- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee boards
He definitely took specific requests from me! I didn't have any lace on my dress, so I don't know about that, sorry! :/
I like #1 & 2 though. :)
I love dress #1. However, when I was thinking of getting a dress from China, I read on several sites that the reproduction sites have trouble matching the lace. A lot of brides seemd disappointed when they ordered lace dress from those sites, so I would avoid anything with lace.
I love the first dress! I looked at that one on Ebay for myself as well.
For $50, i'm not really understanding how it could NOT be cheapy/horrible? There's no way the lace and fabric are going to look luxe for that price point. While the gowns themselves are fabulous (I love #1 especially), I feel like you are setting yourself up for disappointment with this purchase. Not to mention - how little per hour do you think the woman making this dress will be getting, based on the purchase price? It seems very suspect to me, and would make me feel guilty about the living conditions of the person who made my "throw away just in case" dress.
its hard to say since i would need to see u in them. but i like #2 the best
I personally have a big issue with intentionally buying things from China (obviously so MANY things come from there now that it's difficult to find things that AREN'T made there, but I think that's different than purposely buying something made there. Sorry to be the lone voice of dissent here folks but I don't agree.......) First of all, I don't trust the safety of the goods - it seems every day we're reading about some other product that has been found to have dangerous levels of "something or other in it" (for fabric there was an issue with clothing coming from China having formaldehyde in it. FORMALDEHYDE. And since wedding dresses typically would not be washed before you wear it, that is going against and being absorbed by your skin if you happen to get one that was made with fabric with that in it). Secondly, does nobody ever wonder WHY things cost so little? It's because they exploit labour laws and human rights. There's a good chance the goods were made by someone making "hand to mouth" wages (yes, I understand you are talking about ONE maker here, but there is an entire chain that would go into making a wedding dress, right? How can they do it so cheap when they cost so much more somewhere else?)
Just sayin'....... sometimes money isn't the only thing to think about.
I agree with some of the other posters about the lace. I don't see the harm in tyring for a satin dress, but trying to get a lace dress for cheap will probably result in really poorly crafted lace.
I appreciate the opinions regarding clothing made in China, but I was really hoping to avoid a political debate about sweatshops. The sweatshop issue is not nearly as black and white as western privilege would have you believe. I'm Chinese, and my family visits China usually several times a year. We have a lot of family in China and stay close to our roots. My father's side of the family were farmers, and they were destitute. Not first-world destitute, but developing-country destitute. There's a huge difference. My grandmother very gladly took up work in a factory. It would have seemed like grueling slave labor to anyone who grew up here, but the people here do not comprehend how much more grueling it was for her, and others, before. The prices of everything here are so vastly inflated that it's difficult to comprehend the buying power of a dollar in China. Their wages might seem a pittance to you, but so is the cost of living there. We have clothing custom made in China often, and you can often watch the ladies working on your garments before your eyes. They are unbelievably fast, and most importantly, they are not being mistreated. For them it's skilled work, and a good job.
I've informed my own opinion and don't need a lecture. So I'd really appreciate it if we could stay on topic.
Thanks to all the others for your advice about the lace. It's too bad because I love the lace one!
Of course! I wrote a lengthy post about it here: http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/my-china-bought-replica-dress
I sent him pictures of what I wanted, rather than picking one in his store, and he sent me a quote, which included shipping. The cheaper dresses in his ebay shop often don't, so be sure to factor that into your calculations!
There are more photos and info below the original post, but if you have more questions, please feel free to PM me - I'm happy to talk about the whole process. :)
@ms. anne thrope: I think for $50 each, I would order the lace dress I loved AND another one as a backup to the backup. :-) And thanks for the perspective on China. I was thinking the same thing about the relative cost of living and the value of the U.S. dollar in China - nice to have it confirmed.
Before you buy anything online from a "pirate" do your research, any amount of money that is wasted is still al loss. http://jasminebridal.com/order_online/order_online.html. Two of those dresses are showing photos of Jim Hjelm gowns that cost $3000-$4000 and there is no way you are going to get a dress that looks anything like those the lace and the satin. Best of luck!
I got a satin dress from him and the quality is much better than anothe ebay seller that is very popluar (they sent me samples of cloth). I am very very happy with my dress and can't wait to wear it! :-) Anyways, I would go with #4 bc it I have heard the same about the lace and beading and I know the satin is good quality.
I think 1 and 4 are the simplest patterns, so the look of the gown will be mostly the same. the lace will probably be a little different but it's an alcenon lace and most have the same effect and it's a very popular lace.
dress 2- those pleats are actually pretty difficult to replicate in that angle.
dress 3- the applique lace varies a lot and may turn out a lot different than you are expecting and it may not be placed as intricate as the picture.
dress 4- I think will be most like the picture, it's a very simple classic pattern, and very beautiful.
