All seamstresses are not created equal~A cautionary tale regarding 'AMERICAN DUCHESS'

*UPDATE 2013~ American Duchess, Lauren Reeser Stowell (Mrs. Christopher Stowell), continues to use the internet to stalk and harass us. She regularly and repeatedly attempts to use proxy sites like 'Hide My Ass' and many others in order to try to visit my blog after being blocked for reasons illustrated below, and her ongoing harassment.

Before you consider doing business with AMERICAN DUCHESS  please read this post in it's entirety~

A FRIEND AND REENACTOR, WHO IS ALSO OUR ATTORNEY HAS HAD ALL INFORMATION, DOCUMENTS, EMAILS, TAPED PHONE CALL, ETC. REGARDING THE MATTER CHRONICLED BELOW FOR SOMETIME.  WE ARE LETTING HIM HANDLE ANY FURTHER ACTION.  WE LONG AGO LET THIS MATTER DROP, AND THIS HAS BEEN OUR ONLY COMMENTARY ON A REGRETTABLE SITUATION.
DUE TO UTTERLY FABRICATED REPORTS, AND UNTRUE AND ONGOING INTERNET HARASSMENT BY THIS PERSON, LEGAL ACTION AGAINST HER MAY BE PENDING IN THE FUTURE. 

BELOW IS A TRUE AND FAITHFUL NARRATIVE OF OUR REGRETTABLE PROFESSIONAL DEALINGS WITH MS. REESER/AMERICAN DUCHESS, AND WE REALLY DO HOPE ANYONE CONSIDERING HAVING ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS PERSON WILL READ THIS FIRST. 
WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE FACT THAT IT IS LONG, BUT WE FELT WE NEEDED TO COVER EVERY DETAIL IN AN HONEST, CLEAR, AND FACTUAL MANNER.

Sept. 9,  2010

I refuse to use my blog for purposes of complaining, or to wage a fruitless and ridiculous war of words with a dishonest and disreputable person. It is sad that some people have no integrity, that they lie, and that they use the internet for attempting to convince themselves and others of the rightness of their own severe errors in judgment. That having been said, I will say now, and nevermore, that we recently had a very miserable experience with a seamstress, and have learned a lot. We have in the past had garments made by others and had no trouble whatsoever. I guess everyone at sometime trusts someone they should not.

The first point that should be made here is that Ms. Reeser should not be sewing professionally for other people; She has neither the skill level, the knowledge, or the maturity to deal with others.

Several months ago I employed Ms. Reeser to make three items for me. The first item, a 17thc. 'shift' arrived, and I tried it on to make sure it fit. It did. I noticed when putting it on that the small amount of hand sewing on the inside of the collar and the cuffs was unraveling, as it had been done too loosely, or perhaps too quickly. I hand-stitched these places all over again myself. I did not say anything to Ms. Reeser about this, as I felt it was a small thing, and I was able to take care of it myself.
My husband and myself both felt however, that for the amount I was charged for a mainly machine-made garment, this should not have happened, but it was my decision at the time to let it pass; I had no desire to 'nit pick'.

The second item I had ordered, a 17thc. ladies' jacket, arrived on Monday, August 30th, 5 days before the important occasion it was to be worn for. (I had contracted with Ms. Reeser months before, for this jacket). The lining, which in this jacket had some hand sewing, as in the case of the shift, was also unraveling. Again I repaired it myself, and again I said nothing to Ms. Reeser as to me, this was not a 'big deal'. I had been sent a muslin 'mock-up' of this jacket on July 30th in order to fit it properly. Both my husband and myself spoke with Ms. Reeser on the phone THAT SAME DAY, regarding the fine points of adjustments that needed to be made for the final garment. During this conversation, I asked Ms. Reeser when I could expect the finished jacket to arrive. She very specifically answered "about 2 weeks---the middle of August". My husband also heard her say this. Only days later in an email, I reiterated to her that it was most important that I have the completed jacket in time for events and programs that we had scheduled. She responded that she was glad I told her that, as if she was unaware of it!
I had told her all along that I needed this jacket by a specific date, and she had had plenty of time---(MONTHS)---to schedule and complete it.  At this time, she also casually changed the expected arrival date of the jacket to "the END of August",  her tone suggesting I had better not give her a hard time. I was a bit miffed at her cavalier attitude toward promises she had previously made, especially when I was paying a substantial sum for the garment ordered, and had purchased my own fabric. 

