Wedding Dress from China

For £92 it's a gamble worth taking IF: you can afford to lose the money if it doesn't come out as you wanted; you understand that you will need to pay for seamstress work once it arrives: you are planning on buying one of their standard sizes and having it fitted in the UK. If you ask them to custom fit then they take a made up dress of stock size and slash the required areas, which generally gives a strange fit/shape. If you are going to have it altered in the UK anyway then have all the alterations doen here.

At least on ebay you have buyer protection. It's worth the risk I'd say, as long as you are aware that you are buying a dress in that style, not a dress like that! Also, do try on dresses in different shapes before you commit to an online purchase. The most common thing posted on here by those who have just bought their dress is that it wasn't the one they thought that they'd love from the pictures.

I have seen a stunning dress on Etsy from china but im too worried about it not being great quality so have decided against it at the moment. Will be interested to read replies to your thread x

I think for the money I am willing to take the gamble, becuase if it pays off it saves me over £1k! Some people have said that when they have done it it went really well, others disagreed. so it looks like its maybe a 50/50 shot at getting what I want from the dress. It would just be nice to hear from a few others on thier views.

My fsil bought two from ebay coming from china for £50 each, she was very happy with hers, she offered me the other, i turned it down after trying it on loads of times as it just wasnt me and i wanted ivory. I got one in a bridal sale for 300, and the quality is so different to the ebay dress! its better material, lined and the stucture of the dress is better.

Saying that i remember reading on here about a lady who bought her dress from a site called your bridalwear and she was very happy and it looked gorgeous

I think it depends what your standards are. There is no way the dress will be as beautiful in all components as the original - they couldn't do it for that price.

There is a HUGE difference in silk and polyester satin, and cheap Chinese lace and expensive French Lace.

As others have said if you afford to lose the money no harm I suppose but I wouldn't be surprised if you are disappointed. I think they worst thing you could do is go and see the original in a shop then order a Chinese replica.

I'm strongly against these cheap chinese dresses because I'm a designer myself and it may be cheap but it's illegal to pass someone elses design off as your own. People buying these replicas just creates a market for fakes and the original dresses will stay as expensive as they are to compensate for it.

I am conflicted now on what to do. I really love this particular dress but simply cannot afford the designer version. However, if the Chinese version is just going to look cheap then i'm not going to love it like i do the original.

We are on a very strict budget for the wedding, its the only way we can do it. So I think I may have to compromise on the quality and have the cheap chinese version and just hope that its not too bad.

Is buying second hand an option? try ebay or pre loved

http://www.preloved.co.uk/search/all?keyword=mori+lee+1957&x=-850&y=-344

or trying ringing round bridal shops to see if they are considering selling their samples?

There are a couple of listings for the dress on Preloved. One (a size 10) is taking the mick at £800 - why should you pay MORE that the original buyer to wear a second-hand dress? Only high-end end/or vintage can command second-hand prices at 70 % of original. But she might take lower offers if you could stretch to it.

You could also try to see if you can buy a shop sample.

It makes me a bit sad when brides are willing to compromise on quality. I appreciate that budget concerns often prevail, but still makes me sad

And what DrB said about copyright theft too...

Great minds.....

Ive looked on preloved and the prices are just too high. Realisticly I am looking at a budget of £400 max for my dress, but for that I do still want a fabulous designer dress. I never thought I would be this fussed about a dress, but I absolutley love this one. I suppose it was too much to hope that the Chinese dress would be just as fabulous.

The few dress shops I've spoken to near me have only recently had the dress in, so not looking to sell their sample just yet, but I will try and keep tabs with them all just in case they decide to in the near future.

Failing that, it might be time to find a cheaper dress!

Has anyone ever been to the wedding dress factory outlet sales? Just wondered if it was like the episode of friends where people are pushing and fighting each other to get the dress of their dreams or whether its a more sophisticated event!

*gently*

Methinks these two statements aren't really compatible.

Have you thought about High Street? Phase Eight, Monsoon etc?

ETA: Actually, it probably isn't impossible to find a designer dress for £400. It probably is impossible to find a specific designer dress for £400 (if you see what i mean?).

Any good?

Could bling it up a bit?

Why don't you try going to one of the Wedding dress outlet places and keep and open mind. It's quite a fashionable style at the moment so you may find a very similar shape that you can bling up yourself?

....

You are more than welcome to perform the same searches that the OP/DrB/I have performed....

Well done you though, for finding your dress!

What is listed on ebay/gumtree/preloved changes from day to day..I am not saying the dress she wants is for sale now, doesnt mean it might not be tomorrow though When are you getting married OP?

I ordered a Mori Lee replica dress from EBay from China and although the fabric and craftsmanship were ok the dress just didn't sit or flow as nicely as they don't use the original pattern. They guess the pattern from a picture and from looking at your dress I think how the dress sits and flows may be an issue.

I ended up ordering the designer one from the bridal shop. I would continue to look on eBay. You can save a search so it notifies you every time someone lists a mori lee dress.

