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Hello Hive;
First Post Here....
So I've found what I would call my picture perfect Dress. It would be ordered through ebay from China. The feedback looks overall positive for the seller. The obvious setback would be that I can't try it on. It may have to be adjusted some in the front because of the super low cut. But overall I Love It. It's very much in my budget & could pay extra to add some buttons or things & still be in budget.
Is ordering through ebay from China too much of a risk to take?
Have any of you done this or recommend or discourage this?
Any advice would help. I just can't stop going back to this ONE dress!
See pictures below..... (Hopefully they show up)
If not here is the link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180388792664&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
Dress_Front.jpg (91.7 KB, 151 downloads) 2 years old Dress_Back.jpg (87.6 KB, 102 downloads) 2 years old 
I don't know anything about ordering from China, but have you tried on anything like that dress to make sure you like the style on you? I had a perfect dress in mind but then changed my mind once i saw it on because there were other things that worked with my bod better.
I ordered my perfect reception dress off ebay (china, I think) and it came in perfect! My only suggestion is that you try on something similar to this one to ensure that the fit and style is what you like :-)
Wow that dress looks absolutely gorgeous!! I'm having slight dress envy. I don't have experience ordering from China (ebay plenty of times), but I would make sure of a few things:
1) You can return it if it's not what was described or pictured from the seller
2) Confirm ahead of time (especially since it's lace!) exactly what kind of fabric they are using to make each layer of the dress. Do some research on lace: How much it should cost, what it looks like, etc. so you will know if they substituted something cheaper for what should have been better quality - with lace it's very important!
3) Can you contact any of the previous buyers? I would try to talk to a few of them to find out about thier overall satisfaction and the quality of the dress.
Good luck, what a beautiful dress! Let us know how it turns out!
i ordered a dress for my reception from china and it was pretty horrible. it had sequins on it, and they looked NOTHING like the picture. the material was see-through and the construction was pretty shoddy. i ended up just giving it to goodwill because i didn't feel like going through the hassle of sending it back to china (i don't even know if i could have done that). i know that some people have had good experiences - can you ask them to send you a sample of the fabric they're going to use? i wish i had done that.
I agree with the previous comments, you should definitely try on a similar dress (if you haven't already) to make sure you like that style on you. The dress I chose was much different than the pictures I cut out. Just a thought :)
thanks so much for the quick advice. I have tried on some v-neck which I really liked but not his exact style. It's hard to find. They do have a return policy but it is within 7 days. But still; they will take it back if i'm unhappy. & I read some of the feedbacks & there were 2 other who i found ordered the same dress & comments seemed pretty promising. I just can't see spending soo much on a dress. To me I have more things I'd rather do like be able to purchase my wedding party attire for them. So I found this and loved it. I'll probably do a little more research & some more try on sessions first.
I considered this option when I was looking at dresses. The problem I found is that while the dresses are pretty good copies of the style, the different in quality of materials and details is pretty noticeable even just looking at the pictures online.
The pictures you posted also look like they are stock photos of the real dress, not the copycat that you're actually going to receive. The Chinese ebay sites I looked at showed their actual copy dress, so I would make sure you see what you're actually buying, not just the dress they're imitating. If you have the book Bridal Bargains, there's a couple of sellers recommended in there. I can look them up if you'd like.
I ordered my dress from China. Um, that has a lot of lace on it. The dress you'll end up with will likely be a tulle mesh with applique beaded flowers. It'll probably look NOTHING like the dress you'll get.
Oh and they made mine 8" too small in the hips. We had to add panels to the side of it. THANK GOODNESS it was only for a fun TTD style session, not my real wedding.
I'd err on the side of something very simple OR something used and I'd order it big, then have it professionally altered down.
I ordered a BM dress replica from china, too, and we had to panel the sides. Our a-line was a sheath. Oops, too tight!
KiKat555 - How much do they want for this dress? I would be leary, too because it has so much lace. I would really search the classifieds on this site and the preownedweddingdress*com site before deciding to do this.
KitKat555- The dress you've picked looks a lot like the Maggie Sottero SD5237
http://www.maggiesottero.com/dress.aspx?style=SD5237
And WToo has a similar style called Mariella
http://watters.com/product.php?coll=wtoobrides&showid=915#
You might want to check around for these as samples, preowned, etc.
