Am I mad for considering buying a wedding dress from China?

It was on Fake Britain (I think its called) with Dom in BBC1 yesterday morning, I tried to get on here to say but I couldn't get on for some reason!

Ooh, what did they say??

I've just watched it on iplayer it's about 18 minutes in http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01sb4ds/Fake_Britain_Series_4_Episode_3/

It seems they've found people who bought a copy of a £1000+ dress for between £50 and £100 from ebay sellers using the designers pictures. If I'm really honest I think that if you're only paying £100 for a dress that's £1000 in the shops you know it's going to be fake and that means cheap materials and not as well made. Let's face it we all know that there are fake designer goods out there and if you're paying a tenner for a Chanel bag it's not the real deal!!

IMHO there's a world of difference between buying a super cheap designer copy and buying a dress from a Chinese company that's their own design and cheaper than UK retail but not a crazy cheap price. I'd certainly consider getting further things from China but not designer copies or stuff that's too good to be true.

I must admit (with no offence intended) that I would have known it wasn't going to bed the actual dress, I've been on eBay too long and seen many things, you have to really look into stuff.

I've actually gone right off the idea of buying from China...I started looking into great depth at the site I wanted to buy from and discovered they are operating about 5 other sites which all share the same Facebook page. When I asked if the sites were linked, they admitted 2 of them were but then lied about the others. I'm not sure why they would do that apart from if they are trying to watch their backs or cover something up? Anyway, it's all too dodgy for me, as much as I love the dress I saw on the Chinese website, it's not worth all the hassle worrying whether or not it's a real site and if I ever see anything once handing over my money!

I'm tempted by yourbridal too. I've tried so e dresses on and every time I think about my dress I come back maggie sotteros Kylie. I'm getting married in Ibiza so lighter material might be a good thing. Eek!

Can I ask what site it was?

If/when my dress shows up made by them, I'll let you know what it's like & post pics.

Did some people think they were getting the actual dress then?! I know 100% that I'm getting a copy! I've changed the material & the neckline anyway so it's not a direct copy. They do use the designers pictures which can misleading I guess.

I ordered a made to measure dress from china. Gave all correct measurements... It turned up on Tuesday after about 7 weeks and doesn't fit at all, too small. (And I've lost weight since taking measurements!) on the label on the inside it says size 10 so they haven't custom made it to my measurements at all! I am getting married in Greece and leave in 19 days!!!!

luckily I have bought a beautiful dress in the sale in a local bridal store today, it fits perfectly (yay) I know some people have good experiences but I definitely would not recommend it!

Yes, it's shopweddingdress.co.uk They also operate as honeybuy.com and then a whole host of other names. I can't fault them at always responding to every email I sent asking for details and photos of the dress, I just don't know if I trust them enough to want to buy from them!

That's awful! What site was it?!

I'm glad you managed to find another dress. I have a plan B in place!

I think I've probably seen those sites at some point. Well as I say, I should know one way or the other whether Yourbridalwear are any good very soon!!!

Yay! That would be fab!

I bought from ebay, I'm so happy with my new dress just wish I had gone shopping in the first place x

Hi Ladies, definitely think the most reputable one by far is lightinthebox. They are not showing pics of designers dresses, their own designs only (lots of them are very similar to designers though)..

I didn't buy my dress from them but did get my accessories and can't fault them, very good quality, price and quick service!

This site is great for looking up website reputations with independent reviews!

http://www.sitejabber.com/

I bought my gown for this U.S. company that has wedding gowns and bridesmaid dresses, www.justthebeginnings.com. The dress came in and the quality was nice. I have heard horror stories from ladies that have bought from factories in China and some gowns did not arrive to them at all. Hope this helps

You must really be pleased as you mention them in all your posts

3d that must mean they are *really* good and not a dodgy company that spams wedding forums at all ?

I bought mine from a Chinene ebay shop... dresses686 and it is gorgeous and only £34! haha (i cant stop telling people that my dress was such a bargain!)

Theres pics on thread I started about it....

My dress is on it's way to me so watch this space for honest feedback on dresses from Yourbridal in China!! Here's hoping it's positive!

Good luck, keep us updated!

Hey

There is a thread called Your Bridal Wear. I have posted pics on there.

