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.

Buying Vintage Wedding Dresses - Things to Consider & Crafty Options

Painter Poet Muse - Etsy

Over the years I have sold several vintage wedding dresses. Most of them were from the 1970's and 1980's and they were sold primarily for the fabric or Halloween costumes for less than $30 each. It is much less common to find a vintage gown from the 1960's or earlier. 

Most gowns from the 1950's through the mid 1960's were mostly made of Chantilly lace, slipper satin, and tulle - whereas gowns from the late 1960s through the 1990s were made of raw silk, organza, non-silk satin, and synthetic fabrics like polyester and acrylic.

Lace and tulle have made a major comeback in the last 10-15 years and are so popular they have sparked "vintage" lines being sold at David's Bridal and vintage inspired looks from designers like Maggie Sottero. For many brides, the ease of buying a vintage inspired dress is simply a no brainer. Why go to the trouble of finding a true vintage gown when you can have a new gown ready to wear from your local bridal shop?

As a vintage dealer myself, I earn a living selling people vintage clothing. It is my job to illustrate how a garment made 50 years ago is still very relevant and fashionable today. For bridal however, there are SO many issues you can run into that it may not be worth it to purchase an authentic vintage gown UNLESS you can try it on and have the option to return it. 

Here is a list of things to consider, ask, and mill over if you are thinking of buying a vintage gown: 

Saweran

Size - Length:

The average American woman was much smaller 50-60 years ago than they are today. Most women in the 1950's were petite with small frames. Even taller women, like Grace Kelly (pictured above circa 1956) who was almost 5' 7", tended to have very dainty frames. Because of this, it might be a nightmare for a seamstress to alter a vintage gown if it is too short or too tight. 

Most of the gowns I have either sold or looked at online were made for women who stood 5 feet to about 5 foot 3 inches tall - and therefore dresses were made to their heights with extra length for the standard 2 inch heels of the 1950s and 1960s. I am 5'8", so I know it would be almost impossible for me to find a vintage wedding dress long enough.

If you are looking at dresses online at Ebay or Etsy, make SURE you ask the seller how tall the woman was who owned the dress (if they know). If they do not know this information, take the length from the shoulder to the bottom hem of the dress and compare it to your size - the top of your shoulder to the floor. Then, subtract 2 inches from the dress length to account for heels. This will help you determine how tall the woman was who owned the dress. If you are 5 feet to 5 feet 4 inches tall, you will have a much easier time finding a vintage dress that will fit. If you are taller than 5 feet 4, it will be much more difficult.

Breanne Faouzi - Etsy

Size - Sleeves:

Since many vintage gowns have long sleeves and/or high necks, if you want to keep the sleeves you will need to measure every aspect of your arm to make sure you can wear it. Sleeves on vintage gowns are almost always made of lace. 

I would imagine it would be very difficult to match new lace to vintage lace to create an expansion area for the arm if the sleeves were too tight. 

Also, vintage lace DOES NOT STRETCH. Whatever you do, do not ever try and force your arm down a lace sleeve because it will rip and lace cannot easily be repaired without it being obvious! If you were to rip one sleeve, you might end up removing the sleeves if they could not be repaired to match and look right. 

This is not that much of an issue if you planned on removing the sleeves all along, but if the sleeves are one of the main reasons you are looking at vintage make sure your arms will fit. Most online sellers do not provide detailed arm measurements in regard to circumference unless you ask.

Vintage Runway - Etsy

Size - Shoulder to Waist to Hip Ratio:

Remember how I said earlier that women were much more petite 50 years ago? Well, overall length is not the only thing to consider. In fact, the shoulder to waist to hip ratio is much more important in terms of the DISTANCES between each of these areas on your body. Wedding dresses are fitted and they do not stretch. If the dress is not long enough from your shoulder, OVER YOUR BUST, to your navel, the dress will not fit. DO NOT FORGET THE BUST!

You will need to contact an online seller to ask how they measured the shoulder to waist measurement. If it was measured flat, then likely the bust will not be accounted for. Most wedding gowns will have "peaks" for the bust. You can get a better idea of how much volume the "peaks" will accommodate if you have the measurement of the dress just below the bust. This is of course much easier for a seller to measure if they have a mannequin or live model as well.

Now, hips! Most vintage gowns come in very small at the waist, then the skirting for the bottom starts just below that point. The idea behind this is that your hips will make the A-line flow outward (remember vintage gowns were worn with hoop skirts or crinolines underneath in most instances). If this is not accurately measured, the dress will be much shorter than you imagined. 

Farmstead Vintage - Etsy

Alteration Issues:

For obvious reasons, it is easier to take a dress in than it is to let one out. Since most vintage gowns are on the small side, it would probably be very obvious if expansion areas were added. This is not to say a skilled seamstress could not do an impeccable job. I would be more concerned about the vintage fabric not matching new fabric since vintage whites tend to yellow, darken, or take on a "tea stain" that cannot be exactly replicated. You can run into this issue if you have to make a dress longer as well.