(*This dishonest person did NOT return ANY of the leftover wool that I bought, paid for, and sent to her for this jacket. She kept it without my permission, and actually made herself something with it, showing off the item on her blog!)

My husband also noticed that during the many months she had my fabric, and had agreed IN WRITING to make the jacket by a specific date, rather than work on my PAID commission, she used the time to make herself numerous garments and blog about them, and put off the construction of my garment until the last minute. It was very apparent that she was not concerned at all with keeping her word to us regarding deadlines, etc.,  and simply did not care if she completed my jacket by the date promised.  Again, I said nothing. I did not want to get into a war at this point with someone I now perceived as  'prickly'---I just wanted my garments, and for our communication to be as pleasant as possible.

All along in this entire process, I had been sending Ms Reeser payments for the garments ordered. She NEVER had to ask, as I always sent more, or made payments far in advance of when they were due.  She often remarked about her status as an "entrepreneur", and intimated that she was somewhat of a "starving 'artist".  I tried to help by paying her well in advance for all work she was doing for me. I have proof of this as well. She expressed to me what a "great customer" I was, and how she had many difficult "customers from hell", and what a "pleasure" it was to work with me.
All through this process, I asked her legitimate questions, and voiced my concerns with regard to an aspect of sewing that I freely admitted I had no knowledge of. At no time did I harass, harangue, or make a pest of myself.
As a seamstress hired by me, she had a responsibility to patiently explain and reassure, which she initially did. We had a cordial relationship until the second garment arrived.

When garment #2, the 17thc. jacket, arrived on Aug. 30th, I tried it on. (FOUR days before the big event it was ordered for). Both my husband and myself were a bit concerned about the fit because we knew that because she had sent it so late, there was no time for any adjustments to be made before our event only days away. The jacket fit except for being what turned out to be 2 inches too large at the waist. As I tried to button it, most of the buttons broke and came apart in my hands!---Ms. Reeser had used an inferior quality of cover-yourself buttons, and now they were useless, and the jacket could not be worn. Even the shanks on the buttons had broken off at a mere touch.
We were horrified; we had heavy commitments all week, out-of-town company arriving, and it now appeared we would have to try and repair the damage ourselves in order for me to wear the jacket 4 days later.
My husband spent 2 hours in travel time going to the closest store that sold the proper buttons we needed. (We live in the country). He then had to make 15 of them, and I had to sew them onto the jacket. Lauren NEVER offered to cover our expenses---she only offered to have us send the jacket back for her to repair, which at this point it was far too late to do.

We want to make it clear that we understand that she did not intentionally use faulty buttons, but if she had sent the completed garment weeks before, when it was originally promised to us, we would not have been in a position of having to do this work to it in order for me to be able to wear it on Sept. 4th, as planned. We felt that this all could and should have been avoided, had the seamstress honored her original promise to have the jacket to us by MID-August. Again, we graciously told her not to worry about the button fiasco, and that it was water over the dam at that point.

As for the waist issue, she said it as an "easy fix", and that I should "move the buttons in that area over until it fit"!
This was a disaster, with buttons way out of line, and made things even worse. It in no way helped with the waist-fit issue. Again, I had no choice but to wear it as it was to our event. Even I, with my limited knowledge of garment construction, knew that the proper thing to do was to open the lining in the problem areas at the seams,  nip the seams in just a bit, tapering them carefully, and then hand sew the lining back together.

*ADDENDUM: We contacted and got the opinion of several other seamstresses with regard to moving the buttons as a remedy to the waist-fit issue, and ALL agreed that that was NOT sound advice. I have now repaired the jacket myself, opening the lining and the 2 back seams, and taking in the waist 2 inches, and the fit is now perfect.

The final garment I commissioned Ms. Reeser to make was an 18thc ladies jacket. This agreement had been made in writing months earlier.  I sent her a check for half of the total cost of the project, which she cashed.  Again, I purchased my own fabric and sent it to her, along with a hand-embroidered stomacher, which was mine, and which was to be incorporated into the jacket design.

