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Search the forum for the name of the company you're considering and you will probably pull up a lot of results. Be wary of posters who have very few posts and rave about one particular company. They like to come on here on post fake reviews of their work.
I didn't consider that route...only b/c I was scared since I've read about so many horror stories...But after reading the MANY posts on here...its really a hit and miss....some b's are happy and some arn't
There was a post recently from a bride who purchased from Dress time I think (I hear both good and negative) the girl who did post had a good experience...her dress was simple and she did post pictures for comparison.
I have heard a lot of good results from Jeffliu on Ebay....there is a thread on here where they discuss it...I think you can google the name or search on here...it should come up
My ADVICE is if you expect "exact" then buy from the designer....b/c as it may seem the China made dresses are made to "look like" but not exactly the same dress. This is where most if not all the problems arise b/c most brides have their heart set on the "exact" dress and when they don't get it...its a NIGHTMARE. I mean what do expect for a dress that is almost 90% less than designer?
Also, the returns are crappy b/c you are dealing w/ a company overseas...and shipping cost might run more than the dress itself.
Hope that helps!
I ordered my Bridesmaids dresses from www.lightinthebox.com, which is a China website. I didn't get mine there, but I know a few brides that have. The dresses are actually really nice, and really great quality. I would recommend them to anyone.
http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/bestdresspricecom
Here is the link to the B who bought her dress and it is actually from bestdressprice.com instead of dresstime....
I bought mine through Jeff Liu of April Bridal, on ebay. I had a really great experience, but a lot of other brides don't. Jeff has great reviews across the board, which is why I chose to work with him.
From what I've seen, the more complicated your dress is (lace, beading, details, etc.), basically the more there is that can be screwed up. If you want a more simple dress, it might be a great route for you. If you've got a really complex dream, you might go into it with a backup plan. :)
Buying used is another great route to go for getting a dress at great savings.
ps - let me know if you want more info on my experience, I wrote a really long post about it a while back and can find it for you if you want. :)
You may want to check out some of the threads on project wedding:
Milly Bridal thread, Dressilyme thread, and a thread from bestdestinationwedding
I also ordered from Jeffliu and agree with daydreamwanderer, the less complicated the dress the better. Mine is very complicated but turned out amazing, though they did have to make it twice it is sooo incredible that I couldn't imagine doing otherwise! My dress was $300, and very custom. I did have a friend help translate into chinese when the first dress turned out wrong (they emailed me photos in progress, and when it was wrong they were VERY happy to remake, and quickly!)
I have heard many mixed reviews about all the other sites, jeffliu has pretty steady positive reviews. I can tell you that though Milly Bridal is much mroe prompt, and their english is much better-their quality of fabric is much lower than what i received from jeffliu. I got fabric samples of different shades of red from Milly and was severely disappointed in the quality.
The dress I received from jeffliu is amazing quality and attention to detail. The satin is very high quality heavy bridal satin, anf the embroidery is gorgeous, the beading hand done and very secure. I can't make a higher recommendation!
Heres my offbeat bride post about it with lots of pics:
http://offbeatbride.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-ebay-wedding-dress
I got a dress from lightinthebox.com and LOVE it. I also talked to a few other brides who ordered dresses from them and loved them also
Hey ladies! So i'm really wanting to order this dress for my engagement ceremony, but would really love some feedback...any and all advice considered! should i go for it? I haven't been able to stop thinking about it, but hesitating for all the obvious reasons. Also, its on all of the China websites, so I don't even know where to start...and the only reason i would consider different ones is for the color and design options...
http://www.bridalblvd.com/wedding-dresses/designer-wedding-dresses?product_id=437
and
But also here...
PLS PLS HELP!! Thank you :)
Just to add a cautionary tale, i ordered from lightinthebox.com and was really excited, the dress had much positive feedback and lots of pics of girls who looked great in the dress. The dress came, and said 100% polyester when it was written on the website that it was silk (and china makes the worlds best silk, so i honestly expected it)
Also, i got into the dress, and got stuck! i had to unpick the zip completely and send it back. I did get a full refund no problems, and it really did look great on other girls on the website, but obbviously it just wasnt for me.
All im saying is order well ahead, make sure they have a return policy, and dont feel too upset if it doesnt end up to be the one!
I was absolutely rapt with BRIDAL DRESS 4 U
I posted about my experiences here
Also took it in for alterations yesterday and the lady (who is very experienced) said it was well made and the lace was of very good quality. She said the fabric alone was worth twice what I paid.
I ordered from Jeff Liu and it was a disaster. I think it was because of the complication in my dress. I don't recommend him for dreses that have lace or tulle. I think he does a good job with satin and beading like others I have seen.
