Do Not Get Your Wedding Dress From Ali Express: A Horror Story

Okay so maybe it was not a true "horror story" but it was a MAJOR pain in the rear! The purpose of this post is not to bash any dealer, but to share my personal experience and drawn out issues with purchasing a dress from an Asian seller. In light of the funny news article about Angry Brides and their Discount Dress Messes, I thought this might be helpful to other brides looking to shave some cents off her bridal gown.

These above images are from an AliExpress dealer where my mother purchased her mother of the bride gown. She fell in love with the overall style and look of this gown for several reasons: It had sleeves, it had a lacy overlay, the color was neutral, it would be appropriate for fall, it was knee length, and it was "motherly" without being "grandmotherly". She showed me the dress online and with a price of $55, I thought it was worth a shot. She purchased the dress on October 9th, 2014. The reason she purchased it was because the seller boasted a hassle free return policy if the dress did not fit since it was not custom made. The size my mother ordered was a US SIZE 16 or an XXXL - She bought such a large size so she could have it altered to fit her perfectly...Now begins the long, drawn out affair with the dress...

As you can see when it arrived it was the wrong size on the tag - not even close. The tag reads it is a UK (United Kingdom) size 16 - which is a US (United States) size 12. Not only does this contradict the sizing chart provided on the purchase page but a secondary tag indicates this is an XL - which again according to their sizing chart would make this dress a US size 10. In short, this was not a US size 16 on the tag - NOR WAS IT EVEN REMOTELY CLOSE IN THE MEASUREMENT.

Just look at this. The waist circumference on the dress that arrived that was supposed to be a US size 16, measured less than 28 inches around. You can see that the liner is quite a bit smaller than the overlay, and I will also add the liner did not stretch at all. I wear a size 4 - A SIZE 4 and for comparison a size 4 Calvin Klein dress has a 28 inch waist.

As if the overall size was not an issue, one of the sleeves was 3/4 of an inch shorter than the other. And GOOD LORD LOOK AT THE HORRIBLE CONSTRUCTION!

What on earth is the deal with the PLEATS? In the original listing there are no pleats in the image provided. Why are these even here? They are not even done correctly; the overlay along with the cheap liner were gathered and sewn with the excess not removed and the pattern is totally disrupted.

The back is even worse than the front. Not only are the pleats repeated but they are CROOKED AND UNEVEN. I am going to also add that in person the color of this dress is not nude - it is actually very much pinkish taupe. It reminds me of a liquid cosmetic color in a bottle - that is slightly pink to match a "buff beige" skin tone. I think it is the liner that makes it appear this way.

Oh, and this dress was only about 32 1/2 inches long. On me (I am 5' 8" tall) it was at least 4 inches above my knee. As you can see, the bottom hem is uneven and all the ridiculous pleats pucker the overlay to the point where no amount of ironing or steaming will fix it.

Because of all of this - the fact that it was 6 dress sizes too small and beyond junky in construction, my mother decided to send the dress back. I will add that the dress was purchased on October 9th, 2014 and it did arrive about a week later. The above image is a copy of the confirmation e-mail my mother received noting the hassle free return. Well, On October 23, 2014 she mailed the dress back with this order slip enclosed. By Thanksgiving (a month later) my mother had not received her money back. Hum? Surely it would have arrived by then? I mailed the package (at a cost of almost $16) via First Class Mail International. My mother e-mailed the seller, who said they never got it and she was not getting a refund. Since I purchased the return label from USPS I called the USPS and spoke to a supervisor who said this kind of thing is happening ALL THE TIME. Yes, it is a SCAM. In my confusion I asked what he meant. Apparently, if you mail anything back to China and it is NOT IN A FLAT RATE BOX, the POSTAL TRACKING DOES NOT WORK. These Ali dealers KNOW THIS and they use the excuse "it got lost" to avoid accepting returns and issuing refunds.

Well, long story short my mother had to submit my proof of return shipment to Visa and in January, Visa refunded her the cost of the dress less the $16 I paid to ship it back. I was fine with this because at least she got her money back. BUT HERE IS THE KICKER...

On March 3rd, 2014 this mangled package was in my mother's mail box...IT IS THE SAME DRESS. Oh, and look. THE SELLER REFUSED TO CLAIM THE PARCEL. What happened in the world of international postal delivery is the seller was notified they had a returned package but they decided to not claim it. This is not the same as it being found "undeliverable". The return address is the same as what it was when it arrived to my mother - the seller just refused to accept the return. This is actually how I was able to give a detailed account of how bad this dress was and the subsequent ordeal.

As you can see, it went back to China and there is writing and stickers all over the exterior of the parcel. Note the date it was mailed out - and I got it back almost 5 months later.

 This looks like it was run over by a truck. The exterior paper I wrapped this in is Postal Grade craft style paper. I have used this for years for all my Ebay and Etsy sales and never had it get this chewed up. There were multiple holes and scrapes in the bag and if it were not for all the tape I used I am sure the entire parcel would have been destroyed and lost.

Note this large tear in the side. Luckily I had enough presence of mind and packing experience that not only did I fold and Ziplock the dress, I  then wrapped it in a secondary bag-style long plastic garment bag and taped it as well. So, now what I am left with is a dress I paid $16 in shipping for and to be honest, this is not even worth salvaging. I think I might try and take the horrid pleats out and turn this into a shift dress, but the sleeves and bottom need to be totally re-hemmed. Long story short, given this awful long, drawn out affair I would never order from an Ali seller again.