Did anyone buy their dress online (aka from China)?

Run away from those sites. If you find something you like in the store, try going to an online reseller, like www.preownedweddingdresses.com or some site like that.

The reviews I've seen here say that those Chinese knockoffs are hardly what they should look like in the picture. Cheap material, and just poor workmanship altogether.

Horror stories:

https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-forums/chinese-knockoff-my-actual-dh-gate-trash-the-dress-dress-vs-whats-advertised/aab5d78d01140467.html

https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-forums/psa-chinese-knockoffs-my-dress/687f8c5f8226478d.html

https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-forums/good-morning-america-reports-on-knock-off-gowns-and-dresses/193b1adacf229f71.html

https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-forums/super-frustrated-and-in-desperate-need-of-advice/0ca1e04cc30f5e3d.html ---> this one shows how the "return" policy is used against you should you have a problem (don't believe their website claims)

https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-forums/does-anyone-have-experience-ordering-wedding-gowns-from-china/46e88c085a8fc452.html -- this one has links to even more horror stories!

I've seen all of 3 brides post on here that they were happy with their purchase. One of those brides also stated how they were going to add to the dress to make it look more like the designer gown -- for that, you can just get a pre-owned gown.

I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY suggest against going this route. If you end up with something unwearable and unfixable, you will most likely just be out the money, trying to get a refund from these places is almost impossible. So if you're on a budget to begin with, it's a very big risk to take.

Thanks, Reenski, I was just trying to find those, you beat me to it!

You get what you pay for, really. Like FMO said, if you're looking for a designer on a budget, a preowned wedding dress may be the best way to go.

Thanks, All!

Sad to hear this, but glad you guys gave me the info!

It seems like this topic is revisited about once a month. Is there a way to make a sticky with all the links to all the horrors?

They don't fit. They look terrible. The sites rip off legitimate designers and exploit their workers.

Go preowned.

What about ordering a dress from ETSY.com?? Any success??

If you want to save money DB is having ONE hell of a sale right now... some dresses are even 50% off,. every single dress is on sale right. now I think that would be better then trying fate with a website.

A lot of the custom dress makers you find on Etsy are China based, so you are looking at taking a similar risk. Etsy is like Ebay -- individuals are selling their wares, so you need to do your homework on any specific shop/seller you want to use. I would still not want to take a chance on a good portion of the Etsy dress makers -- you may have little to no recourse if the dress doesn't come out as expected, etc.

Is the issue budget? Like Mrs K just mentioned, DB often has sales on their gowns. Even department stores are carrying bridal dresses nowadays.

What everyone said above...

But also if I might add, if you like a designer gown it's insulting to them if you go buy a knock off. I look at it the same way as pirating music or movies, it's disrespectful and WRONG. Support the designer so they can continue to make beautiful gowns for generations to come. That's all. It seem though many Americans have this mindset that they should get designer quality and not have to pay for it. . . Am I right or am I right ladies!

I thought about this route to when i first started looking at dresses and I'm glad I went with my first mind and decided not to. I've seen and heard the horror stories. They were awful or not worth the risk. There are deals and bargins out there, just be patient you will find your prefect dress.

Yes!!! I ordered my dress from Etsy. I can send you the link if you want. I just got it today and I LOVE IT!!!! I went to DB first and tried on a bunch of dresses so that I knew the size, style, cut... that I wanted to get. Then I searched online and was skeptical from buying from China. However, I order stuff from Etsy all the time and have never had a bad experience from there. I looked at all the reviews for this shop and they had sold over 40 reviews on dresses, 100% positive feedback! I ordered a dress from them for 189 dollars (shipped!) and it is almost exactly like the dress I tried on at DB that cost 1100!!! I am SOOO glad I bought from Etsy. Check the specific shop though. All of them might not be as trustworthy.

I don't have experience buying a wedding gown online, but I have bought a cocktail dress from a china website - it really didn't work out. I can't post photos, because the bodice was cut so wrong that it was indecent. I sent the dress back, they said they would fix it, then I received a phone call asking if I wanted a refund instead. I said yes, and so far no refund. They say they did refund my credit card, but my card had expired since I bought the dress, so I now have a new expiry. Still trying to sort this out. I think it can be a good experience (have heard several good experiences from people I know) but there are many bad experiences as well.

Seriously check out David's Bridal. I got my dress there for 150.00. I am going to jazz it up by adding a royal blue sash and thinking of having the seamstress add some a little blingy trim to the top. There are ways to be guaranteed a beautiful dress without experiencing this scam.

Stay away from those site....Thats all I got to say

I ordered my first dress from phoebebridal.com and I liked it didnt fit right I was going to get it altered a lot but I hated it and they dont take returns. I highly suggest you DONT buy from a chinese knock off site. My dress had black smudges on it, ripped lace, too short, wrong size, boobs not enough room and just not poofy enough. This is supposed to be Kenneth Pool Stunning. Definately not stunning.

Oh and the beading is the WRONG color, it was supposed to be silver : (

Preownedweddingdresses.com is a wonderful site that someone told me about on here.

I have seen many brides who fell for the cheap prices and purchased knock-off dresses from China. I can only say "Don't Do It!" The quality is so inferior, the fabric - inferior. The lace - inferior. Most of the time they don't even come close to fitting and then you will have to take it to a seamstress and see if it can be fixed. Most times it will cost a lot of money to make the gown fit and you will still have a gown you are not happy with. I recommend only purchasing a gown you can actually try on.

For my first wedding I had Maggie Sottero's Victoriana and not one but two designer veils. It all totaled about $3000. Then I had it cleaned and preserved and it's still sitting in my storage room taking up space. Now I'm engaged again and doing everything opposite as before lol. So I decided to get a simple dress off TBDress that wouldn't cost a fortune and I could ruin it in the ocean for some fun pics and not mind. Doesn't fit at all lol. There's tons of extra fabric in the hems and it's an all around mess. Thankfully I'm laid back and taking all of this with a grain of salt But I do not recommend at all!!!!