China Dresses??

My experience has been FAB! I've been very lucky and my dress is LUSH!

This is another recent thread - https://www.hitched.co.uk/Chat/forums/p/151453/1542266.aspx#1542266

My dress was from Landy Bridal. Would recommend them - i've certainly had no complaints!! ?

Thanks Geordie, it's good to know of someone that has got exactly what they wanted.

Like i was trying to explain to the other half last night, wasting £150-£200 is worth it if i end up saving like a thousand.

The picture of your's is gorgeous, thanks again.

x

I did actually have a back up contingency fund so was able to risk it (I was praying constantly I wouldn't have to use the contingency mind!)

I love my dress! As much as I fell in love with the real one, all th wedding dresses I tried on in shops didn't actually feel like they deserved the price tag to me. I love mind and think it is even more amazing for what I paid!

I know there are some people who have tried and failed but I feel very happy and am soooooooooo glad mine turned out OK! ?

Oh yeah, i'd definately have back up money and time if it turned out to be all wrong!

I feel the same as you tho, how can a dress that i'm going to wear for like 8 hours cost me hundreds of pounds,

Definately think it's worth the risk for the money i'd save.

Thanks Geordie, you've been a great help. x

I can only advise on buying from china on ebay and i would highly discourage it. I had a bad experience and lost the dress and money.

Whilst making a saving on your dream dress is fab ... be very careful of buying your dress online from another country.

I would personally stay clear of ordering dresses from Ebay. I've heard so many horror stories from brides, it's not worth the stress and worry with something that is soo important.

Spend time hunting around and get plenty of reviews before you buy.

It's certainly not something i owuld have gone intop lightly, that's why i wanted opinions of people that had done it, because to me, my dress is one of the most important things of the day, lol.

I don't think i'd go through ebay, maybe go direct like Geordie did and definately find exactly what i like first.

I haven't tried anything on yet so i might change my mind and think maybe it is worth the extra when i do. I'm at a 50/50 split at the mo, everytime i convince myself i almost change my own mind again, lol!

It's a hard choice to make but solely down to preferance and whether you don't mind purchasing from another country.

I have a blog that may help you http://crystal-jewels.co.uk/blog/you-can-have-your-dream-wedding-dress/

Landy also have an ebay site - asapbay.

There is another name (can't remember off the top of my head) but a friend of mine had success buying through them.

I think as long as you do your research first, you should be OK.

I did look at another ebay store before choosing Landy which I was going to go through as they have a "shop" in Reading where you can view dresses. I live in Reading so was going to go but the found exactly what I wanted on Landy and they had great feedback to went with them.

Light in the Box also has good feedback.

Good luck!!!

I got a dress from ebay. The dress is lovely and the workmanship/material are spot on. Unfortunately I hadn't tried any on first and the style didn't suit me at all so I'm now left trying to sell it... In a way it's worth it, the dress is great but please try on lots before you decide to buy from any seller

Can you remember the name of the company in the UK Geordie or deos anyone know of anything similar?

x

Sorry - mine was from China. No compalints though!

I paid £155 total including shippung (and I paid for the speedier service). My dress was dispatched from China at 6.30pm on Saturday night and I had it in my paws by 6.45pm on the TUesday night (would have been earlier but they delivered it to home at 1.45pm and I wasn't in so collected it from the depot in the evening!).

No extra charges or anything - just as expected. (Speedy shipping was €30)

Yourbridalwear.com do copies too. Not sure where they are based???

I am probably going to order from there, because even if worst comes to worst, i'll only have lost out on under £200, whereas if it works out, i'll have saved a fortune. And i do like a bargain!!

That's the way i was looking at it Lucy, £200 wasted and £800 saved sounds good to me!

x

P.S - Let me know how you get on with your dress if you do order.

x

I can give you my opinion, if you're interested. I was planning on buying my dress from China until I visited a Pronovias shop and fell in love with "the" dress. I just knew from that moment that no copy would do, because it wouldn't be exactly the same. However, I still couldn't justify spending the full amount on it, so I searched and searched until I found an ex display model of the dress I wanted. It's in amazing condition and despite still being a lot more than anything from China, I consider it a bargain because it's exactly what I wanted.

