Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Inweddingdress Review #30

This review is for inweddingdress style BC340.  

I can't say much for customer service as I never actually contacted anyone from this site; however, my order was processed and shipped very quickly.  I didn't order the rush delivery.  I placed my order on May 19, 2013 and it arrived via DHL today, June 3, 2013.  What is that, 15 calendar days and 10 business days?  Outrageous.  

I have to say I was excited when I realized it was shipped so quickly, but I was also a little scared.  I ordered custom sizing and a shorter train.  I was certain that in order for the dress to be sent out so quickly they must have messed something up.  Or the quality must be crap.  Quick tip: I should have double checked their size chart.  My exact measurements lined up almost directly within one of their standard sizes (even though I'm super tall).  I paid via paypal so if there had there been a problem, I would have had better ground to stand on if I had chosen a standard size and had not asked for a shorter train.  

Ok, on to the actual review.  Day 15, DHL called and asks if they can leave the package on my doorstep, I gave permission and crossed my fingers that a raccoon wouldn't chew into the bag.  I was prepared for the small size of the package from other reviews, but it is still a little bizarre.  My dog was curious as well.

As other reviewers mentioned, it was packed inside out, wrapped in plastic, and came in a small canvas (I think...) bag.

My heart all a twitter, I pulled the dress from the plastic.  Well, the inside looked ok, nothing awful yet.  The inside is a satin lining with some boning a full cups.  Yay!  Bra-less wedding!

I turned it right side out and inspected the bust (which is what I was most worried about).  It looks pretty good!  Nothing wonky, no strings coming out.  (I'm not using that asymmetrical strap so I didn't really inspect that).  The satin waist band may be a little off, but it's ruched so it's really hard to tell.  I think a good steam and a little adjusting will sort out any slight unevenness   I did a quick hem check to see if those were shoddy but they look good as well.  The chiffon is obviously not expensive, but it isn't terrible either.  Will my fiance notice that I'm not wearing the finest of silks?  Absolutely not.  As far as he is concerned, wedding dresses are white dresses, end of story.

I ran to the bedroom and stripped down so I could try it on before the fiance could get home from work.  I ran into a little trouble trying to keep it on because it's basically impossible to corset yourself into a dress.  Luckily, there are two little plastic snaps that secure the dress together so you can lace it up.  I'm not convinced that these snaps will hold up to much abuse, but they aren't intended to keep the dress on you, just to help with lacing (and they do).  It's a little big in the waist and the bust.  I have the corset as tight as I can get it by myself and it's still loose.  I'm pretty sure they gave me an extra inch or two beyond the measurements I provided, but I'm not too upset about that.  Of all the things to fix on a dress, having it taken in is the least worrisome and the biggest ego boost before a wedding.  The train is a sweep train (shorter than the train on the original) which is exactly what I requested.  

All in all, I'm pleased with my purchase.  I tried on probably 30-40 beautiful dresses that were well over $1000 (some as much as $2500) and I just couldn't bring myself to go into that kind of debt.  I nearly bought a similar dress from Davids for $500, but decided to take a gamble on this one.  I think I came out on top!  The total, including shipping and a $10 fee to shorten the train, was $264.  Times are tight and I'm relieved that I was able to find a sweet, simple dress that fit my budget and my modest wedding while still allowing me to feel special and look like a bride.

The pictures aren't the best because they are on my phone and I was rushing, but I hope they help everyone with their decision.  This was a relatively simple dress compared to other lacy, form fitting ones, so that probably upped my chances of receiving a decent quality dress that actually looks like the picture.

Let me know if you have any questions!












Monday, June 3, 2013

Inweddingdress Review #29



I bought a dress from Inweddingdress.com and this is my review:
On the website I liked this dress:
BC261 which retails for $228.72, a sale from $255.52 apparently. These are the pictures of the dress from the site:

From the date I submitted the order to the date I received it was a little over a month (late march 2014, received mid may). Because I was in no rush I didn’t mind about how fast or slow my order was. I chose to have the dress custom made to my measurements (for free) and a nice sales consultant contacted me via email when she thought my dress length request was too short. I replied and told her that I wanted the dress just after my knee instead of knee length and she reassured me that was fine.
During the ordering submission I added in extra alterations:
- remove most of the flowers on the length of the dress
- have the back corset instead of zip (in case I lose or gain weight).

When I received the dress in the mail it came in a smallish package. Inside the dress was folded inside out to protect the front of it. The stitching of the dress is great, well made. The material is so so to good, not the best in the world but again for the price I paid I expected what I got. As long as there are no holes or rips and it can withstand ONE day of wearing… I am as happy as can be. I enjoyed the satin feel and quality, it was definitely much nicer (looks and touch) than the organza material of the skirt.
Like I said the dress was well made so I have no complaints of the quality aspects of that. Impressed actually.
The flowers were cut on sewn on nicely and tight. I however have some regrets on them. I didn’t know there would be this many on the dress as you can’t really see it on the advertised photos. The beading and lace applique were fantastic, my favourite actually. The beading looked like it took a lot of time and effort to be put on this dress, so for the price I think it is worth it.
You can’t really tell from these edited photos but in a raw point and shoot pic, the dress actually comes out a bit yellow because I ordered it in ivory. Now I bought ivory because I didn’t want a blazing white white dress that almost looks blue so I thought ivory would soften the whiteness, if that makes sense. However in person it is a perfect shade of white, but in photos it really looks cream coloured. Maybe you might like that but I didn’t so much. I would recommend all brides unless they want a cream dress, don’t order your dress in ivory.
Bottom line: I like the dress, for the price I paid I can not complain too much. However the dress is much prettier in life than it is in photos. I don’t personally think the dress is as flattering on me nor photographs as well as it should. The problem is after the day is gone and years go by you don’t want to tell people oh my dress was so much better in real life. You want it stunning in pictures, so no I would not recommend this style/dress itself but I would recommend the website because it was easy to use, very inexpensive dresses and well made.

~Jo