Is it a really bad idea to get a dress on line?

I got my dress from preownedweddingdress.com b/c mine was discontinued too.. great site and they are pretty specific about what alterations have been made, and the street size.

I just got a teary call from a Bride who got her dress weeks before the wedding and the online company screwed up the order. It's a mess and the wrong color and they're not answering her emails. Ordered from the US but it arrived from China. Be careful about these knockoff places!

Www.oncewed.com has used wedding dresses and I believe would be reliable...

But not sure what else to say for advice. Fitting is definitely difficult with sizes changing from different brands.

I am ordering from www.lightinthebox.com

My friends have ordered from there and were VERY satisfied with the product and the price. All the pics on their website are pics of dresses THEY have produced. yes, you can find designer ripoffs here, but they have the pics of THEIR VERSION.

These are pics of the dress I'm getting. This girl bought her dress at this website

Oh nice. I was looking at lightinthebox. For some reason the fact that their prices are higher made me feel a little better.

Maybe I will just order now while it is early just in case. I am loving the used dress sites too.

Thanks guys! I'll post what I get.

I'm using the customweddingdressshop.com. My dress is going to be around $900, but it is very complicated. We are putting 3 gowns into one. They are great and will work with you to acheive your vision. They're a Texas-based vendor on this website!

I had gottan my dress offline. The one you see over their in red. And the white dress. I had done many research off line and look at the return policy, deposit, reviews, etc. I had called them and they were on point. These people were professional and you will save more than 30% on your dress. My dress in the stores would of been $1,500 but I only had paid $499. Here is the website just in case. Be very careful and ask all the questions that you need to. www.romanticgowns.com

If you are in Ohio they just opened up their store. They have a grand opening or you can order offline and chat with someone.

I bought mine from www.fashioninthebox.com and it is beautiful. It too is one of the websites in China. I paid less then $300 for a custom fitted dress and no tailoring needed. The only hard part was deciding which one.

I got mine on ebay from a vendor in China. I love the dress but keep in mind that they are not as good quality as the ones in the bridal shops. You will need good undergarments as the lining is a LOT lighter than most dresses. For me this was good since my venue does not have a/c. This did make it so I was able to get a reception dress too though.

I thought about it but in the end was too in love with the dress I wanted to get one that wasn't quite right...and disappoint myself and possibly have to get another dress. I ended up talking to the bridal salon locally that I found the dress at and she offered me discounts on the accessories for getting it through them instead. I got my veil for free and my headpiece 30% off so it worked for me to get a dress from someone I could trust. Plus add in getting the dress pressed and all which they will do for free and I feel much better having got it locally.

I hope it's not a bad idea because I plan to sell mine! I've been told to sell it even before I wear it! I had planned on buying online, but ended up buying my dress on a whim and a sale!

You might find this story helpful:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/04/fashion/weddings/04FIELD.html

I ordered mine from www.ebridalsuperstore.com , but have not gotten it yet.*crosses fingers* that it comes in and is what i want. they say its a real dress(from the designer not a knock off) so it better be or ill be really mad! ayways im of no help really, but ill for sure post in december when i get m dress. another suggestion i would make is see how long it takes to ship and plan to have it WAY before the wedding so if it needs to be sent back or alterations made it will have time to get done.

My site actually offers wedding dresses that are custom made to fit your measurements specifically. The company I work with gives you specific directions as to how to take your measurements. They do advise that you have a reliable seamstress in the event you need alterations. However, they are a very reputable company. They do have return and refund policies. I suggest you don't use a company who doesn't have a return or refund policy or doesn't tell you in detail the type of fabric used. It is true that some companies are out there to rip you off by replicating a designer gown. It is totally up to you. I have heard 50/50 complaints and praises on this subject. Hope this helps.

I suggest you try a dress similar to the one you want on in a store to make sure the fit and style work for you. If so, then measure yourself everywhere - bust, waist, hips, diaphram, etc so you will choose the right size.

As suggested above, make sure you have someone who can help with any alterations. If in doubt, call the shop and speak to someone before placing the order. They will be able to help you decide - ordering a size larger and having some alterations made is better than a size smaller that can't be repaired.

Ordering online can be done effectively, but you do need to check out their return policies, personally my distributor will not allow for exchanges or returns because of abuse. I sell dress online, and most of the time have no problem or compliments. There are a few who order without measuring and checking the size charts on the page for each dress and assume that, if they wear a size 6 they can order a size 6. Different manufactures have different sizing chart

My dress just arrived last Saturday!!!! I ordered it for $168 on Ebay from China - and then crossed my fingers and didnt get my hopes up...

- It was better than the pictures!!!!

I plan to post about it later when C is out of town so I can upload photos... Also, e-bay has a new policy and they back your purchase so if you dont get what you want you are garanteed your money back!! Just make sure the seller has a good rating.

I was trying to talk my mom into making the dress, *she is really good, then she went on e-bay and said that if it was horrible it would atleast give us a pattern to start with - I wanted the pink Eve-of-milady dress priced over 5k - YIKES- Well turns out the only alterations I will be needing on my $163 dollar dress are a hem and a little taking in on each side of the top!!! PS. the dress came in under 2 weeks - My mom says it is like a 2k dress and that the materials alone would have been more than the dress.

Guess I am blessed

My best word of advice is that you need to make a decision soon! Your wedding is in 4 months and that is not a lot of time to order any sort of gown, except maybe a pre-owned one.

If you order online, I would recommend ordering from a company based in the US, not China. We are located in California and have a good review rating on weddingwire.com.

For anyone wondering whether a website is from China, we have put together a list of over 3000 sites (and counting) that you should stay away from.

Watch the videos as well to help educate yourself.

http://www.discountdressshop.com/knock-off-dress-websites-to-avoid.html

You can also share your experience if you ever ordered from one of these sites on our list and help others not to get scammed.

http://www.discountdressshop.com/review-your-experience-with-scam-dress-websites.html