I ordered from Dressilyme and they are phenominal. The customer service is superior and I couldn't ask for better. I nearly cried when I tried on my dress from happiness. I ordered a second to replace the Jeff Liu mistake.
i have ordered my dress from
http://www.dream-dress.net/products.asp?ids=1446
i am hoping its all i hope it to be.....i will be doing a review on here when it arrives
I ordered my dress 1st March. i have been told today that they SHOULD have it finished by tomorrow and they will send me pics.! i told them PLEASE dont rush it just to send me pics, i would rather them take their time and get it right.
we had been emailing back and forth for a week before i actually ordered it, making sure they could do it etc. but i actually paid them and sent my measurements 1st March. so.....3 weeks ago.
they guarantee to answer any emails within 6 hours and they are true to their word, they always do. they do sell on ebay but i went straight through to them via their website on recommendation from a friend.
they are very honest, in that i asked them to make me an underskirt while they are at it, and they said this particular dress wouldnt need one......well they could have got more money out of me but they didnt . they are also sending me 3 spare flowers to match the front flowers, because i am intending to make my own bustle at the back, and i will put them on there somehow......this was free of charge.
I would say that you should weigh the importance of your dress being *just right*, as well as how much money you're comfortable eating.
For example, if you spend $500 on this dress, and then it doesn't meet expectations, are you willing to live with it? And if not, are you willing to eat the $500 and get a different dress?
Also, consider if your only 2 options are the worst case scenarios: either eating $500 and buying a new dress, or spending $500 over your maximum budget on a dress from a salon. If you were faced with only those 2 options, which would you feel better about doing?
For me personally, I debated going this route, then decided that having a *just right* dress was more important to me than getting a less expensive one, and I wasn't willing to eat the money.
http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/my-dressilyme-china-dress-is-ready
http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/my-dressilyme-china-dress-is-ready-part-2
http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/jeff-liuaprils-bridal-china-dress-is-in
China also makes a looooottt of polyester. They also export a lot of that polyester to "western" countries. In addition, the price of silk has risen ever since the market crash because we (the western market) were unable to purchase all the luxury goods at that time which meant: silk production went down, but synthetic production went up. They are also turning to domestic demands, and a lot of stuff is much more expensive in China now. Plus, you're paying in USD which is worth much less in China now, so they may just be skimping on the quality of the fabric.
Just FYI, China also makes a lot of fake labels, i.e. they will make labels that have brand names on them, and that also say Made in Korea, or Made in USA when they're actually still made in China. Your dress might say 100% polyester, but it could have been silk (or they could have really scammed you, you never know). I wouldn't trust their labels 100%.
To test for "pure" fabrics:
1. if you have some experience with identifying fabrics, real silk should feel cool and slippery. If you rub it together, polyester will get really hot and kind of sticky feeling. Not all polyester is "bad" though. Rayon is actually a nicer synthetic fabric, and it's actually more expensive to produce than a lot of other synthetic materials because it's semi-synthetic (the fibers are made from natural polymers).
2. not that you would want to burn your dress but: ask for them to send you a sample of the fabric they are making it in. Cut it in half and burn one half of it. If it turns into fine ash it is 100% silk. If it burns into clumps, it has synthetic fibers in it. If the sample they sent you is 100% silk, keep the other half to compare the fabric of the dress to when you receive it.
I don't really know any specific wedding dress companies, but if you are also looking for suits for your groom, I worked at an internship at Modern Tailor last summer, and I would recommend them because the two most important things to the owner are: customer service, and the quality of the product.(I was unpaid so this really doesn't affect my salary since 1. I don't work there anymore and 2. I wasn't getting paid there anyways)
He has someone who goes out to the fabric market to choose new fabrics. This person has been in the business for a really long time. He can identify exactly what kind of material it is, and what is in it (like 60% rayon, 40% cotton). The company really works with you to make sure you are satisfied. My job was to check on all the orders and change their statuses according to where it was in the process so they could keep track of all their orders and be on time. Before they ship anything out, they recheck all the details to make sure the customer is getting what they asked for (which I also had to do).
Another suggestion is to use taobao.com. It's the Chinese version of ebay. The picture you'll find on there will probably be closer to what they really have. I believe you can find sellers on the website who can communicate to you in English and work out a way in which you can purchase the dress you want and pay for it (I'm not sure if the website accepts foreign credit cards). Maybe they'll sell it to you on ebay instead?
The link I've provided below already has the Chinese for Wedding Dress typed into the search engine so anyone can check it out.
The prices are in RMB so divide by 6.5317
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Hey gals,
I keep coming across these websites who say they can make designer knock-off gowns for like $500 bucks... this can't be true right?
Has anyone ordered from one of these sites? Just curious if anyone has done it... I am tempted to just try it out and take the chance.
xoxo