Off the peg wedding dress - advice!

Hello!

I've ended up buying an off-the-peg dress online (from Net-a-Porter) because I didn't want anything too 'bridal' and some of the boutique prices were very high. I'm really happy with it; I had a 28-day return window and took it to a seamstress to check that she could alter it as I wanted, which she can, and the alterations will cost around £200.

I tried on some dresses at Wed2Be and thought they were a great option - very helpful and lots to try on. The store I went to said they had seamstresses they recommend/work with a lot which is great. The only downside for me was that the store just has that stock you see on the day - there is a big range online but they won't ship to your address, nor will they transfer a dress from one store to another to try on. So if there's one you find online and set your heart on, you'll need to ring them, find a store with stock, and then go there to try it on, which could be quite far away!

Boutiques like you to order the dress 6 months in advance so it feels like now or early in the new year is a good time to look for off-the-peg, and then you have time to order one if you don't find one you love.

Also, if you are considering off-the-peg, don't forget the high street - my to-be sister in law got a Phase Eight dress knocked down from £600 to £250 in last year's January sale and it was lovely. Debenhams, Phase Eight, Monsoon, Ted Baker et al all have good options depending on your budget.

Hope this helps!

x

I went to wed2b initially just to get a chance to try some on and get an idea of what I might like in terms of styles and because they were open on Sundays. I found my dress there in the end and even though I went to a “proper” bridal boutique afterwards I ended up going back to the original dress in wed2b. I had a wonderful fitter the first time and she made the whole experience amazing. Having said that the bridal shop I went to had far more dresses within my price range than I had expected so it may be worth asking around at shops to see what they have in terms of price range. Couldn’t fault wed2b with my experience though. Will be getting some small sizing/fit alterations made as you would with any bridal gown but really happy!

I got my dress from wed2b! I had a few alterations done in order to fit the dress to me perfectly, which cost around £100 on top of the cost of the dress but it is definitely worth it! It was under £1000 in total and much nicer than many of the boutique dresses that I tried on. It is a little annoying that they only have in what you see on the day but they get new dresses in all of the time. I found my dress the 3rd time I went in - this wasn't a problem for me as the shop is opposite the supermarket so it was easy for me to drop in regularly! ?

Thanks guys - I was worried that the quality might be less than the boutique stores but it sounds like you had some great experiences! Can’t wait to go and try on for the first time!

Have you considered bridal sample sales? I also didn’t want to send a small fortune on a dress I’d wear for one day, but I also wanted something a little different. I got my dresss for £510 in the sale down from £1749 and then £150 for alterations.

Even if if you did buy a designer dress, which had been ordered in for you, you’d still need some alterations so I wouldn’t make you’re decision solely based on that.

1. • Mitch979
     19 minutes ago edited

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Buying them off the peg is no different from ordering a designer dress in your size. They are all made to a size template.

Some of the cheaper dresses are made to order from your measurements but they often require alterations anyway.

I brought off the peg and I'm so glad I did. I went into lots of expensive shops and tried on around 30 different dresses until I worked out the style and colour I wanted. I then looked online and found my dream dress on sale in a shop in London. I went,.tried it on, loved it more than any other dress and paid a fraction of the cost for it. And I got to take it home on the day! Need to pay a bit to have it made shorter but that's the same with any full price dress,.they are all made in standard sizing and have to be altered. Good luck your dream dress is out there x