have gotten married years ago!
by Mellicia
This place is completely unbelievable. I selected the top of one dress, the bottom of another and the fabric from a third for my wedding dress. I was a little apprehensive because the fabric has feathers on it.... which, let's face it, can be super cool or completely out of control. But, the amazing people at Cicada went with it and it's the most amazing dress ever. It fit PERFECTLY with my very first fitting and has the Great Gatsby written all over it. The best part is that the dress is completely "me" and didn't cost much more than buying one off the floor! I never thought I'd be able to find something that suited me so perfectly. Or, that I would be able to have SO much input on the dress.
If you are getting married, you'll never find another place that will give you this level of input and quality. You absolutely MUST go.
Pros: Options, Service, Value, Professionalism
Posted 02/10/08
EXCELLENT!!!!
by jserena
PERFECT, Custom dress, at a GREAT price. You don't have to go broke to look couture for your wedding, ladies. The lord only knows how I have been obsessed with fashion my entire life and if anyone needed to look PERFECT the day of their wedding it was me! My dress was a beautiful, backless two piece....amazing...the ladies at Cicada were funny, engaging, sweet and VERY talented. I went to several shops around seattle and stuck with Cicada because they were able to adjust the gown I picked to make it me...everyone at the wedding loved it and we had a pretty famous photographer photograph the wedding and he kept commenting on how stunning the dress was to photograph....I saw a couple of bad reviews and it is unfortunate brides get caught up in taking time to make nasty comments that can hurt a business....I have lived in Seattle my entire life and many of my girlfriends have shopped at Cicada and they were all very happy....I will be posting a photo in the Seattle Times within the month..we were married at the Salish Lodge and Spa on Sept 21st, 2007 and I couldn't wait to post this comment...Cidcada is a lovely place for your special day and if I give it the thumbs up then it's good because I am the super snob when it comes to the right places and this place is wonderful.....
Posted 09/24/07
Interesting dresses, worst service anywhere
by mvigrl
Sorry, but I have to say you failed. My dress is nice no doubt, but ladies be forewarned that the seamtressses are never around. Jen was 20 minutes late to my first fitting (for which I had an appointment) and she wasn't even there for the 2nd causing me to have to make phone calls and another appointment and so on the week before my wedding. Enough stress thank you. Don't even get me started on the salespeople, one of which is outright bitchy and the other that is apologetic but unhelpful.
I still do not have my dress and am now argueing about paying for an alteration that wasn't correct. I get the laissez faire boutique attitude but when you are dropping big money you expect the staff to care.
Pros: Nice, interesting dresses
Cons: Seamstresses unavailable, staff bitchy
Posted 06/18/07
I would not recommend this place at all - they are not customer service oriented
by klk015
I would not recommend this place. They sell their dresses literally dirty. I bought a dress there on a Sunday at closing time. They were not open on Monday so I had to wait till Tuesday to ask for a refund in which they did not give me. Even though the dress had never left the store. I can understand not refunding if the dress left the store. They would not offer me even a restocking fee in which they could have received money from me and then sold the dress again. As one of the most important days of your life a wedding dress shop should have better customer service. They took away from my special day.
Posted 04/16/07
fabulous!
by garlicgirl
I loved my dress, and got great service. Even help with my own jewellery and ideas for accessories. The person I worked with (Mandy or Mindy?) was so enthusiastic about my dress and was happy to help me on the several occasions I came in both for fittings and when I just wanted to try the dress on again.
Pros: beautiful, unique clothing
Posted 06/28/06
Beautiful dress and nice service
by sybilvane
Such nice ladies work here, and the service was better than expected. I was on a tight budget, and made a beeline to the clearance rack to find some good deals. I bought a top and a skirt for almost half their original price. I ended up buying my shoes at this shop too. No one tried to sell me anything I didn't need, and I always got a fitting room and someone to help me in a very timely manner, even though I was a cheapo. The store itself is very cozy; you're not on display in a huge and busy shop where all sorts of strangers can look at you. The off-the-rack dresses are beautiful; simple and elegant. Some are a bit funky too! I will come back here when I need a good party dress!
