We get asked a lot - where does it ship from?

Our main location is in Michigan - USA.

Directly shipped items come from a lot of different places, of course. 

But usually this involves the REAL question “how soon will it arrive?” and “do I need expedited shipping?”

If a day or two or three will make the difference between having it in time or not it is always better to pick expedited shipping.

Better to get it earlier than after you need it!

We receive all sorts of questions along this line.

What we think that most are asking is “can I put it on right out of the box and wear it?”

Let’s talk about that for a moment.

Every garment arrives complete - absolutely.  But it has also been packed in a box and shipped across country - in fact, often across the world since we delivery almost everywhere. 

It’s entirely reasonable to expect that the garment(s) you receive will need to be steamed out or touched up.  There is absolutely NO way to guarantee delivery of a garment that doesn’t.

If you go to a bridal salon, you almost always pay considerably more.  Why?  Partly because they spend a lot of time steaming out your garment before you come to pick it up. Then you carry it ever so gently to avoid causing wrinkles.

Shopping on line and having things delivered is a bit different, of course.  The garment does have to be folded.  And then it ships - in conditions entirely out of everybody’s control.  It could be hot and steamy outside, for instance.

Your garments leave here after having been fully inspected.  They are gently and lovingly folded appropriately, placed into a box and sent to you with utmost care.

But yes, it is entirely possible that you will need to touch it up.  That’s normal for anything shipped and delivered.

I just [personally] received a garment from another company.  It was folded over a cardboard frame as if it has been steamed and pressed heavily onto it, then shrink wrapped and put into a cut-and-seal plastic bag for shipping.  I had to launder and iron it to get those folds out.

Our garments aren’t shipped in cut-and-seal bags, nor are they pressed onto cardboard (items from us, we’re saying - directly shipped items are all done differently but they are still handled well).  Our garments are hung out, fluffed out and gently folded into an appropriately sized HIGH grade box for shipment and delivery to you.

- I need flower girl dresses to [match] my Vera Wang bride’s maids’ dresses in “Ice blue”

- Do you have anything in “Calypso?”"

We hear these all the time . . . . and yet, does it really tell us anything?  What is really in the “name” of a color?  Is there a standardized list of color names somewhere?

These are questions we’ll cover here.

In truth - the “name” of a color is something concocted by the designer.  They want the name of the color to gel with the “aura” they want surrounding their design collection for the season.

So, “Ice Blue” looks a whole lot like pale blue with a slight hint of green - frequently called Robin’s Egg Blue.

Calypso looks a whole like fuschia or hot pink.

And what color IS “Rum Pink”?   (Though I love it, it’s barely pink at all!)

This season “green” is no longer just “green”, it’s “lettuce”, “pistachio”, “Spring green”, “celery”, etc.  Of course, each is a different shade.

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between “Red”, “Christmas Red” and “Valentine’s Red” or “Apple Red”?  We have.  It has a lot more to do with when the designer intends to sell that garment than what the color actually looks like.  It creates a mood.  Will you see differences between shades if a company offers several of these?  Yes, you will!

But are the shades consistent from one company to another?

Nope.  Not at all.

One company’s “Apple Red” is another’s “Red” or “Christmas Red” or another term they prefer to use.

These terms sound so much more tantalizing than “lt blue” or “red” or “green”, and that’s what the designers are going for, you see.  These terms create an image in your mind and make them more desirable.

But that picture in your mind is exclusive to you — nobody else can see it. 

The news is HUGE about our First Communion portrait drawing!

 Let’s answer your questions . . . .

Does the Communion photo have to be from Spring 2008? 

No!  It can be any time showing garments purchased from The Perfect Pear since opening in 1993!

Does the photo I post have to be the child I want in the portrait if we win?

Yes, please.  That’s the whole point!

Read more about our First Communion Portrait Drawing - to win a beautiful, hand-painted portrait of your child, grandchild or godchild - by scrolling down to read the announcement or go directly to:

Communion Portrait Drawing

Keep your questions coming in - we’ll be happy to answer!

We get this question every day.  Example:  Can you get this Christening gown (available in sizes 3M-9M) in an 18M for me?

Or this dress doesn’t list a size 7.  Can you get a size 7 for me?  Or this gown says it comes in 3M and 12M but I want a 9M.  Can you get it for me?

There’s only one way to answer these questions - and we hate to use the one-word answer - but it’s ‘no’.

No, we can’t get a size for you that isn’t offered. 

We work VERY hard to keep our websites updated daily (except Sundays) on availability.  Our staff works furtively to stay on top of availability.  As soon as we know - you know too because it shows up on line.

Unfortunately, there’s no “hidden list of other things available” that our staff has hiding away back here.  The information you see is our most recent information. 

“When will you be getting it [size or style] again“.  That’s really another version of the same question, and the answer is very similar.

What we know is the information you read on line.  If a size or style isn’t offered, then it isn’t available.  We’re sorry about that but we feel it is best to let you know what IS available instead of sending you one of those messages weeks from now saying your item is on backorder anticipated to arrive some time in a month or two . . . you know the kind, used by almost all catalog companies.

So if it isn’t offered on line, we can’t get it for you.  Not right now.  It’s sad, but we can’t predict the future.  We may get more, but we cannot promise it so we will not take an order for it.

But what we CAN offer is shown on line - and there are SO many choices available!

We had a photo shoot this week for the new styles coming in for First Communion season in January.  They are also very good Flower Girl dresses for the most part and quite a few would be excellent for pageant dresses - especially the floor-length ones for crowning ceremonies and formal wear competitions.  But I digress . . . .

