Light in the box......any good?

I bought one of their dresses second hand from ebay - I didn't know where it was from when I bought it as the description was very vague!

It's really good quality and fit, I don't know if it's a copy of another dress - I think a lot of them are their own designs. I'd definitely be tempted to buy from them if I wanted something specific that I couldn't find on the high street.

This is the actual dress (picture from the ebay ad, it's actually nicer IRL) and this is the webpage - http://www.lightinthebox.com/a-line-v-neck-knee-length-chiffon-cocktail-dress_p204266.html

Yeah i dont think they are actually exact copies but they are very very similar and have basically the same dress.

Thank you for your reply

xx

We bought 3 dresses in 2 different styles and were impressed with them.

I haven't bought a dress from them but I got a chapel veil and hoop skirt and i'm pleased with them. Got both for £52 including delivery, insurance and customs charges. (They had a sale a couple of weeks ago).

I chose the 10-20 day delivery and it was delivered in 4 days! Took about a week for them to process my order beforehand though.

I havent bought a dress from there but i have got other bits including a fur jacket to go with my dress. I was very pleased with the quality / delivery / service.

My friend got married a couple of weeks ago and her 3 bridesmaids dresses were from there and looked fab! 3 completely different size/shape girls with 3 different dresses in the same colour and they all looked lovely.

I'm going to go against the grain.

I was a bridesmaid for my BiLtb and they got my dress from light in a box, it was horrendous, the sizing was completely wrong despite accurate measurements given, the fabric was cheap, marked easily (water marks!) and the design itself was pretty dire. I didn't have a good experience and I felt very uncomfortable all day

This seems a little harsh to the OP - there are 4 threads in the past calendar year that are specifically about Light In The Box and one of these was about a wedding dress and a few more that are older. There are many many repeated topics on this board and personally I feel it's OK for people to ask their own question especially as things move on with time and last years experiences may well be out dated. I also saw from one of your posts on another thread that you're not sure if your sister's dresses were from LITB or Jen Jen House and that her customs charge was £30 per dress for 5 dresses - I wouldn't call that extortionate.

OP - Having now read all the recent LITB threads I feel able to do a little summary ?

- It won't be as good as Dessy or similar designer dress.

- Prepare for custom charge of 20% of price plus £10-30 admin/handling fee from courier, however you may not be charged anything by customs.

- The custom made measurements can be a bit off so you may be better getting a standard size that covers the biggest measurement and having it altered it need be.

- People who've ordered more simple styles have been happier, also those with chiffon dresses seem happier than those with satin on the whole.

- Standard size dresses come up long.

- Be prepared that you may have to do some alterations.

- Don't expect the same level of boning/corsetry/finishing as the designer dresses.

I still think I'd exhaust all high street options first but if I wanted several dresses in different styles but the same fabric or a real range of sizes then I think I'd give it a go for a simple style that's not too fitted and be ready for custom charges. This is taking into account I'm quite happy to do little alterations myself - e.g. taking up a hem.

Thank you for the replies. The dresses i am looking at are chiffon and i would just get standard sizes and pay for alterations.

I will keep looking and maybe use it as a last resort.

thank you for the advice/help much appricated

?

xx

Hi,

I bought a piece from them for stock for my business and it was awful. Dusty, squashed and unfit for purpose. Sorry to say that but I was disappointed.

Lynne

I was bridesmaid last year for a friend and we got all our dresses from there. We used the customised option and sent over our measurements, and they were very accurate.

One girl was nervous about the sizing so added a couple of inches onto every measurement and ended up with a dress too big, so had it altered but it was fine after the dressmaker had done it. But the measurements are accurate so don't over estimate.

As previosuly mentioned you need to factor in Import Tax. My friend didn't and the charges were high. She complained that they hadn't forewarned her about this when she ordered and they refunded the tax to her. But I'm not sure you can get away with that now, there is probably a note on the website.If you know anyone who lives in the States you coul have it shipped to them, and then get them to ship them over to you with different labels, but then you're getting into difficult territory just to save a few quid

The quality of the dresses was absolutely fine, and I really liked mine. We all had different dresses in the same colour/material, and they were all lovely, and well made. I'd recommend it, just beware of the import tax and budget for it.

Here I am again, throwing my hat into this ring.

I bought my wedding dress from here, yes my wedding dress!! I was pleasantly surprised! mine was satin with a lot of embroidery and personally i adore it. ordered it last oct. also got a standard size 14 (they're more GENEROUS than the high street 14's i tell you!) No offence to people complaining about HIGH import charges but if you buying abroad there will be charges (shipping, 20% VAT, customs etc), internet shopping 101. some people maybe a bit naive or green to not realize this.

I can see that they're probably not as high quality as a designer dress but a good quality as a brand.

Personally, i had a horrible experiencved with Light In The Box regarding my wedding shoes.

Nowhere on their website does it tell you you have to pay an import fee until after you have signed up and paid for your items. I refused the delivery and DHL still tried to charge me the import fee, i then had a 2 week long arguement with LITB Customer Services who evetually refunded me the full amount (they were only going to refund 50% of what i had paid for the shoes) plus pay the import fee.

This is now 4 month on and i received a letter from DHL saying the import fee still hasn't been paid and as the item came into the UK it still needs paying so now i have to start all over again

The dresses may be gorgeous, but just be aware you will have to pay an undisclosed import fee of god knows how much if it was £14 on a £50 pair of shoes!

G'luck! x

This is SUPER handy: https://www.pitneybowes.com/us

also heres the UK's stance in duty and taxes: /bringing-goods-into-uk-personal-use

my dress was £209, import duty and tax came to £68 making it £277 overall. the additional cost is a big thing to waging into when considering a purchased overseas. another thing import duty varies greatly depending on the item and its materials, not sure why but clothings tend to be more (?) I had calulated getting rings from the US, around £300 worth and the import was shockingly lower than I'd expected! (3% of the total goods value but anything under £10 is dismissed)

Hiya,

new here but seen your post.

I ordered my bridesmaid dresses a few month ago from light in the box. In chiffon & 2 different styles. I didn't get exact measurements (getting them altered myself). I must say they are fab. Bridesmaids love them. Some people complain about extra shipping charges upon delivery but that wasn't the case for me.

Overall I'm happy with my order from them.

Sallie

xx

I didn't use Light in the Box but used a similar website... Dream prom. Was concerned about it when I ordered the bridesmaid dresses but decided to take the chance! I'm glad I did the dresses are lovely but do need alterations despite being made to measure but in a good way (they are too big) was a bit surprised by the packaging (the dress were turned inside out and folded into plastic bags and sent in a big plastic postage bag, they will definitely need steamed) I'm glad I bought them from there though as it saved me hundreds of ££s.

Amy xx

Maybe look for another supplier of bridesmaids dresses rather than chancing it with LITB. I know bridesmaids dresses vary a great deal in price but there are some fabulous ones on the high street and even from other wedding dress boutiques you can get better prices than £240 each.

I have steamed a LITB gown for a customer who had some alterations done here and all I will say is it probably took 3 times longer than any other organza dress I have steamed and it didn't seem to look any better for it. The fit of the gown wasn't bad at all but considering the young lady was 8 and the dress was ordered for an 11 year old there does seem to be some confusion with their sizes.

As with all these sites the best thing to do is read as many reviews as you can and make an informed decision.

I asked a smiliar question a few months back and someone said that 'Sexy her' are good... similar kind of company, do the same dresses as LITB but they actually have a show room in Croydon when you can see the dresses in person... the deliveries are sent to their show room and so you dont pay the import tax... I have read lots of good reviews about them so they may be worth considering?