Cocoon Silk

Words probably aren't terribly necessary for this review. Just look at my pictures. My dress was made and altered by Cocoon Silk. I look amazing. What else do you need?

Perhaps you want to know about customer service. I can say without hesitation that if I fell upon a pile of money specifically earmarked for the purchase of pretty dresses, I'd be back at Cocoon Silk within the hour. After rolling around my new pile of riches for a while. I'd go there not just because they have a decent selection of original, feminine formal wear, although they most definitely do. You can find a big glut of dresses just about anywhere they sell wedding gowns. But if you want to feel treated like a person with specific concerns about cost, fit, and individual preferences and not just a, well, walking pile of money, you should talk to the staff at Cocoon Silk. They were lovely every step of the way, from the day I first set eyes on My Dress to the day I came in for my final fitting and took My Dress home.

Maybe you also want to talk about price. I don't really want to name exactly what I paid for my dress, but I can also say with utter certainty that I got a bargain. How much of one, you ask? Let's just say, given the quite modest budget Crime Partner 4 Lyf and I set for our hitching activities, I had expected to find something to wear at a consignment store that would then need to be altered by my mom. Instead, at Cocoon Silk, I walked out with a brand new gown that was very much me. Sovanna Yun, the main designer and proprietor, took a look at me when I first tried My Dress on. Then we talked about what would need to be done to make the garment work, and Sovanna graciously agreed to do the alterations so I wouldn't have to bring My Dress to a different tailor.

If there's anything I might criticize about the experience, it was that I would talk to a staff member who would assure me that someone from the store would call to schedule a fitting after a designated amount of time. But then no such call would come, and I'd have to follow up on my own. It happened that way twice, but it's really such a minor inconvenience. Having to follow through on things that matter isn't just the province of businesses, after all.

But really, just check out the pictures I added here. Seriously. I can't stop looking at them. :)

I'm not really sure what's going on with the "filtered" reviews on here, but it seems a little shady that nearly all of them are from Aug 2011. Sounds to me like someone had a bad experience and got everyone she knows to post a 1 star review all at once...

Needless to say, my experience was nothing but fantastic. I wanted to come to Cocoon because at the Portland Bridal Show they had the only gowns that really stood out as amazing. We went to one other shop before coming here, which was fun, but really just locked in my certainty that Cocoon was the right place for me.

Sovanna is incredibly talented and friendly and will walk you through the entire process. He can take a ratty old scrap of fabric and fold it just so to make it look like a beautiful part of your dress when showing you different options. After we discussed what I wanted and he quoted me a price, I was astonished to find that it was considerably cheaper than even the cheapest dress at the other store. He says it's "ridiculous" what places charge and the most expensive dress he has ever sold was still under $1k. Of course, it helps that he gets all the silk directly from his family in Cambodia... But still, a 100% custom dress at the prices he charges is practically insane.

I ordered my dress in March, had my first fitting in July, second fitting in early August, and final fitting + take home at the end of August. My wedding was at the end of September, so I had my dress several weeks in advance of when I needed it (whereas the other store told me I was cutting it close by trying to order it "only" 6 months in advance).

I couldn't be happier with the way it all turned out. It fit me perfectly, of course, and was exactly what I wanted. If any of my other friends get married, I will pretty much insist that they go to Cocoon too.

Sovan created and designed the perfect dress for my August 2013 wedding. I was a bit nervous after reading the one negative review on Yelp but after meeting everyone who works in the shop and creates the dresses I was sold. The attention to detail, friendliness, expertise and customer service were unmatched by the other shops (big or small, local & big box that I visited).

The dress fit perfect, I am still receiving compliments on it and it was perfect for my venue, theme and personality.

I have to add that since having such a great experience and great product both my best friend and sister in law are have decided to use Sovan and Cocook Silk to design and create their gowns.

Additional photos can be seen here: mikeylyfotos.tumblr.com

Cocoon Silk's owner Sovanna is clearly a very talented tailor, and offers beautiful dresses for very reasonable prices made by his family in Cambodia. However, he managed to bungle so many elements of our wedding that we feel obliged to warn others of his terrible business practices. If you find his bridal work as beautiful as we did, be prepared to be frustrated by the timing and execution of every garment, and the possibility that he will not fulfill his stated intentions.

Where to begin... First and foremost, although we were explicit about the three wedding colors our bridesmaids would wear (giving him swatches to be sure), several of the dresses were made in a more muted color, and arrived too late for us to rectify the problem. In effect, he ruined our wedding color scheme. Adding insult to injury, two of the dresses were made in the wrong color of the three and had to be redone at the very last minute (very poorly I might add). Yet two others arrived so late that our out-of-town bridesmaids had to have their own tailors make the dresses wearable, costing them more than the dresses themselves.

Other problems: while being stored in the Cocoon shop, the bride's exquisite wedding dress somehow managed to acquire an oil stain which could not be removed. Really...? The groom's vest and tie were done well, but the colors were reversed. The ring bearer ties were also in the muted color we had not requested. And all of these were held up in customs until only a few days before the wedding, even though we had requested them many weeks, and sometimes months, beforehand.

I could go on with this rant, but the short story is that while we love Sovanna and his beautiful silk creations, he desperately needs a manager to run the business side of things, rather than trying to do everything himself. Communication was as big a problem as anything mentioned above, and he regularly promised things far sooner than he would deliver them. We had dresses being made (and remade) literally the night before we left for the wedding venue. Truly unacceptable.

One positive note after all this: Sovanna did acknowledge his mistakes after the fact and offered refunds or discounts to us and several of our bridesmaids, if they returned their dresses. We appreciate that gesture, but would have much preferred that everything worked out well in the first place. And unfortunately, one of our bridesmaids has still not received her refund despite returning her dress well over a month ago.

P.S. Our negative experience with Cocoon Silk is not unique. For many more reports of tailoring frustration, click the "(30 Filtered)" link at the bottom of the page. Yelp has unfortunately filtered out most of these comments, likely because for many it was their first and only review.

My brother is getting married this September.. in New York. I'm not *in* the wedding (I'm the only sibling, and my brother forgot to ask me), but I do need to look fancy. Sister-of-the-groom, evening-wedding-in-Manhattan fancy. And, if you could imagine, Portland doesn't really have dresses for such occasions. Even the department stores lack in evening gowns around here (even if said store would have plenty of appropriate dresses to choose from at their locations on the east coast).

Anyway, my only answer (poor me!) was a custom-made dress. And so, I found Coccoon Silk.

I was told to come to my appointment prepared, so I found a few dress styles that I liked online and printed out some pictures. I tried on a few dresses at the shop (which were all gorgeous), although none were exactly what I wanted. Sovan took my measurements and we talked about fabric. He told me the dress would be ready in a month and a half.

I called them exactly 2 months later, and was told that my dress had just been finished. When I came in for a fitting, I was amazed. The dress fit perfectly, and it was a perfect combination of the three pictures I had brought in. The straps needed to be adjusted, and Sovan would add some boning to the bodice area so that it would stay in place, but then it would all be ready for me to take home in a week (and it was).

Friendly. Professional. Expert tailoring. Great price (my dress was only $250). I would recommend Coccoon Silk to anyone, and I'll be back when it's my turn for a pretty white dress.

I can't say enough about Sovan and his staff!! They created a beautiful wedding dress for my Daughter-in-law, pocket scarves & monogrammed ties for all the guys & the most beautiful Mother of the Groom dress, for me!! The bridal party was absolutely stunning. As for my dress, I brought in a picture of the dress I wanted and they duplicated it with gorgeous silk fabric!! Planning for the wedding was only 2 months and the dresses with alterations, were ready in a surprisingly short time! I'm looking forward to another custom made silk dress in the future!!

Someone asked if I was paid to give the enthusiastic review that I wrote a month or two ago--the answer is, no, I was not paid. I simply had the wedding gown of my dreams in my arms and it cost less than half of what any other custom gown would have cost. No one asked me to write a review. I wish I could post a photo of my dress. It is phenominal.

Cocoon Silk was the first store I chose for trying on wedding gowns. Unfortunately, they didn't have any plus-sized dresses, however the staff was so friendly and knowledgeable about helping me find the style that would suit me best. Dresses were pulled from the rack and held up against me in front of a mirror so I could look how they fit, tops and skirts were mixed and matched, and I got a great idea of what I wanted and how it would look.

I didn't buy my dress from them simply because I was slightly paranoid about ordering a wedding dress without trying it on first, but the staff is uber helpful, the prices are jaw-droppingly low, and the dresses gorgeous.

My sister got married in October 2011. Our bridesmaid (and my maid of honor) dresses were designed and made here! It was a fun process for each one of us to design our own and for my sister to pick a beautiful color.

The staff is amazing and sweet! From Sovan and Leah to Courtney and the woman whose name I've accidentally forgotten, I loved being in their hands! The mother of the bride and mother of the groom also had their dresses made here and my mom in particular changed the entire design of her dress a handful of times and each time, was no problem! I had my dress adjusted fit wise so it was most flattering and they were quick and professional and didn't mind in the slightest!

Their dresses are beautiful! We even went in multiple times to pick colors and Sovan was nice and helpful--he even had his mom (who owns the silk farm in Cambodia) send extra colors over.

They are talented, the possibilities are endless (Sovan and Leah even help you if you are completely lost in what will flatter you/what is in style right now) and the price is amazing for all that you are getting! I saw almost all happy people in the nearly weekly trips I made there (so often because I lived closest so I would often go for any of the other girls). The customers I saw that were not happy had attitude problems to begin with--coming in yelling at some poor soul on their cell phones and then yelling at Courtney or Sovan or anyone else. I hope what I saw was just a temporary bridezilla phase but that's still no excuse to treat other people in a disrespectful manner!

We had a total of 6 dresses and all were completed with plenty of time to spare--despite our countless changes. I mean, 6 women with 6 different styles of dresses? Yeah. It's gonna take awhile to please us all. But I've spoken with each of them and everyone was thoroughly impressed with their dresses. We all love that we can re-wear our dresses too since they flatter each of our different bodies! I recommend this place to all my friends getting married and I'll continue to do so!

I really wanted to love this place. The owner was so sweet and helpful and having a custom made dress for so inexpensive seemed to good to be true. Unfortunately it was. Although I ordered it 9 months before the wedding I got it 2 weeks before. I guess there was a stain he couldn't get out but he stopped returning calls and was impossible to get a hold of the two months leading up to the wedding. When I got my dress, he had left out a couple alterations I had requested but nothing too substantial and I was just so happy to have it I didn't care too much.

After the first few hours in my dress the day of the wedding, it began to fall apart. All the gathers started coming undone. By the end of the night my floor length gown had a 6 foot train behind it and the decorative buttons on the back had almost all fell off. One of my bridesmaid just wadded the 'train' up and stuffed it down the back of my dress

Buyers beware, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is :(