It’s prom season in Illinois, and Kathy Labedzki-Pierga, owner of Kasia's Bridal and Special Occasion boutique, has found herself embroiled in high school drama.
“I’ve never been in a situation like this,” Labedzki-Pierga tells TODAY.com. “And hope I never will be again.”
Recently, Labedzki-Pierga sold a purple sparkly gown to a teenager who had traveled four hours for her appointment in Chicago. Later that day, the girl proudly posted a photo of her purchase on a social media page created to help classmates avoid duplicating each other’s prom looks.
"She lit up when she saw her reflection in the mirror," Labedzki-Pierga says. "She liked that it had a slit but wasn't too form-fitting."
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That’s when things got messy. Labedzki-Pierga says she began receiving “nonstop” threatening phone calls from another customer’s mother. According to Labedzki-Pierga, the woman’s daughter — a cheerleader at the same school — had fallen in love with the same purple gown in December but ultimately decided to keep looking. When she later saw the Facebook post, the store owner says she realized she had made a mistake by walking away.
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In a viral TikTok video, Labedzki-Pierga said that the angry mother berated her for selling the dress to another client, and demanded that she take it back. She also threatened to get her husband involved. The girl who bought the dress is being harassed at school, according to Labedzki-Pierga.
“I'm afraid for this girl's life at this point because I heard that they already managed to egg her car and her house,” Labedzki-Pierga said in the clip. "Over a dress. You guys, get real. It's not that serious."
Labedzki-Pierga tells TODAY she is “heartbroken” that bullies are taking the joy out of a girl’s prom. And she says the mother — an adult — is behaving just as badly.
“I met some of the most cruel mothers when I worked at a dress shop for prom/pageants in Utah. I believe you 100%,” one person wrote in the comments.
- “they’re 100% gonna do something to ruin that poor girls dress.”
- “I was a manager at a wedding/prom store. I had a mom lose her marbles because the daughter wouldn’t decide and she wanted me to take all three dresses off her school’s registry...while buying none of them. No ma'am.”
- “I manage a venue where a prom is also held. Parents are no longer allowed to chaperone.”
- “We had this exact problem at the prom place in my town. Not to mention they want us to open early or close later for them when they wouldn’t even have the audacity to ask a department store.”
- “Former bridal stylist here: I once had a mom eyeballing my client from across the prom floor because she was wearing a dress she wanted her daughter to buy. I told my client and her mom we were being watched and they immediately committed and bought the dress. I was happy for my girl because the other and her mom were giving meannnnn energy.”
After Labedzki-Pierga posted about the incident on TikTok, it went viral with more than 7.6 million views. She says that the girl who bought the dress has been reading the comments and is grateful for the outpouring of support.
"She wasn't going to go to prom, and now she can't wait," Labedzki-Pierga says. "The dress looks absolutely stunning on her."
This article originally appeared on TODAY.com. Read more from TODAY:
