‘Very violating’: Designer gown allegedly stolen from St. Jacobs clothing boutique

CTV’s Alexandra Holyk speaks to the owners of a St. Jacob’s boutique who say a dress was stolen after being stuffed into a handbag.

A clothing boutique in St. Jacobs, Ont. is asking for help to track down a designer gown allegedly stolen off the rack.

Staff at La Crème claim two women came in looking for a dress on Monday afternoon and walked out with a thousand-dollar gown hidden in a handbag.

“It was a beautiful pink ruffled gown with a high slit and off-the-shoulder sleeves,” said Brittany Burgess, the store’s operations director. “It was just absolutely beautiful. It was one of our favourite dresses in the store.”

The size 14 Sherri Hill gown typically retails at more than $1,000. Burgess said it was the only one in the store at the time.

According to Burgess, the women split up when they entered the store. While associates were helping one of them, the other allegedly grabbed two dresses off the rack and headed to the changeroom.

Security footage shared with CTV News showed the woman walk into the changeroom with the pink gown, as well as a blue one. Minutes later, she’s seen leaving the dressing room with only the blue dress and her purse by her side.

“We looked throughout the store. The dress was not on the rack,” Burgess said. “The other dress that the woman did take in the fitting room with her – when we unzipped the bag it was in, we found the clear gown bag that the stolen dress had been in, as well as the hanger for the other dress in the skirt of the second dress that she took into a fitting room with her.”

Burgess said it’s not the first time La Crème has dealt with retail theft.

“We deal with theft on a weekly basis, but not of this magnitude,” she said. “It’s normally a small item; a pair of earrings, a pair of socks, not a full-length evening gown.”

She said the incident has left employees, including herself, on edge.

“It’s very violating,” Burgess said. “It’s very disheartening.

“Every time something like this happens, it really feels like someone came into my home and took something right out of my house,” she added.

Burgess worries it could happen again.

“We don’t want to assume that everyone coming into the store would do this,” she said. “But unfortunately, that’s the fear it gives us … it could be anyone.”

La Crème said it would be taking measures to mitigate retail theft in the future. In the meantime, Burgess emphasized she wants the dress back.

“I’m not sure that anything will happen,” she said. “But ideally, we would just love the dress returned.”

Burgess said she filed a report with Waterloo Regional Police Service. A spokesperson told CTV News they’ve received her report and are looking into it.