Former clients blame Southside quinceaera dress designer for party nightmares

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) Three large portraits hang in Roxanne Contreras' Tucson home. We see her with her two children. The others concern only his daughter, Melina.

All were taken for Melina's quinceaera, a popular celebration in Mexican and Latin American cultures. It honors the birthday girl who turns 15, a marker for entering life as a woman.

It's an event that takes a lot of sweat and tears to plan, families told KGUN 9.

It’s kind of like a mini-wedding,” Contreras joked.

But she didn't expect the quinceaera to make her shed as many tears as she did throughout the process.

Contreras said there is one Southside business owner to blame: Roxana Morales, owner of Elegance Creations a custom quinceaera dress store at 5101 South 12th Avenue.

Contreras went into the business with her mother and sister Jasmine Peralta, who also had a daughter who will soon be 15, in May 2023. The quinceaeras were planned for the upcoming months of December and February.

She said Morales gave the family the deal of a lifetime, but she said she now knows it was too good to be true.

The combined contract provided that they should receive:

• Two quince dresses
• Two pillows
• Two crowns
• Four cups
• Two cake knives
• Two bouquets
• A doll
• A bear
• Dresses for mothers, grandmothers

All this for the price of $3,500.
[It was] pretty much all the way down from there.

Contreras said that when it came time to schedule the fittings and see progress on the dress, she couldn't get a meeting with Morales, who gave her a long list of excuses for cancellation.

Morales had said she was out of town several times, got into a car accident, then her sister got into a car accident, got sick three times, her husband worked late and that she had to attend a funeral, according to Contreras. .

I was so stressed, upset and in tears that the dress wasn't going to come,” Contreras recalled.

Morales delivered the dress the day before the big party.

My daughter still loved it, but the stress that came with it and not being able to fix and fix what she needed to fix [were too much]”, she said. “And thank God it suited him for his very first try.

The delivery delay wasn't the only problem with the order.

The sleeves of the dress were meant to be long but only went three-quarters of the way down Melina's arm. The Contreras family also had to buy a hoop under the skirt to give it more volume.

Additionally, they had not received most of the other items on the contract.

Morales was also late on Peralta's deadline. She said that after seeing her sister and niece's party mishaps, she wasn't going to take any more chances with Morales.

Peralta requested a refund, which she had to use the legal system to obtain.

I didn't want the same thing to happen to us because planning a party is stressful enough,” she explained. “And then with that added stress, it just wasn't going to work for me.

KGUN 9 reached out to Morales to get his side of the story.

What is the average contract length?” asked journalist Mikenzie Hammel.

“I usually prepare it two or a month before the event. I can't guarantee a date because it's a custom dress,” Morales replied.

She went on to explain that this kind of delay is not normal for her. Morales said there was a lot going on at that time.

I returned the dress the day before, which isn't the right thing to do, I know. We both agree on this, okay?

Fidelia Pulido initially did business with Morales in 2022, but had to postpone her daughter's quinceaera due to personal reasons. She returned the following year about three months before the party.

Morales said she wasn't sure she could make a dress in time, but she was going to try.

The dress she ended up giving to Pulido had already been worn. She also gave it to him the day before the party.

She showed me a dress that was too big, torn and dirty. So my daughter's face was…” Pulido said through tears. “It was a day before the event. How do they think I will present my daughter in this dress?

Pulido said she paid a family member to buy a brand new dress that same day, and the price was higher given it was last minute.

So you're saying that even though it's a binding contract for the client, it's not a binding contract for you?'” Hammel asked Morales.

“I always tell the client that we can't guarantee a specific date, that's why I don't put a specific date on it,” Morales said.

“If there are any delays or anything, I always explain it to the client. I will let them know. As long as everything is ready at least a month before the event.

Another woman KGUN 9 spoke to said she ordered a wedding dress for her daughter from Elegance Creations and it was delivered in what she said was a dirty bag.

I mean, the dress is nothing at all compared to the dress that was ordered,” she said, pointing to reference photos. To this day, she hates her wedding photos.

Many of these unhappy customers took their complaints to social media.

Just because I missed three or four dresses, Mikenzie, they burn me like that?” Morales asked. “Come on.

Morales said she has since changed the format of her contracts to be stricter on dates, including the length of time she can accept orders and the time she has to fulfill them.

Peralta, who requested a refund before her daughter's party, said Morales wouldn't give the family their money for the incomplete order, so she sued her.

A Pima County the judge ruled that Morales will have to repay to the family the entire $3,500.

This won't happen again,” Morales insisted. “It's a lesson well learned for me too, believe me, as a business owner. I don't want to hurt anyone. I'm not here to do that.

If you have questions or concerns about a company or the product you received, here are some resources to consult:

– Pima County Attorney's Consumer Fraud Complaints
– Arizona Attorney General Consumer Complaints
– Better Business Bureau Complaints