The day that the 17thc. jacket arrived, (August 30), when I went to try it on, I got out the shift---the first garment Ms. X made for me, and the one that was to be worn with this particular jacket. It was at this time that I noticed something that I heretofore had not seen, as I had hung the garment in the closet for weeks until the completed 17thc. jacket came---the collar was sewn on upside-down! It was very obvious, with the turned-up hem facing up, out into the room for all to see.
We called Ms. Reeser immediately to let her know about the collar. Again, this garment was to be worn to an important event now 3 days away. It was ridiculous-looking, with the hem of the collar facing up for all to see! We knew that since we had not noticed the error earlier, it was too late to fix it in time for the event, and we only wanted to let Ms. X know about it, and make arrangements to have her put it on correctly later, and at her convenience.

My husband and I are respected living history reenactors, educators, and public speakers. We present paid costumed historical programs as part of our livelihood. We are educated in the history of different eras of clothing, and lecture on this at historical societies, museums, clubs, schools, etc.,  all over New England.
We both felt now that Lauren's sewing ability was not yet very experienced or professional , but that this collar snafu was just a mistake that could happen to anyone.
When I originally employed her, she promised all garments would be made to my satisfaction, and that she would correct any problems at no additional charge. We now called her, and I tried to explain that the collar on the shift was upsidedown, and that we had only just noticed it. I was not angry at all, assuming it was an oversight.  I had always accepted Ms. Reeser's suggestions with regard to garment construction, and at no time before this had any 'words' or arguments with her as she now claims.

Ms. Reeser was irritated and inflammatory in the very first minute of the conversation.   I immediately asked Adam at that point to pick up the extension because I was so suprised at her immediately aggressive attitude. I told her he was on the line too.
At first Lauren flatly denied that the collar was on wrong, implying we were stupid. Failing that, she then said that it was "historically correct" and a matter of "personal choice" whether we wanted the collar on with the very-obvious turned-under hem facing up or not!
This is utterly ridiculous, and patently untrue, and we tried to tell her that. We attempted to explain that we were pleased with our garments, and that this was a minor thing that could be fixed later. 
We could not get a word in. She absolutely refused to listen to us. She launched into a screaming, verbally abusive tirade. She was out of control from the beginning of the conversation, and I was glad my husband was on the other extension, and hearing every word of this debacle. He was so shocked, he recorded the entire call on the answering machine tape. It was all so out-of-the-blue, and rather threatening. 
Ms. Reeser lied, and was unbelievably hysterical. She falsely accused me of saying that her work was "shoddy", among other things---every bit of this is on the tape.
She screeches on the tape, saying that she " discussed me" behind my back, and that I was "difficult".

This immature woman can use her blog to try to paint herself as a victim, or elicit support from her 'friends' all she wants.  (From what we hear, it is NOT working---I think people are smarter than that). In fact, it was she who precipitated this narrative by printing a false and accusatory statement in the first place. 

I have never been abusive or demanding with Ms Reeser in any way. By this time, I was stressed to the point that I wished I had never bothered with this project, or her. I was also angry at her bald-face lies and the abusive treatment in the face of my consistent kindness to her, and consideration for her.
I tried repeatedly during this phone conversation to explain to her that we both felt that the upside-down collar was probably just a mistake anyone could make, and that we merely wanted her to fix it.

She refused at any time to during this taped exchange, to listen to us, and continued screaming insults and accusations. It was obvious to my husband that she had issues or problems having nothing to do with US or our call, and that she had let these problems interfere with good sense and good judgment.
She was the only one behaving in an abrasive and accusatory manner, as is plain in the recorded phone call.
here was absolutely no provocation on our part for her actions, whatsoever, and this is proven on the tape as well. By this time we had had it. We tried to tell her that we would have a different seamstress here in our state, fix the collar at our own expense, but she refused to listen to us at all during the entire phone call.

(*ADDENDUM: AMAZINGLY,  I HAVE  REMOVED THE UPSIDEDOWN COLLAR, PRESSED OUT THE PLEATING, GATHERED IT INSTEAD, (which is what we asked for in the first place), AND PUT IT BACK ON CORRECTLY MYSELF, WITH THE HEM ON THE UNDERSIDE, AS IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN.)
We have photo-documentation of all of the shift and jacket repairs---of how they looked when they originally arrived, and of how they look now.

