The dress I liked is called La Sposa Lambel. I couldn't find that exact style of dress in any local bridal shop, because it's from the 2010 collection. However, I found a similar one from the La Sposa 2011 collection. Both dresses had the same skirt, the same cut, just different details on the bodice. I didn't know the style name for the dress I found in the store> They usually avoid telling you the style name in the store, the reason is to prevent you from ordering the dress somewhere else. Anyway, trying on that dress had confirmed that I didn't look horrible in that particular style of dress. This dress came with a very unique skirt, and I was glad that uniqueness didn't make me look retarded :). I found the dress at Sposa in New Westminster. It's priced at $2800 before tax, and according to the sales lady, I would need to special order a "petite" size dress. Not that I would need a small size, what it actually meant was that I would definitely need something shorter than the regular length it usually came in. And for less material on the dress (shorter dress), they usually charge you $250 more.
So by the time, I walked out from the store, I was pretty convinced that I should just order my dress online. Even if it turned out to be horrible, I would only loose about 10% of the cost of a dress in a local store. The dress I was looking at was popular on the Internet, there are many bridal shops in China making very similar dresses (more accurately "intended to be replica"). I picked a store called "Landy Bridal". Judging by what I have read online, they have a proper store front in China. There seemed to be a lot European buying from them. There were both good and bad online reviews. After some research, I was expecting the dresses they produced to have an okay quality, but not expecting they were able to make the exact replica of a designer dress. I also heard of a lot buyers saying that Landy bridal tended to provide better service if you buy from them through Ebay. So I ordered my dress from them on Ebay (on Ebay, they have two stores, one is called Maryann Bridal, the other one is called asapy), paid about $305 including shipping, the petticoat, and the bustle on the train.
The dress arrived at the beginning of March. Like what I expected, the dress was not bad, but it't not perfect. The first problem was the zipper, the zipper busted as soon as I unzipped it for the very first time. Most brides would just freak out and cry at that point, but in reality, a zipper shouldn't cost much to replace. So I was qutie okay with it. Although I already knew that a new zipper wouldn't be too expensive, but I felt the seller should at least send a dress that's "wearable". So after arguing with them for an hour and threaten to file a dispute, they finally gave in and gave me a refund of $30 to replace the zipper.
I also understand that a lot of places over charge or any bridal related alterations. So I was very careful when I was looking for a seamstress. I got an quote for fixing the zipper for $30 from Angeline Bridal. The owner Angeline is a seamstress herself. I went into the store with my dress in a suit case. She explained to me that she would need to take out all the fake buttons right beside the zipper in order to replace it, and that's why it's more expensive than a normal zipper replacement. I also used that chance to fix the second problem that I found on the dress. There was a elastic belt inside the dress to help holding the dress up. The elastic belt that Landy Bridal put on the dress was about 1 cm wide, which was totally useless in my opinion. Angeline was able to also replace it with a proper wider (wider than 10 cm) elastic band with 3 rows of hooks, so I can adjust the tightness as I loose or gain weight and this costs me $35. She also sold me a garment bag so I don't have to squeeze my dress into the suit case anymore (this is $10).
On top of that, there is still something that bothers me a little bit. The baselayer (the layer that touches my body) of the dress is satin. The skirt consists strips of pleated tulle that's sew on top of the baselayer. However, they didn't put enough tulle on so there are a little bit of gap between each strip. You can't tell at all from a photo, and it's not even obvious unless you are less than a meter away from the dress. But I was really annoyed by that. After a discussion with Angeline, I decided to buy fabric from Landy and get Angeline to add the extra fabric to the skirt. I paid $70 for the extra fabric, and still waiting for it to arrive.
The dress fits perfectly. There is no size related alteration to be done. The bustle was done nicely, so I don't have to worry about that either. Angeline will charge me about $150 for sewing extra fabric onto the skirt. The total cost for the dress turned out to be $570 now. I am quite convinced it's still worthwhile, since I know if I spend $3000 plus on a dress I might just go insane. But everyone is different, I think it would make me happier to save money on a dress rather than go crazy if I can't justify my $3000 spending :)
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