Good luck!
When I was searching for dresses pretty hard, ordering from China was a definite possibility for me if I couldnt' find my dream dress for the price I wanted. I've done a good amount of research on China sellers. That being said let's not envelope all chinese dressmakers into one big company. There are more than one. And one is probably better than the other. You need to do your research on the company you are looking at. Beyond eBay. A lot of the online china dress sellers on eBay actually have private websites outside as well. Try googling their eBay store name. If you want I can give you the two that I found that were most reputable.
That being said.
Expect that the size will have variation, especially if you do not have a professional dressmaker measure you. If it were me I would pay the fee of a dressmaker giving me professional measurements.
Expect that the lace will NOT be comparable to the one of the designers. After all one dress is 2K-5K and your China dress is likely costing ~$300. It's like buying a David's Bridal vs buying a Jim Hjelm. No offense to DB brides.
Allow for delivery time especially if you'll be ordering in or around Chinese New Year which falls on Valentines Day in 2010. On top of that allow for time IF the dress from China is not up to your expectation and you have to find another avenue for your wedding dress.
And like you said there is a 7 day return policy so what's the worst that can happen? You're out a couple bucks of shipping fees rather than spending $$$$$ on a designer gown. I completely agree I can't spend that kind of dough either.
best of luck!
P.S. Google China Dressmakers/replica etc and even here on WB. There are TONS of people that have ordered and have had success stories!
P.P.S. I think the dress is Jim Hjelm. Is it? :)
I'm ordering my dress from China. So far so good but as others have noted my style in comparison is very simple and has no lace.
@ gerbera: I'm not sure what designer the dress is. That's the big problem I'm not able to find a dress exactly like this one anywhere. I like the look of the Heavy lace. I feel like going for it.
Hi KitKat,
If it's the look of the heavy lace that you like, rather than specifically the cut/style, I would definitely recommend that you get the China dressmaker to mail you an actual physical sample of the specific lace that they're going to use on your dress. When I was doing research for ordering a gown from China for some shots, nearly all of the complaints I read were about the quality of lace on the dresses. (Anything from shiny/cheap looking, to rough/scratchy, to the fact that what some makers call "lace" is actually just cheap plasticy mesh with appliques lightly tacked or even glued on.)
If they're a reputable manufacturer, which many of them are, they should have no problem with you buying a sample foot or yard of the fabric.
Good luck!
Hey KitKat,
Have you seen pictures of that dress elsewhere besides on that eBay seller's page? Which, btw, no longer works? Nothing shows up on the listing.
I really think that the dress is a combination of two JH gowns (which a lot of girls do when getting a custom dress). The wide satin "ribbon" is very JH style. And the slim fit through the legs to a subtle train (trumpet) is very JH as well.
Front is I believe a replica of JH8663. Back is I believe a replica of JH8904.
If anything I would recommend finding one of those two near you and trying it on for style. Because I have to agree that as much as I love this style too personally I'm not willing to put any money down used or custom otherwise without first trying on the dress.
If the dress you showed is a replica they did a dang good job! Would you mind sharing the seller's name?
Purchased from an ebay china company.
pink.jpg (40.8 KB, 347 downloads) 2 years old
I'm not sure if the dress shown is the actual dress or if it is what they replicate. I can't find the picture anywhere else; like others they sell. The seller is on ebay and has had many reviews. I did get one response from a buyer of the same dress. She said she was happy with the quality and will be wearing for her wedding.
I'm glad you went ahead and contacted another bride who had purchased a dress from them. I agree with lots of the above statements - Perhaps order a size up, so you can have it altered down if necessary. Ask for a sample of the fabric. And as for the returns - does it need to be postmarked 7 days after you recieve it? Does it need to get to them 7 days after you recieve it?
I believe postmarked within 7 days. there is also a place it states 14 day return policy. I may try for the sample fabric
KitKat, the dress is absolutely gorgeous!
Another idea would be to try to find a seamstress or dressmaker in your area and see if they would be able to recreate the dress for you...It appears to be a simple dreass with beautiful antique ivory lace. You could probably find similar materials either online or at a major fabric store. I don't know how much this would cost but after looking at the e-bay site it might be worth the risk of ordering from China. The line that worries me is "..we can not guarantee that the color of our products will be exactly the same with the photographs you saw." I know they are refering to the color based on your computer screen but...but for that price it might be worth looking into.
