Comments on: The ethics of a cheap off-shore wedding dress

By: sad affair

sad affair — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 18:02:24 +0000

Well you can have bad experiences here in the states, too, with similar shops. I am one of those financially challenged brides and went with a group in La Puente, CA called Mrs. Moran's Bridal and got a disaster for a dress… doesn't even come close to fitting, not to mention 30% of the detail is missing and I lost $370 in the process. The wedding is in a week and I am left to wear a 10 year old party dress. Stay with a seamstress in your hometown and get to know them. You'll be glad you did and can save yourself lots of aggrevation, too. Better safe then sorry!

By: Sara

Sara — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 05:03:12 +0000

The way I see it… I am only going to wear that dress one day. If my dress is $5000, I am soooooo going to resell it lol. Often the only thing a person pays for is a tag (obviously) and is THAT morally correct? If a shop in china can sell the same dress for $88 and still make a profit, who is taking from who?

Its sort of like going to see a cover band. You can pay $5 to see a cover band playing AC/DC at joes bar and they might absolutley fit the bill. Just like the real thing. Someone else owns the songs but they are free to sing them. Its not the same as seeing angus in the flesh, but if you enjoy it who cares. Do you really think AC/DC is going to notice you werent at the concert? On the other hand if you want to see an indie band… someone local… something truley unique… there ultimatley is no cheap knock off. But you can just about bet yer boots, the indie band is not going to cost ya what a typical mainstream concert ticket would…

By: Nanakaveri

Nanakaveri — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:01:51 +0000

My two cents:
When it comes to cloth design or making movies or music, I think all there is has been done already. Creative people steal ideas from each other all the time: this is a known fact. I myself write books, and most of my ideas are recreations of things that have happened a million times in other books. What makes mine unique in this light? I do a great amount of work to come up with a plot, gather the little pieces into one whole picture and then write it down, but deep down I know: Someone else has already done those pieces, and now I'm just putting them in this picture in different order and they get different meanings. To me it seems creativity is just skill to copy others in a new way.

I'm rather poor. I study while I write. I live in a country where it's impossible to even become the cleaning lady without a degree, so this is my only option. I get some support money, but I cannot afford buy all the music, designer clothes or decoration for my rented flat. In this light I hope you have understanding when I copy music from my friend's computer, buy clothes resembling designer clothes from supermarket and let my mother get me a copycat vase. I wish myself and my home to look decent. If I too had money pouring out of my ears, I'd pay the musicians extra, I'd never buy from anyone else besides the designers, and IKEA would never see me again.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 03:25:08 +0000

If a knock off wedding dress was all you could afford, you wouldn't feel guilty….putting myself through school is a little more important than supporting designers by purchasing a couple thousand dollar dress!

By: Chayla

Chayla — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:06:53 +0000

I didn't pay a lot for my dress, probably about the equivalent of $40 here, so I didnt just accidentally stumble into a nice tailors by accident. We went to several different custom clothing stores whilst there and all were the same. Sewing is a very important occupation in China and even though alot of people are factory workers there, being a seamstress is also a very important profession. I felt good that I got quality for money, a custom dress, high quality fabrics, and also a good feeling about who and where my money was going. I think people assume too mcuh that china made = sweat shop, child labour or machine made, when really there are people there, doing this to make a living, and making their money go a long way.

By: Chayla

Chayla — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:06:22 +0000

I have to say that not everything is made is sweatshops. I went to Hong Kong last year with my dad, as well as southern china and we had several dress/suits made for us whilst there. We spoke to the people who owned these stores, learnt about their family and how far our money went with them, such as one father and daughter couple whos income supported an almost entire village of their extended family. They also told me that they traded online through ebay incase i wanted more things made once i returned home. I had my graduation ball gown made in under a day there by very happy girls. I know some of you will say that I only saw the happy rainbow side of the store, but I actually asked to have a tour of their work space, to see if it was really a 'sweat shop'. This is a tip I would give for anyone visiting China, if someone will not show you where they work, do not give them your money! Another thing, foreigners are incrediably inimidating to chinese people, they are extremely eager to please you. The few companies that will rip you off are most likiely not even from china, but a western website design to collect to money from you and then disappear.