Pros: Cozy, Clearance Rack, Friendly
Cons: Can be expensive
Posted 05/12/06
Don't waste your time, money, nor energy
by happybride2b
DON'T BOTHER TO GO IN SINCE YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE ANY SERVICE!!! I walked into the store and there were hardly any customers. I perused through their selection and was slightly surprised that not a single employee had said a word to me after a minute or so. I continued to walk around the store and started to look through a rack. One of the employees came to my rack and was rearranging some dresses and saw what I looking at the dresses. And to my dismay, she still did not say a word. I continued around the store and looked at some shoes. Nothing! I finally finished walking around the store and came back to the front door. Sad to say, no one approached me, let alone said a word to me the entire time. I would NEVER RECOMMEND THIS PLACE TO ANYONE who deserves some courtesy and service!
Pros: intimate
Cons: disrespectful, apathetic, unprofessional
Posted 04/08/06
Fabulous
by mariaglanz
I had a fabulous experience at Cicada - I came in wanting a splendid wedding dress, something a bit hard to find considering I was pregnant at the time! Elizabeth Klobe worked one-on-one with me, choosing the perfect fabric and design. My dress was gorgeous and done perfectly on time. I also loved the uniqueness of everything - my dress, the accessories, everything. I felt like the most beautiful bride I could be - uniquely myself and gorgeous.
I'd like to get married again and again just so I can pick out more gowns.
Posted 09/18/04
A breath of fresh air
by babybass
I put my wedding together very spur of the moment. I was looking for a unique dress to fit the unique day. Working with Elizabeth, Jen and the rest of the staff made me feel very relaxed.... about everything. I had My dress, jacket, and shoes in just a few weeks, with no upsets. After talking to other friends that recently got married, I had it easy. THANK YOU CICADA!!!
Pros: Quality Garments, Polite service, Relaxed Atmosphere
Cons: Parking
Posted 03/11/03
Elegant & Unique
by A_Diamond
I loved all of the clothes in the botique. They have formal wear and dressier cocktail length clothes. The prices were high but if you can catch a sale it will be worth it. The fabrics are all very nice and expensive to the touch. The customer service is very poor. The sales staff didn't acknowledge me upon entering the store. The sales staff kept chatting amongst themselves about their weekend. On my scheduled pick-up date, the dress wasn't ready and they didn't even bother to call to let me know it wasn't ready.
Pros: Very Good Quality, Great Selections
Cons: Very Poor Service
Posted 02/23/03
Easy!
by Glinda
The fabulous dressmakers at Cicada made my custom wedding dress. As a second-time bride, I wanted something more understated, and Cicada made it happen. It was fast, friendly and inexpensive. I highly recommend them.
Posted 12/01/02
absolutely fabulous!
by jayneljohnson
Charming store with very down-to-earth staff. They could be snooty but they're not. Everyone had clever suggestions and they worked to accommodate my schedule. Great selection of delicious fabrics and styles which are both funky and classic. I had a wonderful experience.
Posted 10/22/02
Thank Heavens For Cicada!
by meablum
As a recent bride, I was SO pleased with the selection, customer service, and originality of Cicada! My dress was the only aspect of my wedding that was a major ordeal. They were so kind and made me feel like a QUEEN! They were also great with my bridesmaids AND Mother-In-Law. One stop shopping and I couldn't be happier! Thank Heaven for Cicada! You made my day! You made me and my bridal party the most beautiful people on earth!
Pros: Original, Meets Your Needs, Professional
Posted 09/22/02
"bridal barn" service, designer prices
by jrauchdesign
Im happy with my custom made bridal gown, but my satisfaction ends there. The seamstress/owner was late to all of my fittings (nearly an hour 1/2 in one case), and absent during my final fitting. Four months later, the staff still forgot that I was a bride, the unique color of my dress kept them assuming that I was a bridesmaid. They refused to make scheduling accommodations, even though I was making appointments months in advance and lived 5 hours away. They repeatedly trashed a competing bridal salon in front of customers, which I found very unprofessional. This just wasnt the boutique-y, intimate experience I was expecting I probably could have gotten better customer service from any old off the rack type place. The frustration involved just wasnt worth it; I paid about as much as I would have for a brand name designer gown.
Pros: unique dresses, custom orders
Cons: horrible managment, inattentive staff, lacking atmosphere
Posted 08/28/02
