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Congrats! I never found that seller when I was looking into this; I just ran into ones that made me slightly nervous, with not-so-great communication even before I placed the order, so I chickened out. That's great that you had such a good experience. Was your dress design very complicated? Lots of beading or lace or anything like that?
Would you post pics?
I, too, have a close friend who bought online from China for $10...not custom...but perfectly fit. It cost $90 to ship. It came out great. After wearing, some beading and strings were a bit loose but wow...you can't even tell. I'll put pics when she gives it to me. Oh, and she said it came rolled up in a box and unwrinkled itself through the months before and steam from a shower in the bathroom.
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I just started my custom dress- its 2 dresses put together as well. I'm glad you had such a great experience. I'm getting a $800 dress for $250 and that includes shipping so I am more than willing to try it out
I bought one on Ebay too!!!!!!! I should have it next week. It's a "jim hjelm" style with some modifications. I can't wait to see mine. I was encouraged by a friend who ordered hers on Ebay for $100 and loved it! way to save some dough
So great to hear - I am doing the same thing and will be able to add some of the "must have" elements to my wedding by saving so much on my dress. I'll be sure to check out that seller when I get ready to order. It's nice to know when uncertain things work out!
I'm most likely going to do this as well!
ejs4y8, I would love to know who you used for the Jim Hjelm dress, he's my favorite! And I would love to know how it turns out. Thanks!
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Gerbera: I will be posting it (and pics of me in it, etc) as soon as I get it in and shimmy into it. The seller was tiger.0088 and she has been nothing but friendly so far! I got it for about $150
As a recommendation from another bee member, I put an alchemy bid out on etsy to recreate the jcrew lucinda dress for me. I have accepted a bid from a Chicago woman for $375 which includes a muslin mock up of the dress, all fittings, all alterations, material, and labor. I am way excited because the original was going to cost $2500. Eeek!
Sure, I have some pics I can post. I have a couple of the dress I cloned and the dress I got in the mail. I haven't taken any pics of me in it yet, but I absolutely love it! First 3 pics are the dress I actually got and the last few are the dress I cloned. The last picture is the lace-up I added from a different dress.
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I too had my dress made in China - Augusta Jones "Isola". Pearl's Place was $1200 (needed extra length) for the POLYESTER silk. Why should I pay that much for a polyester dress. Insane.
I have posted pics of me in the original on another thread.
I had my first proper fitting yesterday- and I'm so excited. Yes, I will be spending the same amount for alterations that I spent on the dress. But I think some of it is my fault, as I purposely ordered big (figuring it was easier to take IN a dress rather than take out).
Hi roseya, your dress is beautiful! I have pretty much decided that I will order my dress from a company like the one you used. Just wondering, though, did you have to pay any customs fees/duties on the shipment?
Wow! I've never even heard of this! I've been worried about what it's going to cost for my dress when we renew our vows. The dress I have picked will have to be custom made since I saw it on Jennifer Anniston and am sure I will never find one like it myself. Plus, I want it made in very particuolar fabric which makes my quest even harder. Now I can't wait to get my dress made. Thank you very much for sharing this great idea.
I am sooo happt to hear this! And well... A little relieved... I ordered mine from China as well & won't get it until the week before my wedding! I hope I have the same great experience as you! Your dress looks great!
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Hi Danjou,
Nope did not have to pay any extra fees for shipping. It was a flat $60 and came through customs just fine!
Hi girls, Im glad ive read this post, i am a bride on a budget and dont wanna spend too much for the dress so i think i may consider getting my dress in china. Do you have some kinda website of these sellers? or where can i find them? thanks
The one I used as shown above is gianinarbridal@hotmail.com. You can google for gianinarbridal and see other girls reviews/posts on the internet. She has an ebay store that you can find and see what dresses they make if you want one that they do.
Hope that helps!
WOW what a beautiful dress, I love how simple but so classy too!! The corset back probably helps too with sizing in case the measurements were a little off!! Love it!!
Sounds great, but if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. I would worry that a $100 custom dress from China was most likely made by a child, not a professional seamstress.
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I kinda agree with DaisyR on this one... The dress is GORGEOUS and is a great reproduction of the photos, but is there any way to ensure that the production of the dress was legitimate? :-\
I used a Chinese dressmaker called Milly Bridal, which sends digital photos of your gown in progress. The photos show a spacious factory with middle-aged women walking around or working in the background. Of course you could claim that the photos are staged to soothe the consciences of American brides and that the child laborers are just off-camera. Or you could question the working conditions - how much are these women paid? How many breaks do they get? What are their dormitories like? What kinds of hours do they work?