So, I can confirm that you do actually get a dress & you don't pay import tax. They ship the dress to a UK agent who then sends it to you via Royal Mail Recorded delivery. The dress is quite heavy & the quality is fine apart from they used bright white cotton on the skirt which is champagne to create ruffles. The stitches are hidden though so not really an issue.

I'm not 100% happy with it but that's more because I'm not sure of my own choices than anything they've done! It doesn't fit properly at the moment either but that's also my own doing. I took a few inches off my current measurements to allow for planned weight loss. It's actually not far off fitting properly, it's just the bust area that's a bit dodgy, they hang out when I sit down!

It's not as close to the original as I would have liked but again, that's more because I changed the material & colour! The original is in a very pale gold tafetta. I've had it made in champagne organza. Because the champagne colour is a lot darker, the white lace appliques stand out a lot more than on the original. One thing that's different that is their doing is the skirt falls differently to the original. They've put the stitching more towards the front than down the side. Legally they have to change 5 things about the dress so it's not a direct copy so maybe that was one of the things they decided to change? They also put some clear sequins on the lace appliques which has made it look more 'blingy' than the original. I specifically didn't want too much bling so I'm not sure about this at the moment. If done carefully, I'd be able to snip some of them off & may well do this.

If you can't find the thread with the pics on let me know & I'll copy them & post them on here. I'm on my work computer at the moment so don't have them on here.

Overall I'd say it's worth it. If you don't change loads of things like I did, you're probably more likely to get a dress that's pretty close to the original.

Here's some pics:

The original

A sneaky pic taken of me in the original in the shop:

See what I mean about the lace standing out so much more on the champagne organza & how differently the skirt falls?! Also about my boobs hanging out lol!

Hi All

I've read all the above posts on buying a dress from China and listened to the pros and cons, but I just wanted to know if anyone has looked at jerwedding.com? I can't find any reviews of the website or their dresses!!

I've fallen in love with the Stephanie Allin "Amber" dress but it's so far out of my price range that I'd never be able to afford the actual dress or possibly even a sample sale one.

I've found jerwedding.com and bridaldreamdress.com who will both make them 'in the style of', but I just don't know if I should take the plunge and go for it! I've got a while until the big day, so I have time to take a chance and get it now then if it's a bit rubbish I can (hopefully) return it and still have time to find another dress.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Did you change the neckline or did they?

I didn't realise they had to change things. I'm still tempted by them, but o don't like the idea of them changing things. ... I picked the original for a reason! i

I changed the neckline, the material & the colour so have made the dress very different myself really! I'm getting used to it now & actually prefer the way the skirt falls on mine, it's not so toilet roll holder like! I think I'll get some bones put in to try & give my bust more support! I'm having my bridesmaid dresses made so will get a price off the dress maker.

I think it's illegal to outright copy a dress hun.

Personally I don't understand why people would buy from China when there are sample sales, high street dresses and wedding dress shops that only sell sample sale, end of line dresses, discount dresses etc. That's where I'll be getting mine from!

WSS. There are some lovely dresses on the high street that don't cost a small fortune, that you can actually go and try on before you buy them! Try Monsoon, Coast, Debenhams (some of the Phase Eight dresses are beautiful). If I didn't have the money for a bridal shop dress, I would've gone high street over chancing it from china any day.

I only got mine from China as it wasn't a replica of a designer one, just a simple lace dress. It was the first dress I saw and liked so I ordered it. It has meant I have been able to make changes to it, and i LOVE it!! It isn't only about money, but I couldn't bear the thought of trying any on in hundreds of shops.

Yes I think I've seen you flash a model picture of your dress (lovely by the way). I'm glad that you've had a good experience, but for many others it hasn't been the case. I guess everyone is different, but I couldn't imagine buying my wedding dress without even trying it on!

Because that's some people's choice. I didn't like any high street dresses & even sample dresses in wedding dress shops were all £400 plus. I even went to a Factory outlet & they had nothing decent in my size & weren't that cheap. I tried on the dress I chose as my template so knew the style was flattering. It wasn't the right material though & I prefer a sweetheart neckline so thought I'd try one of these websites & get it made to my specification. I chanced it & had a plan B but it's worked out for me. The problem I had yesterday was that I was comparing it too much to the original. I'd made most of the changes but I wasn't prepared how different it looked. I'm now seeing it as a dress in it's own right & love it. I really can't fault it for the money.