X

Ive heard of lots of people being disappointed with copies and if the budget's tight you definitely don't want to waste 80 quid, that's almost a quarter of your dress budget on a big risk. You may struggle to find that exact dress on a budget (though worth keeping an eye on eBay/preloved etc), but it's worth looking around and trying others on as it may surprise you. I was set on wanting a particular dress that was over budget but when I tried more on I realised I like my in budget (ish!) dress more. I didn't go to a wedding dress outlet style shop but I've heard good things, it's also worth looking at sample sale racks in shops as they have some lovely dreses. As ftlomb says high street is also a good shout. I've seen some amazing dresses on here from the high street.

I bought my Mori Lee dress from Pre-loved. It was an ex-sample dress through a bridal shop, brand new with tags and cost me £100 reduced from £600. So worth checking back and forth!

I bought my Mori Lee dress from Pre-loved. It was an ex-sample dress through a bridal shop, brand new with tags and cost me £100 reduced from £600. So worth checking back and forth!

I've just ordered this exact dress from eBay too, will let you know how I get on. My budgets really small so thought I'd just go for it! Reviews were good etc can get it amended if need to xx

I think you can have a try~~

As the saying goes "if something seems too good to be true, it usually is"! I saw a program about baby faced brides the other night and one of the girls had ordered her dress from china...it was terrible! Looked like it had been made from a garden tent!

Thanks for the input everyone, if you could let me know how it turns out loves-young-dream that would be great!!

How long have you got til the wedding Daisymoo86?

If I was you I would turn in too an obsessive googler and see if you can track on down over the next few months. If I want something bad enough I will hunt and hunt til I get it, ebay preloved, the for sale section on here, calling round everywhere you can find that stocks it and doing to as many sample sales etc as you can find. Also ask around for special offers at shops. My friend got her Maggie Sottero half price on a promotional eve at a shop.

I think it was Goldpants that went on a mad transatlantic goose chase for THE perfect shoes. Other people would say she was crazy but she got them! Weddings make you do crazy things but if it makes you feel amazing on the day it will be worth it.

Don't give up!

This subject often crops up on some Facebook wedding groups I'm a member of and I've photographed several brides who have bought their dress from eBay.

In my opinion how happy you are with the final result depends on what your expectations are and the design of the dress.

I think if you want the EXACT copy of the dress and expect the Chinese dress costing you £90 to look exactly the same and be the same quality as the £1100 dress then you will be disappointed.

If you are expecting a copy that looks like the designer dress and punches above it's weight then I think you'll be happy.

Bear in mind that it will probably cost them about £30 to ship it from China anyway. So that's a LOT of material and not a lot of labour to make a wedding dress regardless of designer.

Hi

My friend ordered her dress from China. I think it was around £80 including postage. It was a strapless one with a lace up back and flared from the waist so no problem with zips etc. I went to her wedding and the quality was very good. It was quite a heavy material and I would never have known if she hadn't told me it was from China. She was on a tight budget and decided to take the risk with it. She said she could always sell it on Ebay for £50ish mark if she didn't like it.

I bought my dress from an outlet in Northallerton, Yorkshire. They were quite pushy towards the end as I'd tried on quite a few dresses and been there quite a while. They were very busy as it was a Saturday and I felt like they wanted me to make a purchase and get out so they could sell to others who were waiting. Having said that, I am happy with my dress. They were bringing me dresses that weren't my style or my fit and saying 'there's a large seam which a seamstress could easily let out'. I didn't want stitch marks to show though so I decided against that. They also pin/hold dresses that are too large and make them look ok. Just be aware that you might have to pay additional costs for a seamstress if it needs altering. They quoted £100 for my alterations but I'm sure it'd be more than that as there is a lot of detail that would have to be undone and re-sewn. My dress was far too large when I bought it but I'm now pregnant and baby due a month before the wedding so having to wait. Mum used to work for Burberry and made all my clothes when I was small so she's going to alter it nearer the time. Just don't be pushed into anything if you're not completely happy.

Good luck with your decision. x

Buying from China is a gambling. You never know but if it is from ebay you are protected for 45 days since purchase and if the dress will not arrive or will be different you will get your money back. You can also check their feedback to know what other buyers thing about them.

£80 is not a lot so you can try. Good luck.

As an alternative, why not try your local charity shops for bargain dresses? My local Hospice Shop has some really cheap preloved wedding dresses on its eBay site at the moment. Might suit someone! Here's the link:

https://stores.ebay.co.uk/Hospiceshops-Isle-of-Man

ruched body dress

Just thought I would update everyone on my search!!

I have found a website that is an authorised retailer of Mori Lee that has the dress for £600!

I think this is a route I may go down, its an american site and shipping is free, they do ship to the UK.

Its probably less risky than me ordering it from China as it should be the actual Mori Lee dress rather than a replica. So it should do the dress justice.

However, I am starting to see other dresses that I like also! So might hold off for a little while and go back to this dress in a few months to make sure it still gives me the feeling

You will (I think) have to add import charges to your delivery. Worth checking what the value will be.

£600 is a lot for a dress that 'might' be the real deal. How sure are you?