But the reality is that a lot of bridal gowns sold at U.S. retailers are made in China - they just get marked up a lot by the time they arrive here. When I was dress shopping, the Priscilla of Boston saleswoman very matter-of-factly told us their gowns are Chinese-made. New Yorker staff writer Rebecca Mead's book about the wedding industry, One Fine Day, says "almost all of the mass-market dresses sold in the United States," including those at David's Bridal, are made in factories in Taiwan and China. Some factories are even run by North American businessmen of Asian origin who know how to bridge those two worlds. And for what it's worth, the factory that Mead tours for her book seems to have decent working conditions.
Sorry for the pedantic semi-rant on globalization. I'm getting off my soapbox now.
@hellopanda - I agree - most ANYTHING that we buy in the US comes from China or Taiwan or other 3rd world countries. My concern with a small internet business or ebay store is that there is no one watching the company and ensuring the it upholds the proper employee/employer standards. A company as large as David's Bridal is most likely watched by numerous organizations to ensure that the employees are not working in a 'sweat shop' atmosphere. A small company selling custom-made wedding dresses can easily slide under the radar and go unnoticed.
I am completely in touch with the effects of globalization on the worldwide economy. I work for a multi-national finance/accounting firm, with offices is all major countries around the world. We see first-hand the effects.
I was also a budget conscious bride, and understand the desire to have a gorgeous wedding dress at a low price. Personally, I would not feel comfortable purchasing a dress from a small internet company in China.
my friend got a dress from china too... and she loved it! ^_^
I thought it was kind of weird... to be honest, but she had a good experience and so did you so maybe i'll think twice about it. haha
I'm happy you got the dress you wanted for way less and custom made too! no need to pay for alternations... big plus! ^_^
gianinarbridal = amazing!! This was one of the posts that I found when researching them before deciding to purchase. Since it was helpful to me I figured I'd add my experience so it might be helpful for others :)
I also combined two pictures, but they were both from dresses they had listed on their ebay site. They just sent me the completed pictures and it's gorgeous! - exactly what I had in mind. My only concern is that I asked for ivory and the pictures look very white to me, but I know this could just be from lighting/camera/computer screen differences and they told me not to worry, that it is infact ivory. Either way, it should be here by the end of the week (CAN'T WAIT!!) so I'll know soon enough. 
Just an update - I got the dress in and it's the most beautiful shade of ivory that I could have wanted. I'm not a seamstress but the quality looks good and it fits wonderfully. I might have to hem the front a little, but I'm not too confident in the measurements that I gave them so it's probably my own fault. Point is, gianinarbridal was the best deal that I could have gotten for my wedding and I don't feel like I sacrificed anything in the way of beauty or perfection for my wedding day. I hope that anyone who is thinking about purchasing from them decides to go with it, you won't regret it!!
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I'll probably get some negative feedback about posting this, but I just can't help but share my experience in case it helps someone else...I had a wonderful experience - just received my online Chinese dress and it is beautiful. It turned out to be just like the dress I was hoping for.
My experience: I found a dress I loved in the $700-$1000 range. After doing a bit of reserach online, I decided to give it a try with a Chinese dressmaker (gianinarbridal) to see if they could recreate it for less. I had 8 months before my wedding, so I figured if it was a flop it wasn't a lot of money that I was out and I had enough time to go with Plan B. I ended up combining 2 dresses - adding a lace-up back vs zip back. It felt like a good idea since I ordered it 8 months before my wedding (so who knows if I'll make my goal of losing a bit of weight in that time) and the fit is so perfect with lace-up.
I sent my the initial $50 payment through paypal, gave them the 10 or so measurements they wanted, sent as many pictures of the 2 dresses to use as I could find and held my breath. The email person was always so prompt, courteous and answered all my questions in detail (I wanted ivory vs white, what was the material going to be, etc).
I received an email about 45 days later (they say 30-45 days till the dress is done) with pictures of it completed. I couldn't believe how great it looked and how well it resembled the photos. I sent my last $50 for the dress + $60 for shipping through paypal and within 2 weeks it arrived. It's dead-on to the dress I liked with the extra touch of the lace-up back. So a custom made dress, my exact measurements, in my hands in 2 months for $160. WOW!
I definitely understand the argument of buying American and making sure the dressmakers make money from their designs, but this could be an alternative for the girls out there that just can't afford even the typical $400 David's Bridal dress, let alone the $2000-$3000 designer dresses. So I thought it was at least worth sharing my experience. I did my research and felt comfortable enough with this dressmaker and the $50 initial investment. So I'm a happy camper. Feel free to ask questions if this is a route you are interested in. You can also google the dressmaker (they are on ebay as a seller) because there are other girls that have reviews as well.