She then asked if I wanted to "cancel the contract we had"---(HER WORDS)---for her to make the 18thc. jacket. I said no, I did not, and again I tried to ask her to calm down and discuss everything as adults. You can clearly hear all of this on the tape of the call.  She categorically refuses to do so. She continued to scream and be abusive, and then to abruptly say that she would not listen to us, or talk to us.
I then merely said "good night" and she hung up.
We had heard enough childish ranting and screaming by this time.

Several hours later, we received an email from Ms. Reeser It said that she "would not make the 18thc. jacket", and would "send back" our money, my fabric, my 'stomacher', and the man's 17thc. collar that belongs to my husband. She also stated in her hit-and-run email, "do not reply". This in itself was a cowardly, immature, and unwarranted act.

Again, it was very obvious, and would be to anyone hearing this tape of her, that she had some issue---boyfriend trouble or something, that had precipitated her hysterical and unprofessional behavior that evening, but she has never taken responsibility for her actions, and in fact has continued to lie and to harass us via the internet.

She had now broken WHAT EVEN SHE REFERS TO AS "OUR CONTRACT" IN THIS TAPED PHONE CALL.  Our email agreement, spelling out all terms, IS a legal written agreement.  She not only accepted pre-payment, but accepted, and was in possession of money, fabric, and other items to be used for the garment.  After she broke the contract, we assumed she would return our funds and items promptly. She did not.
This third garment was for a very special and important event, and she was aware of this. By breaking her contract with us she put us in a very nasty situation, as it is was  now less than 2 months before the event, and we had to find a reputable seamstress who might be able to make the needed jacket in time.

We would of course NEVER recommend Ms. Reeser to anyone. She is untrustworthy, immature, dishonest, and very unprofessional. Her sewing skills are not of the caliber to be sewing for paying customers, so it is a blessing in disguise that she is not making the other garment for me.

If she would do this to us, she would do it to others, and probably already has. (She herself frequently made whining remarks to me about her "customers from hell").
What she has done is akin to refusing to make a wedding gown several weeks before a wedding, when it is too late to find a replacement. This is extremely unethical. Lauren's undeserved hysterical accusations and abusive remarks are not to be tolerated, and should be cause for concern for anyone thinking of hiring her, or purchasing any of her products. Her sewing skills are mediocre, and she lacks customer service skills and is utterly without integrity. She is also a liar.

Several days after Ms. Reeser's outburst, and her email reneging on her agreement to make the final garment she had agreed to make and accepted money for, my husband did email her.
He told her in no uncertain terms that she must return our money and property immediately, so that we could try to have someone reputable construct our garment for us in time for our big occasion.
We followed this email with a letter reiterating that, and sent it to her via certified mail. She ignored every email and the letter, and would not let us know when we could expect our money and our things back. She has had plenty of time to return our things as she promised to, but to this date has not. She has no respect for her word, or a binding professional agreement, and no regard for how her unprofessional conduct affects others.

We did most definitely have a written agreement with Lauren in email form, agreeing to make this jacket. We have copies of our written contractual agreement for the 18thc. jacket, in which she agrees to do it, states the total cost, and  how "excited" she is about "doing this project". It also clearly states the completion date, ( "before the 1st of Nov."),  and that she accepted a payment for the commission. (She thanks us in the email).  This is a legal contract. We have all paperwork, proof of payment, etc., regarding this, as well.

We decided to file complaints against Lauren Reeser with the police, and have now done so because she has left us no choice. She has not returned our money and property. She obviously has no regard for the position she has put us in, and we feel she is unpredictable and erratic. 

We had an appointment with another seamstress, which we have had to postpone because Ms. Reeser still has our money, my wool fabric, my embroidered stomacher, and Adam's collar. We now sadly, must rely on legal means to recover our things.
We believe the law will recover our money and items, and karma will do the rest...The unfortunate thing is that now it is Monday, the 13th, and we still do NOT have our money or our fabric, etc.

(*ADDENDUM: We finally received our money and possessions back more than 2 weeks after Ms. Reeser's blowup. Her local police had to contact her, as a courtesy to our police dept., and it was after this that our things and payment were returned to us! We do have a copy of the police report, etc., as well.