However, I did consider having a shorter dress for late night dancing and I ordered this from one of the many Chinese eBay stores. They took my measurements and made a "custom fit" dress for £58, including delivery. I thought I couldn't go wrong and the original picture looked so cute. When the parcel first turned up, I was really pleasantly surprised. The material looked great quality and the workmanship also looked really strong. The bust was boned well (I'd heard stories of them being very flimsy) and I was really pleased. However, when I tried it on, it was a different matter. It didn't fit well at all and the organza which overlaid the entire dress was completely uneven at the bottom. Then, there was meant to be a small additional organza detailing to one side, but instead of laying flat, this was ruffled up and HUGE. I looked like a flamenco dancer - not the look I was after! The boning on the bust was also incorrectly positioned, so it looked like I had a third boob, and because the dress was too large, the tie-up back completely closed, so you couldn't see any of the criss-cross. I took it to a seamstress to see if there was anything she could do, but her advice was that the alterations wouldn't be worth it on such a cheap dress. She even found a pin left inside! My sister also made a very valid point; even if it was sorted, how would I feel about changing from my big, beautiful, dress into something I wasn't 100% happy with? That sealed the deal there and then and I decided to have an alteration made to my Pronovias dress so I could hitch up the bustle for the evening.

Now, story 2:

My friend is also getting married this year and chose to go the China route for her full-on wedding dress. It just arrived a couple of weeks ago. She got hers from one of the companies on DHGate.com, which is similar to eBay, but the vendor doesn't receive the money until you have confirmed you are happy with the product. I've not seen hers yet, but she tells me that she's happy with it, but not ecstatic. The sizing is wrong and she'll have to have it altered, despite giving her correct measurements. She also said it was FAR more sequinned than the design that was being copied. She's taking those off herself. She's not too worried about it because she's having her wedding on a very tight budget, and realises that you're unlikely to get exactly what you're after with distance shopping.

So, I guess the moral of my story is, if you have the money to spare, go for it. If you're just after "a" dress, then you will probably be OK. However, if you've tried on "the" dress, and you want that exact one, you aren't going to be able to get it cheaper from China and still retain the same quality and exact design. If you're less worried about the intricate details, then you may be OK - and if you're after a plainer dress to start with, you'll be more likely to get a good match. I'm just not sure I would have happy to put on a copy of my wedding dress and felt the same as I did when I tried it in the shop, because just wearing it, you could tell the quality was far superior to anything else I had tried.

Good luck with whatever you choose. I'm certainly not going to tell anyone they shouldn't do it, because I did, just to see. I've read plenty of stories from people who have had good experiences, too.

Personally I would say a big "NO" to dresses like this. For everyone that is happy there are 10 people that aren't. And even if the dress is "wear-able" I'd not want my wedding dress to be deemed as just "wear-able". I know there are people, as this thread shows that are happy with their purchases, but from someone that's been in and about the wedding industry for several years now.....I'd not bother.

I bought mine fdrom indesigngowns & mine is perfect. i didnt go looking for a designer replica...but mine is a maggie sottero copy. i love it & its perfect fit excellent quility & came in the right time etc. it cost me £116 + £8 import charges.

i only had the balls to buy from them because my friend bought hers & 4 little flower girl dresses from them.

Please avoid 'Helene bridal'. The 'dress' they sent was unwearable. You'd think they were a US company, as you have to pay in US dollars, but they are actually from China.

I had a seamstress measure me, but despite this, the dressing sizing was completely wrong. Straps hanging off, the bodice was 2 inches too high, hem too high, a large seam around the waist, zip instead of corset back, cheap plastic beading & a bust about 3 sizes too large & gaping.