If you need to alter a dress that has appliques, most likely they will need to be removed for alterations - then reattached. I have owned some vintage dresses in the past where appliques and features like rosettes or petals feel "crispy". I would not say they are brittle like old paper, they just felt like they could tear like paper if put under enough stresses. Vintage netting is also very susceptible to becoming brittle to the point where if you tug on it slightly, it will easily tear. Wedding dresses were not exactly preserved in the 50s and 60s like they are today. Usually they would be wrapped in tissue and stored in a cedar hope chest, left to hang inside a garment bag, or *shudder* put in a cardboard box and shoved into the attic or basement. Moisture and extreme heat can wreak havoc on fabrics and if you are dealing with an inexperienced vintage seller, they might not know what to look for in terms of fabric fragility.

Pattens Attic Treasure - Etsy

Condition Issues:

I have had to pass up many vintage wedding dresses over the years due to damage from improper storage. Metal clothes hangers should have never been invented for one. They will destroy an illusion neckline and will poke huge holes in the shoulders of lace sleeves. Then gravity takes over and the whole top of a vintage gown is ruined. Silks will get eaten by moths or other closet bugs - or they will get stuck and die on the fabric and leave a stain. Old underarm stains can also compositely ruin the top of a dress because you cannot wash it out so all you can do is cut it out or cover it up. Then you get into moldy mildew smells or cigarette smoke...

If a dress is terribly soiled, some fabrics are just too fragile to wash and they will come apart in the tub. I have had success washing lace...after it has been removed from a gown then sewn back on. Some gowns if they get wet, the base fabric will shrink up and pucker and ruin the gown.

Once you get into where you are going to have to have a seamstress or tailor basically take apart and remake the dress, you might be up to $500+ in alterations. Add this to whatever ht initial cost of the gown is and you might have been better off simply getting a vintage inspired dress.  

Dandelion Girl

Other Ideas:

I regularly find vintage wedding dresses at Goodwill, flea markets, vintage shops, and places like that. Usually, they have been worn and they have issues like stains, rips, holes, smells, and so on. BUT, this can be a positive for you! The image above is of a very popular Pinterest pin illustrating how you can sew vintage slips and negligees together to make a slip dress. You can do the exact same thing with pieces of various wedding dresses. It might make more sense for you to buy 2-3 dresses inexpensively and have a seamstress just make you a new dress. I mean really, if you buy one dress and have to have $500 put into it anyway, you might as well go custom and get the dress of your dreams! 

For example, I bought a 1980s lace dress at a yard sale for $4.00 last summer. The entire thing is made of layers, and layers, of white lace. The cathedral train on this thing is 8 FEET LONG. That is correct, it drags behind you for 8 FEET. Guessing from the amount of lace and detail, I would guess it cost $2,000 when it was new in the 1980s. Lace is just as expensive today as it was 25 years ago so why not use vintage to achieve the same look? 

You can also get a $15.00 veil from Hobby Lobby (located in the wedding aisle) and have someone sew vintage lace on the hem for a dramatic look. These cheap veils might be enticing - but they are almost always uneven and they have a "mosquito net" look. I took one out of the package one day and I found that you would also need to have them steamed and puffed up by a professional to make it look decent. However, you might save $25 or so on buying a cheap veil and having it altered to make it more fancy and presentable. 

Brilliant Bride - Etsy

You can also take lace or rosettes from a vintage dress and make your own garter quite easily. You can use vintage lace to make wraps for your bouquet and those for your bridesmaids. You can add lace, pearls, or beads to boutonnieres for a subtle sparkle on your grooms lapel. You can even make a Bohemian or hippie style headband from vintage appliques or lace. 

Love in a Mason Jar - Etsy

Do not stop there! If you find a vintage dress like mine with a mile of lace, you could easily deconstruct it and wrap at least 20 Mason jar center pieces with lace for your tables. You could tie it around silverware packets, candlestick holders, or even make bows for head chairs. 

You can even cover a pair of white Keds or Toms slip on shoes in vintage lace and pearls to make your own fancy ballet flats to wear after you walk down the aisle! I mean really, do you want to dance for 6 hours in heels? The possibilities are really endless!!!

The Verdict:

I really see nothing wrong at all with buying a vintage wedding dress! In fact, I totally encourage it especially if you are on a budget. My only suggestion is that if you are buying online, make sure they have a return policy. Since gown are made and altered to fit one person, you can run into so many problems regarding fit. BUT - if you find your dream dress and you cannot return it, have plan on what you can do with it in case it does not fit. You can resell the dress or deconstruct it and use it in a plethora of ways! Don't get discouraged! Give yourself ample time to find a dress that will likely fit you. I would suggest visiting a tailor you would probably already use and have them give you measurements so you know various sizes on your body for sure. If you are in close contact with a tailor, you can also ask them for their opinion on certain dresses before you buy so you will know if it can be altered to fit you or not.