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That's a toughie. I also considered purchasing my dress online from a foreign company (vponsale.com) but I panicked because I was afraid the dress wouldn't fit and then I'd be stuck with it on top of having to find something else. It sounds like you've done your homework. Go with your gut instinct. Do any of the companies have a return policy? That might make one more or less attractive.
I have been considering getting a dress custom-made from China too...now I have two more companies to consider! Thanks. Is there a specific design you have in mind? I really want a gown style like those by Pronovias, but I don't see anything similar to it on either site.
I'm sorry I don't have experience with either company, so I can't help you there. But if I were only choosing between these two, I think I might choose jeffliu8000. Like you said, if it ends up going badly, you wouldn't be out as much money. The overall eBay feedback (%) for jeffliu8000 actually seems to be better than that for Cinderella's Bridal Shop. Cinderella's Bridal Shop has 3 negative feedbacks for the past year, while jeffliu8000 has 6, though. On the other hand, jeffliu8000 has 1091 records of positive feedback in the past year, while Cinderella's Bridal Shop only has 181, so obviously the former is selling a lot more dresses, which could account for the higher number in negative feedback.
Have you heard anything about a site called lightinthebox.com? I only ask because they actually do have a picture up on their site of a gown I want. Thanks! Good luck with the dress hunt!
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well Cinderella's Bridal Shop is just the ebay store of an actual website... millybridal.com so that might explain why they have less overall sales than jeffliu. I have been talking with the people at millybridal.com not the ebay store.
I also was unable to find the dress I wanted on anyone's website. So i sent them a picture and asked for a price quote if they were to do a custom order. so that might be an option for you to try. Also I am more or less having them do a copy of a dress i liked when I tried it on (I would highly suggest trying on a dress of the same style before you order...sometimes things that look wonderful in advertising photos are just terrible on) but I am having them change the back a little to be more of a v-shape like many of the priscilla of boston dresses, instead of just going straight across.
I have heard the name lightinthebox.com but i haven't seen anything consistently about them. i narrowed it down to these two companies b/c they were the most positively discussed on wedding boards such as these. I just did a google search to find the information I was looking for.
I think that I have decided to go with Milly. They have been the most prompt and detailed in their responses to my *MANY* questions. Even though they are more expensive and I would be out more money if it doesn't work out, I feel more comfortable and confident in them
I am planning to have my measurements professionally taken this week and will probably order early next week unless I come across someting that completely changes my mind.
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I am a very luck person in that I have a mother who has sewn truly beautiful garments for me my whole life, and is planning on doing so for my wedding dress as well.
I bring this up only in that I have a lot of experience with custom made clothing. A few things to consider:
The dress itself:
- assuming you have tried the original on, is the cut truly flattering to you (I mean A-line, or V-neck, or mermaid, or scoop, etc.)? You know how some clothing cuts always look good on you, even if the details aren't great, while sometimes you go for a cut which isn't normally perfect for you because some other aspect (color, print, details, etc) makes it awesome for you? If it is the right cut for you, proceed with more confidence, because even if a little detail is off, at least the dress will be flattering. If it is the details, like the beading or lace or awesome bustle, that make it for you, be a tad more wary.
- are you going for a standard color? If you want a real white dress, awesome. I have found, though, that champagne has little variations that make a big difference with your skin tone. Probably not as big of a problem for ivory, but it could be for pale pinks or blues as well.
Your budget:
- are you sunk if things don't work out at $300? I'm thinking there is a decent amount an independent seamstress could do for $130 (difference between the two) to save a dress.
- do you have a little wiggle room for final adjustments? Trust me, no one can cut a dress perfectly with just measurements. You will feel so much better if you budget money for final, on your body adjustments.
- with either group, have you asked if you get things like your button holes reinforced, or enough fabric to let out the bottom or the sides (fingers crossed you won't need that!)? Will you get an extra button or two, or matching thread for minor repairs? Little things that could make a huge difference.
I don't think this is a cazy idea. Just think long and hard, make a decision, and then accept and embrace whatever you get.
Hello ladies,
I actually bought a dress from JeffLiu a few weeks ago and paid < $200 with shipping. I tried a few dresses and I couldn't fall in love with any of them because I kept wanting to stay in my budet. Well, I had him make a Lazaro dress 3851, with one twist: I wanted buttons all the way down. So, what did I think about it?
I received the dress about 3 weeks ago. The first time I tried it, I didn't love it. I tried the dress on with the "boobs" that were sewn in with the dress. Eek.. My boobs looked like they were almost to the neck. ha ha. I tried it again a few days later with the bras I bought and then it looked good.