I was literally dripping sweat (in Feb!) just to try the thing on, as the nylon clung to my legs. They had also added 2 bin bags full of cheap, scratchy tulle underneath. I cut it all off in an attempt to make it look normal, but the tulle made the hips stick out several inches. The real dress is slim over the hips & has no tulle at all.

I ended up buying mine off ebay, but from a UK seller who had only worn the dress for her own wedding. It was a genuine Maggie Soterro, and half the price of the shop.

GB do you have the address etc for the Landy shop in reading please? I couldn't find any mention of it on the Landy website

thanks

I would say if you are going to go this route, go on personal recommendation and dont get conned with websites who have pictures of other designers' gowns offering you a perfect copy for a fraction of the price as you are very likely to be disappointed.

I know wedding gowns are very expensive and a number of brides would rather risk paying a couple of hundred pounds for a dress from china but bear in mind that you will not be able to try the fit before you buy it. It seems that despite sending the correct measurements, several posters on this thread alone have found the fit to be poor at best. If you have any doubts at all I would consider saving your money for a sample sale where you can at least "try before you buy".

I got my dress from perridress and it was beautfiful, it was quite details with lots of lace and I've had so many compliments on it. I tried the original on in a shop but couldn't justify spending over £700 plus my budget didn't stretch that far. I'd say read the reviews and make sure you look at the website properly.

Hi ladies,

Have you looked at Inspirationbridal?? They are UK based and do ''copies'' of dresses for about £200-£300 ish

I'm honestly considering this as an option, I emailed them about one of the dresses they have online and asked if they could add a lace overlay and they explained what would look good etc..

They seem pretty good, maybe worth a look?

Forgot to say that my dress from perridress was made in china, good communication, needed a few alterations which I was expecting and it was beautiful. I was wary at first but the thought of saving £700 won me over and it paid off.

Has anyone used JenJenHouse ?

Do you mean JJ's House? I've had tons of communication with them about a million different dresses that I was looking at... I then went and bought an ex-sample dress in a local bridal store, but their communication is great, very fast replies and they sent me a ton of different pictures of all the dresses I was interested in.

ALWAYS email them and ask for pictures of the dress you're looking at though because the model photo is NOT the dress they make (as is the way with all the Chinese stores)

I agree, try and find a shop like mine local to you that sells ex-samples, overstocks etc. its not only the quality but also that way you get to try lots of styles on and find what you look best in

Mine was great too. £121 with jacket, delivered.

http://www.dressesonlinesale.co.uk/wedding-apparel.html

I've read some positive reviews from people who've bought cheap dresses from China but in my experience, if you can afford a bit more, don't bother & just try to get one in the sale or even a second-hand one off Ebay instead.

I ordered a dress from KissDresses.com & even though it arrived pretty quickly after I ordered it, itwasn't anything like the picture, it was just a very cheap & poor quality imitation. It was marked, had loose stitching, the chiffon is sewn badly so that it doesn't fall right & looks frumpy.

Customer Services were really helpful & offered me a refund but as I'd ordered it with custom size, I would only get 70% back. Also, as I'd ordered from the UK & would have to send it back to the US, it wasnt really worth my while returning it, so they offered a small refund if I kept the dress, which I decided to do.

However, I've now received a bill for import tax which they say is my responsibility.

So even though the price of the dress is cheap, I've now spent £75 on a dress that I can't wear & can't sell because no-one would buy it. It was always going to be a gamble buying a cheap dress & I suppose you get what you pay for but I'd read the reviews on the website & they were all very positive.

So all in all, a complete waste of money & a lot of hassle. I recommend you save your money & actually buy from a proper shop where you can see & try on what you're paying for or at least buy a second-hand one where you can see pictures of the actual dress you're buying. It might cost you more but at least you won't be throwing your money away like I've just done.

Hi,

Would not advise it. Apparently customs are tightening up on imported dresses and so many copies turn out to be very poor compared to the picture on their site.

Not worth the risk, Many stores here have sales and offer cheaper ones, or even a dress from sites such as this, secong hand would be better.

Lynne

This thread is 3 years old!!

ha I know!