Post # 1
Member
1480 posts
Bumble bee
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!
Post # 4
Member
7975 posts
Bumble Beekeeper
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. 🙂
Post # 5
Member
1000 posts
Bumble bee
Dress 1 is the most elegant and classy IMO. ::LOVE!::
Post # 6
Member
4419 posts
Honey bee
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.
Post # 8
Member
504 posts
Busy bee
I love the first dress! I looked at that one on Ebay for myself as well.
Post # 9
Member
10366 posts
Sugar Beekeeper
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.
Post # 10
Member
290 posts
Helper bee
its hard to say since i would need to see u in them. but i like #2 the best
Post # 11
Member
77 posts
Worker bee
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.
Post # 12
Member
1498 posts
Bumble bee
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.
Post # 13
Member
1480 posts
Bumble bee
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!
Post # 14
Member
1480 posts
Bumble bee
@ddw: Do you have any pics of your dress? I’d love to see it!
Post # 15
Member
7975 posts
Bumble Beekeeper
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. 🙂
Post # 16
Member
1166 posts
Bumble bee
@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.