By: Top 10 Hollywood Gowns That Would Make Lovely Bridesmaid Dresses

Top 10 Hollywood Gowns That Would Make Lovely Bridesmaid Dresses — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:22:51 +0000

[...] Offbeat Bride | The ethics of a cheap off-shore wedding dress [...]

By: missie

missie — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:19:00 +0000

i think that Frustrated Bride makes such a great point. offshore traders aren't always the enemies. when planning my own wedding, i found that getting the help you NEED and WANT was of coincident importance as the budget. there should be no judgement directed at individual choice. we each of us have to deal with the consequences of our own decisions,and that should be enough.

By: Frustrated Bride

Frustrated Bride — Thu, 07 May 2009 04:14:02 +0000

I'm trying to stick to a pretty small budget. I talked to a relatively local designer and it would have been over $1000. Basically the same cost as the Maggie Sottero dress I was looking at. The bridal shops I went to had all these white dresses that I wasn't interested in. Pardon me for wanting something with color and a train. I thought about making a dress myself, but decided that was not the best idea since I haven't done much besides hem pants. I didn't want to risk spending hundreds and dye a dress to have it not work out. I found a shop online where I could buy the dress I wanted, made to my measurements, for around $200! I was never going to buy the expensive designer dress, so I'm not taking away a sale from them (I'd wear a prom dress before that). The bridal shops didn't have what I wanted and many treated me horribly (and most wouldn't have been able to meet my 4 month deadline), so I wasn't going to buy from there either.
Many of you who posted think I'm doing something wrong. I'm not stealing from anyone. I'm buying a dress that's made to be my size in the color I want, and it can be made and shipped faster than if I bought from a bridal store. I couldn't get what I wanted locally so I bought from somewhere that I could.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:06:02 +0000

Don't generalise. I had my dress made in Thailand, and I didn't not "send off" for it. I'd lived there fore many years, went on a trip two winters ago with my fiance, and happened upon a seamstress. She had a tiny little showroom in the basement/food court area of the shopping/office complex attached to our condo.

I was not even intending to look for wedding dresses at the time (was thinking of some other fancy Thai tailor), but the design caught my eye. It was the cut and the flow of the dress seated on a fabric bust in front of her tiny showroom that contained two racks of casual and special even gowns. It wasn't even finished, just pinned together, but I could see her artistic talent in that piece. I asked her about it, and we ended up sitting down talking about fabrics and final cuts. We talked for about 30 minutes and negotiated a price.

It ended up costing about $750 for a BEAUTIFUL dress made head to toe of Alençon lace, with a ruched soft chiffon band on the lower waist, hand-beading over the lace on the bodice, and a lace-up back with darling little cord loops for the cord to go through. I could not be happier. And I was even more amazed that she managed to finish it in 2 weeks, as we were only staying for 3, and I hadn't discovered her until the end of my first week there. In that time I'd gone in for 2 fittings.

The little details make all the difference. The lining is the softest, most comfortable satin I'd ever felt, and all the seams and edges are finished to lay down flat and not scrape at or "print" me under the dress. The bodice has structure so that I don't have to wear a bra, but I hardly feel it, as it doesn't feel like boning, and I can move and dance easily.

If I'd opted for a cheaper but still elegant fabric – just chiffon instead of Alençon lace, for example – I probably could have gotten it for $100-$200. It probably would have cost that much if I'd ordered it online too, plus the shipping and insurance, but it doesn't mean it was made with poor or sweatshop labour. I am very happy with my elegant indie designer dress that fits like a glove and would have been worth $6000 with all little hand-sewn details and touches. No sweat shop labour here, just fabulous work from a fabulous designer!