Whatever you decide, good luck and have fun.
Just wanted to let everyone know..... I ordered this dress last night..... EEK! I'm nervous but excited. I have planty of time to have alterations or additions or changes made. So i'm not too worried! But I'm excited! I'll have to keep this updated. Should be 5-6 weeks...... :)
@kitkat - you're my date twin!! :) good luck with the dress and definitely keep us updated!
Hey, I know you already ordered the dress.. but just in case there turns out to be a problem with it..
another poster (sskati) just posted a dress they bought..
http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/i-bought-my-dress-watters-harmony-i-am-in-love
looks a lot like the one you posted..
i have ordered several dresses online from china and have had no bad experiences. first i ordered my prom dress online from china (ebay) and it was better than i ever imagined.
My wedding dress i tried on in a wedding dress shop and it was WAY out of my budget range, so i found it online through china and its amazing, i found a dealer that would work with me on every detail.
I hope your dress is amazing
cobalt: that dress is very similar! I couldn't find it anywhere by a designer. Guess I missed that one!
Just an update: I recieved a tracking number for my dress & It's now in the USA! Can't Wait.... Getting Excited to try it on :)
very eager to hear how the dress turned out.
let us know!
fingers crossed it's your dream dress -- !!!
PS: i'm quite sure that that photos are from the original designer, and not from the knock-off manufacturer. when you see the pix from the Chinese factories, it basically is never a fancy photo shoot like that; it almost always on a mannequin, very low-tech.
I don't know anything about ordering from china... but the dress is BEAUTIFUL! I hope you figure out a way to get it somehow, whether from China or otherwise :)
Hi! I have no experience buying a dress from China, but I personally would be a bit wary doing so just because I don't know what quality the dress will be etc...
You have gotten some suggestions to some great dresses, and I wanted to pass this on to you as well. This post has several dresses that look like the dress you like: http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/jenna-bush-look-alike-dress
Good luck!
jaylii9 Thanks for the link. I actually tried on the Davids Bridal dress that was posted in that link. I loved it and that's what made me go ahead and order online. I'm hoping it turns out well; I should find out soon enough!
kitkat, I love that dress. I actually ordered a very similar one from china! Can't wait to see how yours looks :) I haven't spent a ton of time with mine, only tried it on twice briefly, but was very happy with it for what I paid. I like the feel of the lace. Good luck!
Kitkat---Guess I should have read all of your posts before I posted that link:) Very exciting that you are close to receiving your dress, let us know how it all turns out. This is quite the adventure to the perfect dress!:)
Ah! My mom just called & said it's at the post office to pick up..... Will hopefully post pictures later..... :) Now I need work to go REALLY fast today!!
Woohoo!!! I can't wait to see it, I'm sure it's beautiful!!
UPDATE:
Okay so I recieved the Dress Yesterday.... I'm a little concerned however that the "lace" (which; like others warned me of; actually turned out to be tuling with appliqua's sewn for the lace) looks too cheap. I'm going to add some pictures. Please let me know your honest opinion. I love the dress on I'm just afraid the work will look low quality. I just need some opinions.......
Chest.jpg (22.8 KB, 190 downloads) 2 years old Back_Bow.jpg (23.7 KB, 170 downloads) 2 years old
Honestly: I don't think it resembles the dress in your inspiration picture. The lace is very different-- I wouldn't even call it real lace. I would return it, and move forward.
CAN you return it? It's not the same dress that you thought you were getting, but how do you feel about it? Is the workmanship okay, besides the lace? Does it fit? More importantly, do you like how it fits/looks?
If you can honestly say you like the dress, despite the differences from what you were hoping for, then no problem! But if you're not in love with it, or if you're just going to be focused on the 'disappointments', then it's going to be hard to wear it on your big day!
It's a nice dress... but it doesn't look exactly like the pictures of it.. maybe because it's hanging and not on a body..
but the back looks completely different, didn't it have a low V in the back? because it doesn't look like a low V in your pictures
and ya.. the lace in the original picture does not match the material of the dress in your picture..
If you like it then keep it... but I think if you aren't happy with it and can afford to get another dress.. get another dress.
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