If he is the one replicating the gowns he should be able to modify them for you.Most likely with an additional charge. Although a lot of sellers just sell an you would take the gown to the tailor and have them do the modifications you'd like.
I am ordering a dress from Jeff Liu or Milly Bridal also--a copy of an Alfred Angelo dress. I have been quoted a price of $259 (incl shipping) from Jeff Liu, and the dress would cost me $1450 from AA.
I think that anyone who thinks that if they order a dress from a bridal salon in your local town is not getting their dress made in China is sadly mistaken. When I asked the woman who owns a dress store I went to in my area, she said to me straight out that the reason a wedding dress takes so long to come in is that it is made in China. This is a reputable store where my fiancee's sister purchased her wedding dress nearly 20 years ago.
The seamstress in China will likely make the same amount of money whether you order the dress on eBay from someone in China or directly, or whether you order your dress through a dress store...who then place an order with the designer...who then orders it from China. The difference is that the store owner and the designer aren't getting their cut if you purchase the dress directly from China.
I personally feel that my extra $1200 is better suited used to help pay for my wedding, versus helping Alfred Angelo and a wedding store owner's collective bottom line.
If you use Jeff Lu check out through ebay so that you will have the covered 100% back guarantee if something goes wrong.
Personally the quality I received from him wasn't as good as the company Dressilyme. They do custom and have some of their own designs. After the tears from Jeff liu and only 30days until my wedding this company has given me the choice to get my dress here and tailored quickly. I also tust their materials.
I didn't have boning in my Jeff Liu gown. It was a disaster for me. Sorry to say. I had hopes that it would come out as lovely as some others. I still feel that it had to do with the material of my dress. Lace or tulle isn't his specialty. I have an unrecognizeable material and other accents that I specifically asked to not put on my dress. His customer care was horrific.
@LindaD76: Yep, I tried on the Maggie Soterro original I'm having Jeff replicate last weekend... the inside of the designer dress had a tag that read "Made In China". My extra $1000 that I won't be spending would basically go to making the designer richer, but not the people actually making the dress.... the designers have thier dresses made overseas taking the lowest bid possible, it's just business 
I say dress 4. Although I like dress 1 as well many people have said it is really hard to replica dress makers to get lace right.
I heard Corals Bridal is really good with lace. I looked them up and could tell they were excellent. Although I still stand behind Dressilyme from experience.
i love lace, however, I think I would need to see you IN them before I can make an educated vote... sorry that wasn't much help LOL...
@rachgirl82: I'm thinking about ordering a dress from Jeff Lui. Do you have any photographs of yours that you would be willing to post?
why don't they have a delete post option? am i missing something?
@Barbfort: Jeff took too long to complete my dress, I ended up getting a refund from him. I think it worked out better this way honestly. I'm going with Dressilyme now & I'll post a review for them when I receive my dress.
My advice- If you order through Jeff, be sure to have him make you a listing on Ebay & pay through paypal- you'll be protected for 45 days after purchase if something goes wrong.
I second that! I wonder how it works out for anyone not happy after the 45 day period? I don't trust him to honor his word after what I expereinced. I also don't know how it works with paypal or ebay after that timeframe. It must be so stressful to get a refund then.
You must log in to post.
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| rachgirl82 | 39 |
| pengoala | 33 |
| MissBoPeep | 17 |
| Beckster329 | 15 |
| Sunfire | 14 |
| kate02121 | 12 |
| couawilou | 12 |
| Future Army Wife | 12 |
| beargoose | 12 |
| ndreighton | 11 |
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| pengoala | 12 |
| Indecisivebride2012 | 10 |
| louiseW | 8 |
| rachgirl82 | 7 |
| Lyndzo | 6 |
| Petite_Fraise | 5 |
| ozpeony | 4 |
| dressamore | 4 |
| peachacid | 4 |
| Beckster329 | 3 |
So I'm thinking of going for a cheapy backup dress from China. April Bridal on ebay has several styles that are just $50, so even if it turns out the dress I get is horrible I won't be out any significant amount.
I was wondering if any bees with experience ordering online could give me some advice. I found the following four dresses that, from the pictures, I really love. Which of these styles would likely turn out the nicest in reality?
Dress 1: Lace
Dress 2: Satin, beaded, A-line
Dress 3: Short
Dress 4: Satin
I know from reading previous threads that lace and beading can be really tricky. Especially the lace, which it seems is often replaced with ugly appliqued tulle. Does Jeff Liu do that?
Should I just go for dress 2 or 3 and ask Jeff Liu to leave off the beading? And if I went for dress 2, would it be possible to ask him to make it without a train? And if I went for dress 4, would it be possible to ask him to cut it as an A-line rather than a mermaid?
Help me, I'm clueless!