Yes I bought my dress from China

OK so here's the scoop on my dress from China. It came today which is right on schedule--4 weeks. It was boxed in a very small box (which I was warned about by reading other commentary) but I was surprised how little it was wrinkled. I ordered an ivory dress but it's not the same shade of ivory as the original dress but is ivory for sure. I was warned to order a lace up dress one size smaller than needed and I'm glad I did. It's slightly big but won't be a problem unless I continue to lose a lot of weight and then I may have to do some bigger alterations. At this point I don't really need any alterations (the beauty of lace up IMHO) but I'm going to have to buy some 2" heels since the 4" ones I have means the dress does not touch the floor. I ordered a crinoline to wear underneath but it's an old-fashioned wire hoop skirt and it shows too much. I'll have to go get something else. The embroidery is very similar to the original and you have to look close to see that it's a sewn applique.

The halter strap is a little too long but at 5'4" I'm used to adjusting straps (OK so I guess I've got one alteration). The back laced up nicely except one place where there was a bump but my roommate had never laced a dress before so I think tightening or loosening the laces will probably solve that problem. The fabric was nicer than I expected. Overall I am pretty happy with the dress & it looked very nice. When I looked at the original photos I remembered how that one fit & realized the differences. I was happier before I looked at the original but I'm still happy. Would I buy another dress from www.storeofdress.com? Certainly. Was it a perfect match? No. If you are thinking of buying something online you need to understand a $300 dress isn't going to be as high quality as a $1500 dress. They only make the dress based on the internet photos--they don't have the actual patterns. You should expect a very similar style dress with no blatant errors. All that said, I am satisfied.

That is some good info

Congrats on getting your dress!!

I was going to buy my dress online too but my matron of honor convienced me not to The dress I do have is beautiful and I Love it!

Great comments Southerngirl - well said. My big beef with China dresses is that they are often made under terrible working conditions and by children in many cases (thus the cheap prices; not so much the exchange rate). You hit the nail on the head when you said it is a -similar- style because they don't have the pattern. They are often not very upfront about that. It used to be just the lower end bridal designers who had their gowns made in China but I have noticed some higher end ones doing the same(tucked away on the care/fiber content tag). The US has lost many many many jobs to items being made in China - in every sector - makes me upset.

We are having a problem here in Florida with Drywall, made in China, it has something in it which is turning metals black and ruining electrical wiring and plumbing, and forcing people to move out of their NEW houses. It is also making people ill.

You purchased your gown with realistic expectations. I'm happy it worked out for you.

I was looking at my dress this morning & I'm still very happy about how it turned out. I forgot to mention it doesn't have a bustle but that's really a given on any dress. So with the halter strap, bustle and a few little things to touch up, my Mom and I shouldn't have too much trouble with these minor changes. Having to get it steam pressed is a given for every dress too so that's not different either. Perhaps it was made under poor conditions but so are many of our products & clothing, including more expensive dresses as Artistic Veil mentioned, that I just couldn't let that play into my decision too much. If you're a perfectionist with an exact dream dress you want after searching dozens a stores, you will probably be disappointed. If you found a style you liked & can find good photos online, you will get a good dress that's a reasonable replica of the dress you want. I'll try to take some photos so you can compare the original dress (already on my inspiration board) & the replica.

I did the same thing. I use to be a very "always buy domestic" type person for the reasons artistic veil stated but once I moved out of my parents and money got tight I had to venture out of my box and have been happy with the products so far. I got my dress as well from china and only had some minor changes. Added an eye hook to hold the fabric behind the lacing in place. tacked in the built in undergarments because they slipped a bit. Added straps, took it in just a bit under the arms (but I lost about 10 pounds from the date I bought it) Im short so I had to take up the length in the front a bit (left the back to lengthen the train a bit) and added a wrist strap under the train because it isnt that long and I have a big butt and all the bustle types we tried either didnt fall right or made my butt look even bigger. LOL. I am even more happy with it now. Making a matching veil now to match the flowey fabric in the skirt.

Congrats on the dress and I'm happy it all turned out well, I actually feel I may have come out better ordering my dress online, but ohh well. Hopefully you'll post some pics so we can see it!!!

I hope I didn't offend any of you - I just have this thing about China...It's really hard not to buy Chinese though. I think it's really funny that I feel this way because I LOVE LOVE anything oriental - the style of furniture and such. Chalk it up to being a wacky artist type I guess. LOL

I'm so glad it worked out for you and you are happy with your purchase! Please do post pics!

OK I've posted photos now. In addition to the original photos from the designer I also have a page with photos of a Mon Cheri sample that was on eBay (too small for me). I took photos of my Chinese-made dress (no offense taken ArtisticVeil) and posted those in a similar order as the sample dress. Also notice that it's not any more wrinkled than the sample so don't worry about the tiny box it comes in.

Thinking of buying a wedding dress from dhgate.com... Beautiful...$152... have small budget, I don't care if it is a knock off...just don't want to be blatantly scammed! Any opinion on this company?

In most cases, ordering a dress from China does not end up so good, but I'm glad it did for you. Help support our economy by purchasing from US based companies.

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