It was too late for the new seamstress to make my jacket in time for the event, however.

Another seamstress I engaged several years ago, who made the 18thc. gowns I have, now has a different career, and is no longer sewing for the public. She too is extremely capable,  and we have only glowing praise for her. If she had been still sewing, we never would have contacted Ms. Reeser in the first place.

We were recently filmed and interviewed for a TV program, wearing our 17thc. attire, (upside-down collar and all, for this was the day of our event in Mass., Sept. 4th).
We discussed our clothing, food, the musket, bandolier, etc., and life of the period. Had Ms. Reeser been careful, meticulous, honest and professional, we would not have hesitated to mention her in the course of the TV interview, which certainly could have been beneficial to her. As it was, we could never, ever recommend her to anyone, and this is entirely her own doing.

In our professional opinion, Ms. Reeser (who portrays herself as a reenactor, which we dispute), has limited and erroneous knowledge, (or lack thereof), of types and construction of 17th and 18thc. garments.   She is an extremely vicious and dishonest person, which is the most unfortunate thing of all.  She has willfully and maliciously involved others in her retaliatory campaign, and has convinced a FRIEND OF HERS to lie, and completely fabricate a story about us. Fortunately, not only do we have Ms. Reeser's emails, etc., of all of our transactions with her, but the one time we did business with her friend years ago, all went perfectly well and we have proof of this as well. 
Long ago, someone taught me to make copies of ALL letters, and etc., when doing ANY kind of business,  and I did.  I have physical proof that EVERYTHING I have said here is the truth. We are disgusted, and  have now turned everything over to our lawyer, who will handle any future action.

IN CONCLUSION, Words are, after all, only words. As our parents told us when we were young, "sticks and stones..." The irresponsible and untrue accusations made against us must be put aside and forgotten when you know you have the truth on your side. I refuse to stoop to the level of this person.

I am as ever, thankful for the true friends and acquaintances I have, and the personal emails of support we have received.

Every experience, even the negative teaches something---lessons are learned here. As I mentioned in an earlier post, sometimes things happen for a reason, and you find yourself better off. I believe this is one of those times.
Since our experience with this awful woman, we have had occasion to have fantastic garments made by several wonderful, professional, and very talented seamstresses~

******************************************************************************

(FEB. 2011~UPDATE

* Lauen Reeser, American Duchess has lied about this entire incident on her blog.  We were paying customers, and had a right to anonymity with regard to the making of garments we paid for. She did not respect that,  and has used my name and my photos on her blog, WITHOUT OUR PERMISSION.  
She is her own worst enemy, and by doing what she has done, she has actually called attention to herself and cost herself business---Her actions have seriously back-fired in her face; as of now, 2/11, FOUR people have seen it and who wanted garments made, and have CONTACTED US. They asked for details about Ms. Reeser, and in every case, they told us they would not be hiring her. 

We have NEVER contacted anyone regarding her on our own, nor have we ever mentioned her name on our sites.  
The bottom line is that Ms. Reeser's lies, her accusations, the yelling, and the utter lack of professionalism  is all on the tape, and clearly UNPROVOKED in any way by us. 
Like DNA, it is impossible to refute all that we have on the audio tape, as well as all of the emails/physical documentation we have. 
Karma...


UPDATE~SEPT. 2012~

'AMERICAN DUCHESS' LAUREN REESER CANNOT STAY OFF MY BLOG DESPITE BEING BLOCKED FOR REASONS DETAILED ABOVE. SHE LATELY HAS BEEN TRYING TO GAIN ACCESS USING A SITE CALLED 'HIDE MY ASS'---(ABOUT AS CLASSY AS LAUREN HERSELF, AND POTENTIALLY ILLEGAL, AS WELL AS OTHER 'PROXY' SITES. WE HAVE CAUGHT HER EVERY TIME, WRITTEN TO THESE SITES ABOUT OUT LEGAL ISSUES WITH HER, AND EVERY ONE OF THEM KINDLY BANNED HER FROM USING THEIR SITES TO GAIN ACCESS TO MY BLOG!). 
SHE HAD BEEN ON MY BLOG SEVERAL TIMES RECENTLY  SPECIFICALLY TO COPY SEVERAL THINGS I AM DOING OR WEARING, INCLUDING THE 18THC. HAIRDO I STYLED MYSELF FOR THE COLONIAL BALL LAST JAN.  
THE LATEST IS WHEN SHE VISITED MY BLOG LOOKING AT A POST OF ME IN MY NEW PERIOD GOWN AND HAT AND THEN POSTED THIS ON HER BLOG WITHIN THE HOUR~
  http://americanduchess.blogspot.com/2012/07/v208-1770s-chapeau-de-paris.html