The dress is shorter than I expected it to be. I measured myself with a pair of shoes that were about 3 1/2" high. I know for sure I won't be able to wear those shoes without showing my toes. It's not a big deal because I wasn't set on wearing those shoes but I'm making it a big deal because what if those shoes I measured myself with were THE shoes? Then my toes would be sticking out of them. Not cool.
My advice: make sure to give extra length to the dress. And if you can, have yourself professionally measured?
I will need to tailor it because there's a few areas that need to be adjusted. I'm hoping these adjustments won't be more than $300. I didn't have it measured professionally. I'm not sure if it would make a big difference if I did either.
Someone mentioned that if you don't like the dress, then you can return it to him and he'll adjust it for you. I'm not doing that cuz I'm thinking: how would he know to make it PERFECT without him measuring me and seeing me? Who knows. I'll let you know when I take my dress to have it altered to see how much the total dress will end up costing me.
You girls are the best! Winterbride10, I was getting on-line to post just what you already posted! I'm so glad that so many brides have replied already. That makes the decicion much easier. I'm headed out to try on my actual dream dress, get professionaly measured (then add a few buffer inches), put in my order for the knock off and then save $100's!!!
Hey Monitajb, other than the length of the dress, how similiar were the details and the fabric? Also, did you feel that it had a professional finish to it?
I feel so relieved to have read this post today! Yahoo!
Thanks!
I have heard a lot of good things about Milly bridal as well. If you go onto their customer service area of testimonials they link to other bridal websites in which other brides have been satisfied with their results.
I think the key is definitely to pay a couple extra bucks for professional measurements and I do believe that they leave 2 inches or so extra for alterations.
I would be interested in seeing the dress you chose versus the dress they make. :)
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I ordered mine from a lady on ebay. The design is spot on to a jim hjelm i've been eyeballing, but obviously a less expensive material, cheaper lace, etc. But the inspiration is definitely there. I nixed a few things, like the ribbon band around the waist, etc. It fits great....except the hips are a 35" instead of a 38-39" so I can't even pull it down over my hips if i wanted to. Needles to say, we're hoping it's ruched enough for mom to fix. Otherwise we're going to have to pull some ideas out of our butts. But, it's just a portrait dress, so worst case scenario my photographer doesn't get a picture of my butt where there's a gap in material. We'll likely fill it with tulle or something like that. If I did this again, I would Have added a few extra inches to the dress all around and then let a profesionall take it in. There is plenty left on the seams for mom to play with though, and my mom is good, so I'm quite lucky!
I just oredered a dress from Little Coral on Friday... It's the same kind of thing, dresses made in China for Much less! I'll be getting mine 1 week before my wedding (first week in May)... Needless to say I'm a little panicked. But, I'll be sure to let you all know how it is when I get it... hopefully (fingers crossed) it will be a thumbs up, not a thumbs down!
If you've got plenty of time before your wedding, I say go for it, as long as you're able to return it if you don't like it.
I bought mine from Jeffliu and am somewhat happy. There were a few issues. My dress was about two inches too long and the waist and was way too big. There are also a few loose strings, but that's not a big deal. I was able to find a seamstresses in the area that would fix it for $70 and he did offered to fix it for free, but I was afraid I wouldn't have time. I ordered mine just before Chinese new year, so it took a little longer to get, but once he emailed me to tell me my dress was started, it took 3 weeks. The dress is identical to one I tried one that was $600-800 and I paid $230 shipped. I'm just not one of those girls that goes crazy over the dress. The dress looks really good and he did not use the cheap stuff material wise. Overall, I would definately do it again.
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Hi Ladies,
Does anyone know if jeffliu includes a "corset / boning" inside the dress like Milly's Bridal?
A majority of dresses, even the thin ones, have an inner corset giving shape, but on the outside, you can't tell. Milly's site has them, but all the dresses are made of satin.
Has anyone come across either person making a "airy" dress? The type of dress that Jenny Packham or Selia Yang would make?
There is a bee, meggles, who had a dress made by jeffliu, but she hasn't posted the dress that was made by him.
Thank you.
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Do it. I did. I should be getting my dress this week. Here is my reasoning: I really liked this one bridal shop dress, but it was $1000. I was not going to spend that much money and I didn't love the bottom of that dress. So I went on ebay, found a style very similar with the bottom I was looking for and ordered it for $175. I figure if I get the dress and hate it/doesn't fit, I will just go to davids bridal and pick something out that is finanacially reasonable. Worst case scenario I spend $175 for the ebay dress and $300 for a new db dress. But if I get it and love it (which I'm anticipating I will), then I got a killer dress for $175. Its worth the risk if you have enough time to shop for dress option number two and are willing to wear a not so fabulous dress if it doesn't turn out in your favor.
