Online bridesmaid dresses....anyone?

I didn't buy online but one thing I have learnt - make sure you measure your bridesmaids and don't trust them when they tell you their dress size! :-)

Only with the correct measurements will any dress look good!

No sorry. I did see a wedding dress from china I liked but didn't have the bottle in the end to give it a go.

I haven't done this with mine but a friend of mine did for her BM dresses - I'm not sure of the website address but the site she used was a UK website but company based in China. This wasnt clear from the website either.

The dresses were very different from the pictures and she had a nightmare getting her money back!

My advice would be to double check where they are from before you click on order

I'm planning to use Queenie Bridesmaid, which do made to measure BM dresses. I've heard good things about them on here.

Do you have the web site for them Chale?

It's www.queeniebridesmaid.co.uk. I think they're based in Europe.

I've recently worn a made to measure dress from queeniebridesmaid and it was just like the photo. Did have to get altered, but I measured myself for the first time ever, with rope and a ruler lol But the dress itself was lovely and good quality.

I dont know that online shop at all. I did order a wedding dress from a Chinese supplier, (although it looked like a US site). Completely different from the pic, dreadful shape and despite having been professionally measured, the size was completely wrong! The material was so hot, sweat was literally running done my legs just trying it on. I'd recommend a high st store where the girls can try them on.

Also, check what the chiffon is made from. Majority of the time its polyseter, which is synthetic and doesnt breath. It can be made from silk and cotton, but unless stipulated, I'd be dubious. Even if the Chinese supplier said it was 'silk' & the label said so, wouldn't them. Too many times I saw cheap 'silk' dressing gowns on sale in Sth east Asia that were 100& synthetic.

If you tell us what you are looking for (colour, length, style etc) I'm sure us hitchers will find something.

I am very much into Japanese fashion, so do a lot of buying of clothes from Asia online as well as in person when I go on holiday.

You need to thoroughly check out the website. Chinese sellers have a bad rep, but not all of them are poor quality/scams. My OH has just bought me some cheongsams from the shop of a tailor who also sells online. Her dresses are stunning and a fraction of the price they'd be in the UK. While he was there, there were people arriving in person to collect dresses they'd ordered online and they were exactly the same quality as the one the tailor was making for me there and then. If you are concerned about the quality, you could always just buy one dress, to check the fit and quality, then buy the rest if you are satisfied. Just remember to budget for potential import tax. It's hard to calculate the exact cost of tax, because it's based on what HMRC think the goods are worth (if) they even check your package). I think the last time I bought 2 formal dresses I paid about £40, but other times I've only paid £10 or even nothing at all.

Be wary of any site which appears to be making copies and uses the original designers' photographs. You can check this by right-clicking on the picture and then clicking on "search Google for this image". Also, be wary of any site which doesn't have reviews and doesn't include full contact details including address, email address and phone number. A lot of places do offer a returns policy, but returning goods is often impractical. Where possible, pay through PayPal, as you can open a claim for a refund if you're unhappy with the quality you receive.

Whether you're buying online or in person, Chinese tailors generally struggle with tailoring clothing to western figures, as our proportions are different. For example, we have much broader shoulders than most Asian people. They can factor up bust, waist, and hip measurements, but they generally struggle with shoulders. As a guide, if I bought a coat from China, I would be a small/medium on the bust, but an XXL on the shoulders. Therefore, you need to look for sites which do custom-made, rather than going by dress size. Make sure you take careful measurements - if possible, get someone who is used to tailoring to do it for you - and don't just do bust/waist/hips/height. I have a list of measurements that I normally use, if it would help. Always remember to add in a little bit of room - you want to be able to comfortably move the measuring tape around the body. Not all Chinese tailors add seam allowance into the measurements, but they tend to cut the seams off very close to the stitching, so it is easy enough for a seamstress over here to take the dresses in, but nigh on impossible to let them out if they're too small.

Thank you everyone for your advice. Annoyingly, your replies went into my spam folder so I've only just seen some of them.

You've been a great help. I'm going to look on queeniebridesmaid and some high street stores to be safe.

Thanks again

Lorraine xx

I got my BM dresses from China (think it was topwedding.co.uk) and the quality was fine. Sizing was a little out but overall not bad. I have had to have them altered as they were big on the shoulder. I was worried but think I was lucky! X

I havent bought my bridesmaid dresses yet but im going to start by looking at the high street brands first. im not sure about the Chinese website tbh.

(just wanted to let you guys know that Queenie Bridesmaids are based in China, not sure if that makes a difference but wanted to let you know in case it does)

A lot of great advice already. Just to add, I know someone who was a bridesmaid and the bride ordered the dresses from China. The first lot came and were all different shades of the blue she'd ordered. The second lot came and were better colour but the material wasn't very good quality. Basically I wouldn't trust a website unless it came with lots of positive reviews and even then I probably wouldn't use it because so many shops have a different idea of what a size is (even made to measure!)

I haven't ordered yet, but planning on using www.sexyher.co.uk mainly because they have a building you can go to and look at the work first, also helps that it's not too far from me either. Reviews I've seen on an independent website have been good, but before I part with any money I'll be popping by first.

What about asos.com? I'm hoping to get mine from there. If you don't like the dresses it's free returns which is why I'd be happy to use them x

Hi there,

I got my BM dresses from "For him and for her". One BM

ordered up a size and needed it altered and the other needed it taken up but they looked lovely and better suited their shape than anything we seen in the shops.