These dresses are all white-on-white, which is always difficult to photograph and get the detail any time - just ask a wedding photographer!  So are most Christening ensembles - whether it’s Gown or Suit. On top of that, we’re showing them on line. 

There are times when we have to sacrifice exposure (as in - brightness) to show detail, which means that the photos may make the outfit appear “dark”.

Some of our visitors get really hung up on “it looks grey” or green or blue or whatever.

Some of it may be their monitor’s settings, or their computer’s interpretation of the photo.  But we may have had to sacrifice something in the photo so they can see the detail.  Otherwise, you would see a white blob.

Some times our visitors may see a hint of the color in the photo so they (their monitors + their eyes + their brains) interpret it as a color outfit.  That’s not good.  We also frequently have to sacrifice skin tones of the models to get proper detail on the garments they’re wearing.

You can always rely on the description for the true color.  And the description will also link to a color charte whenever one is available (much of the time on special order items).

We get this question a lot: 

 ”What length dress is the model wearing in the picture - tea or formal?  I can’t tell.”

We understand what you’re really asking - how long will it be on MY child?

We usually don’t know which length dress the model was wearing when the photo was taken.  Why not?  Because it really doesn’t matter . . . . that dress is going to fit every child differently.

So how do you know?  By using the size chart linked in the description of that dress.  It tells you how long that dress is expected to run (it will be within less than an inch of accuracy). 

A formal length dress on one child may be a tea length dress on another  -  and a tea length dress on one child can be a formal length dress on another.

How do you  know how it will be on you child?  By using the size chart and measuring.

That’s the ONLY way to determine fit.

And be sure to use the extensive tips & directions provided under Measuring & Size Selection.   A link is included in the description of every special order style and is under “Need Help?” in the top navigation link from every page.

 This is a continuation of our discussion on “I Want to Match” - colors.  Please be sure to read the previous posting first . . . . 

We discussed the “why” of matching colors yesterday - why it’s not reasonable to expect to match dress colors from different manufacturers or even from different dye lots with the same manufacturers.

So what are you to do?

There are a LOT of choices, really!  First, let’s talk about “perfect match”.

Because of this situation, many flower girl dresses are available in white or ivory with accents in the color of your choice.  Very fine examples can be seen in all the lines we carry.  The Flower Girl dresses from US Angels line does this especially well.

First, you select a white or ivory dress based on the color of the Bride’s gown.  If the bride is in bright white, order the white dress.  If the bride is in silk white (which is always off-white) or another shade of ivory, order the ivory dress.

Then order the sash or flower petals to coordinate with the rest of your wedding party.

Of course it isn’t possible to match perfectly - that dye lot issue applies to this like any other garment.  The smaller splash of color, however, isn’t nearly as critical to match as a full dress, however, and usually works wonderfully.

But that isn’t the only option here.  For instance, you can order a white or ivory dress and have an exactly matching sash custom made for it by your local dressmaker as follows:

When you order your Bride’s Maids dresses (or your own gown if you have one with color in it) - order at least 2 yards of the colored fabric - from the same dye lot - as the dresses you want to match.  You have to do this at the same time as you order the adults’ dresses, of course.

Why?  Because then you can have that extra fabric made into sashes for the flower girls’ dresses that match perfectly!  You’ll likely need anywhere from 1.5-2 yards in length but can get many sashes from the width of the fabric - all depending on how wide the yardage comes + how wide you want the sashes to be.

It’s as simple as that!

We’ll discuss it more shortly.

We hear versions of this every day. 

 ”I want my flower girl dress to match my brides maids.”

There are many reasons or versions of “want it to match”.  Let’s discuss it.

To get a true understanding of the concept of matching garments - which means matching fabrics - we have to discuss fabric itself. 

All garments are made out of fabric, of course.  Every manufacturer purchases their fabric from different places at different times.  That’s assumed too, right?

Every time fabric is woven and dyed, it comes out a different hue.  Even if it is milled and dyed by the same company - slight variations that can range from the dye itself to the temperature and humidity of the day - will affect the shade or hue the fabric comes out.

This means that the same fabric from the same company will look different with each “dye lot”.  What do you care about dye lot?  Quite a bit, really.

To get all brides maids’ dresses to match, they have to be ordered specifically from the same dye lot.  This means that to get the flower girl dresses to match, they have to be ordered from the same manufacturer - at the same time - and from the same dye lot.

Expecting one company to match the dye lot of another is, well, rather precarious.  And remember - even fabric samples from this dye lot will be different from the next dye lot. 

In short, getting dresses to match at different times from different companies really isn’t the best or most reasonable expection.  Are there alternatives?  Abosolutely!  We’ll be covering those in the days to come.

In the mean time, be sure to check out our free Wedding Tips - this is covered there extensively along with a lot more about colors and including children in weddings.

We get asked this a LOT.

If you are anywhere in the USA or Canada - the answer is simply - YES!

If you are in most places in Western Europe - the answer is probably YES too!

Many other places include some of the orient, Australia & New Zealand too.

Where/how do you find out if we ship to your location?  A complete drop-down list of countries we can ship to is in the check out of our shopping cart.

If we don’t ship to your country - can you order from there?  Sorry, no.  We cannot accept an order on a credit card that bills to a location in a country where we do not ship.

Can we deliver to a military address?  No.  UPS cannot deliver to a military address.  We understand that it can save quite a bit of $ for you but also realize that there’s NO guarantee that you will get it within a reasonable amount of time — and almost everything our customers order is time-sensitive.  So it’s really to your advantage.

We can ship directly to almost any place where we have a military installation.  Or, you can have your order delivered to a friend or family member in the states who can then ship it through your military address, if that is the way you want to go.