SHE HAS DONE THIS TO SEVERAL OTHER PEOPLE AS WELL, ALL OF WHOM ARE DISGUSTED WITH HER.

BY CONTRAST, I HAVE NO INTEREST IN ANY CONTACT WHATSOEVER WITH THIS DISTURBED INDIVIDUAL, AND DO NOT EVER VISIT HER BLOG/WEBSITE/ETC.

THE ONLY THING MORE DISHONEST AND PATHETIC IS THAT SHE PORTRAYS HERSELF TO THE PUBLIC AS ORIGINAL AND CREATIVE WHEN IN ACTUAL FACT SHE IS IGNORANT AND SNEAKY. SHE IS A FRAUD AND A FAKE WHO RIPS OFF THE CREATIVE IDEAS OF OTHERS AND THEN ACTS AS IF THEY WERE HERS ALONE.

AFTER RECENTLY POSTING PHOTOS OF HERSELF SPORTING A SILLY AND RATHER MESSY 'PERIOD' HAIRSTYLE SHE CRAFTED, SHE THEN DISCOVERED PHOTOS OF ME WITH MY TRULY AUTHENTIC 18THC. 'BALL HAIR', WHICH SHE ATTEMPTED TO COPY AND PASS OFF AS HER OWN IDEA,  MODELING IT ON HER FACEBOOK PAGE  (WHILE WEARING AN INAUTHENTIC GOWN ADORNED WITH CHEAP 'DIMESTORE' LACE.)

IT WAS NICE TO HEAR FROM OTHERS WHO ALSO RECOGNIZED THAT MS. REESER HAD BLATANTLY STOLEN THE HAIR STYLE IDEA FROM ME---(IT WASN'T THE FIRST TIME...), OR HAD THEIR OWN HORROR STORIES WITH HER.

LAUREN  PORTRAYS HERSELF AS AN EXPERT ON HER BLOG,  DISPENSES OFTENTIMES RIDICULOUS AND ERRONEOUS ADVICE, AND MAKES PRONOUNCEMENTS THAT SHOW HER LACK OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE WITH 18THC. REENACTING AND IT'S ATTENDANT CLOTHING, YET SHE HAS REFERRED TO HERSELF AS A "REENACTOR" ON HER OWN BLOG, ON HER FACEBOOK PAGE, AND OTHER PLACES AS WELL. I FEEL SURE SHE HAS BY NOW DELETED THESE REFERENCES.WHEN SHE MADE THESE GARMENTS FOR ME, SHE DID NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT 'STAYS' WERE. SHE WANTED TO BONE THE 17THC. JACKET. I TRIED TO EXPLAIN SEVERAL TIMES, NICELY,  THAT IT WOULD BE WORN OVER 'STAYS', AND HAD TO BE MADE ACCORDINGLY.  SHE DIDN'T 'GET IT', WHICH DID CONCERN ME.   WHAT WAS  MOST UPSETTING WAS THAT HER IMMEDIATE REACTION WAS ONE OF HIGH-HANDEDNESS, AND 'HOW DARE YOU TRY AND TELL ME HOW TO DO SOMETHING'.  SHE PORTRAYS HERSELF AS AN EXPERT, AND GET'S EXTREMELY SNIPPY WHEN QUESTIONED ABOUT ANYTHING.  
REGRETTABLY, LAUREN REESER (AMERICAN DUCHESS BLOG), IS DISHONEST AND DISREPUTABLE, AND WE HAVE PROOF OF THIS.

I want to sincerely thank all the many people who emailed me personally regarding all of this. Your kind letters were unanimously of understanding and support, and we appreciate them so much.
~ Mary