Oh, and might i mention that my ebay seller claims they accept refunds even on their custom dresses like mine (again, haven't tested out their return since I haven't received the dress yet.)
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Gioavonni's sounds like a great option! I think $325 is a super deal.
I want a Pronovias gown by Manuel Mota, but there is no way I will ever spend $3000+ on a dress! That is why I am looking at custom-made gowns. Another reason I am looking at Chinese companies is because I'm Chinese (!) and I want a qipao/cheongsam made as well. So hopefully I can save on shipping if I order both dresses from the same company.
Winterbride10, if you get a good vibe from Milly's, I would say that is definitely the way to go. Good customer service counts for a lot! (I haven't spoken to anyone from either company, so I really couldn't say either way.) Please let us know how it turns out!
HI, I ordered a dress from Jeffliu and wanted to give you my feedback. First of all, I had him replicate Jim Hjelm 8662 - which is a fairly simple trumpet gown with lace around the midriff. My dress took about 4 weeks to get to me, which is exactly what I was told. I was so nervous the day it came in the mail because I wanted so badly for it to be the dream dress I tried on in the store!! Well- it's wasn't. Honestly, at first glance, it looked great. Once I tried it on and looked at it closer, I was dissapointed. He didn't use lace!!! It's some sort of wierd mesh material with a flowery embroidery, beads and plastic sequins. This material was sewn on where there should have been lace, and then cut away between the ugly flower embroidery. It's very cheap looking:( The material is pretty thin, and the seams were pretty obvious. It might be ok with a crinoline or slip of some sort. So basically - don't order a dress from him that has lace on it! (oh yeah...I also ordered a lace balero jacket to go with the gown...guess what they made it out of. Yuck!) My mom offered to try to fix my dress, but I think I might just send it back.
I'm bummed now, because I also was considering Milly Bridal at the beginning. I wish I had gone that route. I've got 2 months before my wedding and no dress!!! I hope this helps you guys. We brides have to stick together:)
Sunlover,
I'm so sorry! :( The only plus is that you have two months to find another dress and not two weeks.
But thank you SO much for sharing that with us. That's my fear too about the lace. Eek.
I hope you have no troubles getting your $$$ back!
Thank you Gerbera! When I wrote to Jeffliu to ask about his return policy, he said to send it back and he'd send back my money. We'll see!
i'd love to hear how these experiences turned out - did you get your money back from jeff lui??? any pictures of these dresses? I am thinking of going the same route.
thanks!
does anyone have photos of their custom made dresses? Any experience w/ a more complicated/detailed dress?<span style="white-space: pre;"> thnx!
Ok everyone...UPDATE...
I decided to go with Milly Bridal....
there have been some major ups and downs. I ordered my dress mid-May and have not recieved it yet. I was starting to think that i had been ripped off....
but i wrote them a fairly strong worded email and that has since seemed to get things moving. My dress is almost done. I am hoping to get it by the end of the month. I will update with pictures when i get it. the pattern pictures that they sent me looked pretty spot on. They will be sending me pictures of the final gown before they mail it.
so moral of the story this far.... Don't order if you are in a rush!
hi..so..i was actually in the city where Milly Bridal was two weeks ago on my trip to china. I stopped by to see their location, thinking it was a semi-store front. What I found was a factory in the cuts of the city. They were all really nice, the manager initially thought we were there to order large quantities to resell at a retail location (LOL). He showed me their samples and show room of gowns theyve done. They also took us into the workspace where the gowns are made, the ladies there to a lot of things by hand!! i was surprised, most of the beading was being hand-sewn. We also got to see the fabrics too, he even suggested diff't types of fabrics that he thought might work to acheive the look/feel I was going for.
I'm going to do alittle more dress shopping, but will probably order from them soon. *fingers crossed* for a smooth process
I'm so glad you posted an update! I've just seen this, and went and looked through all 15 pages of Milly's bridal gowns. I'm SO in love with this one - http://millybridal.com/store/comersus_viewItem1.asp?idProduct=330&idCategory=50 even more than the Maggie Sottero I've been lusting after for ages! Plus it gives me hope that there's decent 'internet retailers' out there :) And it would save a bunch. Please be sure to post pics when it arrives!
