Found my dream dress while on holiday in the US!

Perhaps I'm reading your message wrong, but I'm a bit confused as to why you would need to worry about shipping and import taxes?

If you order the dress from the store in the USA, and they are the doing the alterations when you visit at Christmas, why wouldn't they just keep the dress rather than shipping it to you?

Then if you go back at Christmas and they re able to do the alterations within a couple of days, surely you'd be packing the dress and taking it home with you in your luggage at the end of your trip rather than having it shipped?

I bought my dress in NZ and married in the UK. I just packed it in my luggage and carried it through with me - no declarations, no taxes, no issues. And to be honest, I was happier with that than with the idea of shipping it. I didn't want to let it out of my sight!

Hi yorkshirekiwi - thanks for your reply ?

I read on the UK customs website that I would have to pay about 32% in import duty and VAT on the total value (even if it's a gift) if I buy it in the US and bring it into UK as it's a declarable item, and I was told that by a dress shop in the UK as well - although they may just want me to come home and buy from them ?

Did you put your dress in your hand luggage then? Not sure mine will fit in hand luggage without ruining it!

My plan was to put it in hand luggage, then at the last minute it wouldn't fit so it went in my normal bag. I was freaked out enough by that, there is no way I could have handled the stress of having it shipped!

Anyway, my bridal shop here in NZ knew that I was planning on transporting it to the UK and never mentioned the fact that it might be a declarable item. It never crossed my mind either. I filled in all the customs forms on the plane without thinking about my dress and signed them in good faith. We sailed through customs with no problem and didn't pay any import taxes.

I'm not a customs expert, so I can't 100% guarantee that I wasn't just lucky and slipped the net........which makes my response really unhelpful, sorry!

Sorry, another reply.

I've just done a bit of googling and it would seem that I didn't have to declare my dress because I'm not resident in the UK, so I brought it with me, wore it for my wedding and left again - therefore I wasn't 'importing' it.

I found this thread on the topic from another forum which debates the issue: https://www.hitched.co.uk

It seems that to be within the letter of the law, yes you would have to declare it and pay 30% import duty but that some people are willing to 'risk' it and transport their dresses without declaring them. Sounds like they can be pretty sneaky about it too! Personally I've seen enough Border Security to not want to go there!

Thank you so much for all your research! I've never been stopped at customs, but sod's law dictates that I would be this time! Think I'll just factor on the extra charges into cost of dress and see how that figure compares to how much the dress costs in the UK. Hopefully I'll wake up to some responses from UK bridal shops tomorrow!

Excuse my stupidity, but how would they know you are importing it? If they searched your luggage how would they know you bought it there? You could have travelled over with it to get married/blessed/show your mum etc but bought in the UK?

i am absolutely no expert.... But it's 1 item, not a suitcase full of sunglasses that clearly you are looking to sell on, would they be bothered?

Good luck either way, fingers crossed you get it sorted without additional charges!

That's the risk.

If you follow the law, you are meant to declare goods that you're importing that are subject to duty/tax. However, some people figure that they won't declare and they have little chance of getting caught. However, if you do get caught, you will not only have to pay the duty/tax anyway, but you're likely to receive a fine.

I wouldnt declare it!!, i would act dumb if caught and just pay the tax... But thats me!

This may or may not be helpful. but when i have shopped in the US and returned the UK. I just got rid of all tags and receipts. it wasn't like I could really return the stuff when i got home and if questioned I could say I brought it with me in the first place. It's sneaky but how would they know..

It's all well and good taking tags off things, binning receipts, lying about where you've bought things - but if customs stop you, the burden is on you to prove that you didn't buy them abroad and therefore duty isn't owing, not on customs to prove you did and it is. If you haven't got receipts, they'll base their calculations on RRP, which is a bit of a blow if you've been in the outlet malls and got a few bargains.

I've come back into the UK from the US with more than £390 of goods, though not much more, and I haven't been stopped - but if I had been I'd have been prepared to be up front about what I bought and to pay what was due.

Its a risk coming back in with something you know you should declare, and 9 times out of 10 you'll get away with it, but you have yo be prepared for that 10th time where you might get stopped.

Hi all!

Thanks so much for all your replies ?

Woke up this morning in the US to a couple of responses from UK stockists of the dress - and it's £500 cheaper if I get it in the US! Even if I do have to pay tax, it's £200 cheaper and the shop here caps alterations at the equivalent of £64. I think I'm going to get it! I would probably have a final alteration in the UK before the big day - any ideas on roughly how much this would cost?

And I think I'm going to just pack it and see what happens ?

I have no advice on taxes etc.

But just wanted to comment on how lovely your dress is.

Aw, thanks very much! ?

Beautiful dress! I did this - parents live in FL so I bought my dress over there. It was a massive ballgown, but I got it home by rolling it up (bottom to top) in a duffel bag and carrying it as my hand luggage. We didn't declare it, or my wedding ring which we also bought over there - husband is a taxman and he said there was no problem as total retail value was under a certain amount. (total retail value was $2,300 for both combined) go for it!!

Thanks Sambarine! How funny that you did the same thing ha ha

And if you could get a massive ballgown over - am sure I can get this over! Was the dress condition OK when it got to the UK?

Getting a bit excited now...

It was absolutely fine - I was worried about the boned corset, that the bones might get bent, but it was absolutely fine. You'll probably need to get it steamed, but that should be it. Here's a cheeky flash so you can see how ridiculously big it was (any excuse to flash my dress, ha!)

Oh wow what a beautiful dress!! You look stunning!!

And that's a serious amount of dress to get over - well done!

Have booked in for a second trying on of the dress this afternoon - fingers crossed I still like it!

Thanks - and good luck!! ?

Thanks - and good luck!! ?

Its like a floopy cloud! Lovely!

I said yes to the dress! Put down the deposit anyway and ordered it! Even had dilemma in the shop as was all set to buy the ivory one, but then saw the white one which changed everything! I ordered the white one :-) I have dark hair and dark eyes (half Colombian/half English) so hopefully can pull it off!

Congratulations! Lovely feeling and I'm sure you'll look gorgeous in white

When I brought a rather expensive item back from the US the shop marked my receipt saying it was an ex-display item. I believe tax is only payable on new items, I might be wrong there, but worth checking out. If you are bringing an ex-display sample dress back to the UK you may not have to pay duty on it.

I bought my dress in the US as I wanted to buy it with my mom.

I was able to take it home the day i bought it as they had one the same size in stock in the back! it was davids bridal, which is a huge dress chain in the USA, they also happen to have a shop at the Westfield in east london just down the road from me so I had alterations done there.

I brought the dress home on the plane, they hung it up for me in the cloak area of business class and I got it back as I got off the plane. I went through customs as normal holding the dress, nobody asked me about it so I didn't declare it.

Thanks everyone!

Had the usual 'did I do the right thing/buy the dress too early/get the right colour/how do I know they're good at alterations' nerves last night but feeling better about it today!

Just have to trust them and am so glad I got to buy my dress with my mum :-)