I have my heart set on Monique Lhuillier Scarlet gown which goes for $5K! I found bargain-bride.com's version - very pretty in the pictures. I am wary of the $650 price tag. I just want to feel good about ordering! Please let me know.
I finally just went for it and ordered my "scarlet" inspired gown from bridaldress4u.com. I ordered it (2) weeks ago and sent them my custom measurements. I paid $595 with shipping. I keep checking their ebay feedback and they have gotten at least 3-4 positive comments in the last few weeks. Everytime I have emailed them with questions they get back to me really quick. When I get my dress I'll post how it went here...
I'm keeping a back up dress in mind... just incase!
I ordered the "Scarlet" inspired gown from bridaldress4u.com. I had my heart set on that design, but nothing could justify that price tag in the bridal salon. The staff was very helpful and the dress shipped promptly. When it arrived, I tore open the box in anticipation to find a beautiful gown.......that didn't fit at all! Not even remotely. I'm not sure what happened there as I sent in very precise meaurements.
I took the gown to a highly qualified seamstress in NYC who designs/sews costumes for the New York City ballet. Her name is Carmen Gee http://www.carmengee.com and I HIGHLY recommend her. She confirmed that the dress would require major alterations (no surprise there), but she did say the fabric was good quality so at least the company didn't fleece me there. She also said the quality of the sewing left something to be desired. The dress had to be taken completely apart and resewn. A couple hundred dollars in alterations later, I had the gown I wanted.
In closing, my experience with bridaldress4u.com was mixed--the gown did highly resemble (though it wasn't an exact replica) the designer dress in the photo. The fabric was of good quality. The workmanship was less good, though not terrible. The fit was not at all to my specifications. All turned out well in the end, but if I could relive the experience, I would probably have Carmen sew the gown from start to finish. An experienced seamstress should be able to replicate any gown from a photo. Hope that helps.
@Kimbeerlee: I emailed you a picture. I don't know how relevant it is though, since I had the dress substantially altered. Also the original neckline was much lower. My mother was scandalized so I had it raised.
@hulafish: The dress was much too big. I'm a size 2. I estimate the dress I received was at least a 6.
@jtuholsky: I have pictures of a scarlet replica from bridaldress4u. If you PM me your email address, i will send them to you. I was considering getting the same dress through them, but, I decided to go another route. They might be helpful for you to look at.
I have my heart set on Monique Lhuillier Scarlet gown which goes for $5K! I found bargain-bride.com's version - very pretty in the pictures. I am wary of the $650 price tag. I just want to feel good about ordering! Please let me know.
posted by jtuholsky 5 posts 8 months agoHow about JulesBridal.com or BridalDress4U.com? These all claim to have Scarlet inspired gowns for less than $700!
posted by jtuholsky 5 posts 8 months agoI finally just went for it and ordered my "scarlet" inspired gown from bridaldress4u.com. I ordered it (2) weeks ago and sent them my custom measurements. I paid $595 with shipping. I keep checking their ebay feedback and they have gotten at least 3-4 positive comments in the last few weeks. Everytime I have emailed them with questions they get back to me really quick. When I get my dress I'll post how it went here...
I'm keeping a back up dress in mind... just incase!
posted by Kimbeerlee 99 posts 7 months agoWould love to know how the dress turned out! I saw some gorgeous ones that I would love to have! Keep us updated!
posted by monty 19 posts 7 months agoI ordered the "Scarlet" inspired gown from bridaldress4u.com. I had my heart set on that design, but nothing could justify that price tag in the bridal salon. The staff was very helpful and the dress shipped promptly. When it arrived, I tore open the box in anticipation to find a beautiful gown.......that didn't fit at all! Not even remotely. I'm not sure what happened there as I sent in very precise meaurements.
I took the gown to a highly qualified seamstress in NYC who designs/sews costumes for the New York City ballet. Her name is Carmen Gee http://www.carmengee.com and I HIGHLY recommend her. She confirmed that the dress would require major alterations (no surprise there), but she did say the fabric was good quality so at least the company didn't fleece me there. She also said the quality of the sewing left something to be desired. The dress had to be taken completely apart and resewn. A couple hundred dollars in alterations later, I had the gown I wanted.
In closing, my experience with bridaldress4u.com was mixed--the gown did highly resemble (though it wasn't an exact replica) the designer dress in the photo. The fabric was of good quality. The workmanship was less good, though not terrible. The fit was not at all to my specifications. All turned out well in the end, but if I could relive the experience, I would probably have Carmen sew the gown from start to finish. An experienced seamstress should be able to replicate any gown from a photo. Hope that helps.
posted by MIF 2 posts 7 months agoMIF... you make me slightly worried... but I have until November to get anything resolved.
Do you have any pictures of your gown? I havn't been able to find any except for the half picture thats on the website.
PM or email if you prefer, kimbeerlee2@hotmail.com
Thanks!
posted by Kimbeerlee 99 posts 7 months agoOh goodness, thanks so much for this post! I have been eyeing the "Miranda" knockoff on bridaldress4u...now I am scared too.
MIF, was the dress you received too big, or too small?
posted by hulafish 52 posts 7 months ago@Kimbeerlee: I emailed you a picture. I don't know how relevant it is though, since I had the dress substantially altered. Also the original neckline was much lower. My mother was scandalized so I had it raised.
@hulafish: The dress was much too big. I'm a size 2. I estimate the dress I received was at least a 6.
posted by MIF 2 posts 7 months ago@jtuholsky: I have pictures of a scarlet replica from bridaldress4u. If you PM me your email address, i will send them to you. I was considering getting the same dress through them, but, I decided to go another route. They might be helpful for you to look at.
posted by DesignBee 42 posts 4 months agoIf you send me your email, I can send you pictures of my knock off ML dress i ordered from bridaldress4u.
posted by sprinkles 15 posts 2 months ago