My Casablanca dress was custom made and done in China. Most bridal shops find it more cost effective to have the work done overseas, but my dress turned out amazing for the day of the wedding. I paid a total of $1000 for everything. I'm not sure if that's out of your price range, but I think it was worth it since everyone will have their eyes on you on the day of the wedding.
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Has anyone heard anything about Peridress company? I am thinking of ordering from them. They quoted me $166 for a custom made dress.
Thank you!
I had a friend of mine go this route and her dress turned out great. If i'd known my dress was made in China, then shipped over here, I'd probably had done the same thing as well.
I have actually been considering this myself. I hadn't yet read about this on any of the wedding boards at the time, but rather I noticed that all the designer dresses I had looked at or tried on said "made in china" inside...and then a little lightbulb went off in my head. Now that I have done a bit of research I think the only place I'd be comfortable trying out this idea would be through Milly's Bridal. I've seen countless rave reviews and feel like the risk is relatively small should the mission be a bust...
yes i have heard about Peridress company , the are a part of perimart i order a dress from them about 2 weeks ago and it was custom build very nice and pretty. its a lot of bad things on the reviews ,but the company came thour for my family and made it a day to look back on. the company is in china and its a whole lot cheaper. not sure if the dress are name brand but it looks better in person than the picture. i will be more than happy to show you pictures.
@asteele: When will you be showing us these pictures? We would love to see them!
I've decided to buy from Milly myself! Just put in the payment through PayPal and now I'm ~$400 poorer (ack!)
You can see the thread here with photos of the dresses that I want to have made:Custom Made Dress from China
Lillindy>> she posted pictures in the other thread called "Perimart still NOT a scam." Seems like they turned out well.
Phannie, good luck. Let us know how it turns out. I actually ordered fabric samples from milly and was impressed.
I think ordering a custom made dress really has everything to do with your comfort zone. After all, you have to ask yourself if you would be comfortable in ordering a custom made gown without actually trying it in. What really looks good on a model or in an ad might not look right on you, and once you have it, do they offer a return policy if you don't love it? A lot of places will do the gown to your custom measurements, but all in all, you might still have to get som alterations done. If I were going with custom made, I wouldn't go for those places that charge 100-300 for a gown. You have to keep in mind the price of the material and the overall labor of the dress. That price doesn't even COVER the cost of the material. No, I am not a bridal consultant or anything, but I had a long talk with a place called Julius Bridal, and over some very extensive emails she told me all the information that I need to know. So if you are paying around 500+, I can see it being worth it. I was at one time considering a custom made Kenneth Pool Degas and she was quoting me around 1700 for the dress, and it would be custom fit to my measurements. If you do intend to go the custom route, make sure you have all your information before going too crazy. You don't want to get in over your head.
My dress was from china but I saw it in my local alterations shop and had to have it. The owner said most wedding dresses are made in China! I ditched my first dress, ordered a brand new one and never looked back!
Hi Lady Jenn, your dress looks amazing! do you mind telling me which Chinese dress shop you got it from?
Thanks!
Hi connocat, do you mind telling me which city milly is in? I live in Hong Kong, so it might not be far for me to go to them...
thank you
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ok...I am seriously considering ordering a custom made dress from a chinese company...(gasp!)
I have found a dress I love, but after ordering it, it would still need extensive alterations to fit me because I am very petite. So by the time all is said and done, the gown would be over $1000. Which may not be a lot to some brides, but to me is really pushing my budget. I could go with a less expensive gown...but I love this dress and really don't want to give it up! Also, because I would be customizing, I could change a couple small details to be more to my liking.
I have done A TON of research into this and have narrowed it down to 2 companies that are very highly rated. I have spoken with the Better Business Bureau about both, have contacted previous customers, have read about them on several different wedding boards, and have gone so far as to contact them about making the dress. They appear to be equally good at what they do.
SO, now I just need to decide which company to go with.
MillyBridal.com (also has an ebay store named Cinderella's Bridal Shop) has quoted me a price of $300 which is amazingly low. Their customer service included all the materials that would be used, the exact amount of time it would take them and a very detailed measurement sheet to fill out when they sent me back the price quote.
jeffliu8000 (ebay store April Bridal) has quoted a price of $169. The customer service has not been as extensive as Milly, but I think this is a smaller operation. He has however, sold over 3,000 dresses on ebay and i have contacted previous buyers who are all very happy.
These are the only two companies that I have not heard horror stories about...but i'm wondering if they're out there. Do you have any advice on who I should go with?
I'm tempted towards Milly b/c their customer service has been so easy to work with, even though they are more expensive. But I also worry that if this turns out to be a bust, I might be better to go with jeffliu because I would be out less money.
HELP!?!