Are sample gowns made as nicely as one that you would order in?

[merrymunky]

Silly question really but are sample gowns in bridal shops really as well made as the one that would be ordered in for you?

My dress is a sample dress and it certainly DOES look as well made as it would be if it were ordered in. I guess I worry about beads etc that may have been lost due to the dress having been tried on by so many other people before me. I came home with a bead stuck to me from the first trip when I bought the sample dress.

I know once it is pressed by the shop after the final fitting that it WILL look brand new.

But yeah, that''s my general enquiry.

Have you ever been put off buying a sample because of the amount of people that would have handled it before you and the potential loss of detail?

 

[ficklefaye]

my sister''s wedding dress was a sample and it was beautiful, she just had it pressed and it looked great

i didn''t buy the sample because the store i went to the samples are actually stamped SAMPLE... maybe they are afraid people will take it? i have no idea

 

[katamari]

I would guess that, yes, they are. These are the dresses the designers put out to encourage brides to buy them, so they have everything to gain and nothing to loose by making them as nice as possible. I think that any difference would come from wear and tear from trying the dresses on. When I was trying dresses on, it seemed like the lace or tulle dresses were generally more damaged, which makes sense because they are more delicate fabrics. I think as long as you examine them closely before you buy them, it shouldn''t be a problem.

I have heard about samples being produced and then the design changed somehow, but I don''t think that is what you are talking about.

 

[merrymunky]

^^

That''s interesting, because my dress is a lace up back, but on the Sincerity website and all promotional shots, the dress is button up.

 

[ficklefaye]

is it possible that some styles have different back options?

 

[emeraldlover1]

I didn''t see a difference in the sample versus my gown except for the customizations I had made. All of the dresses in teh salon I visited were ivory. I look better in white so I automatically needed something other than the sample. I also needed to order my dress to my height because the bottom can not be hemmed.

 

[Diamond Confused]

I would say just as nice. They want you to fall in love with it and so they will make it look perfect.

 

[ilovesparkles]

I would think they are certainly made just as well. However, I won''t buy one because of how many people have tried them on, sweated in them, gotten make up on them, etc. It kinda gives me the heebie-jeebies.

 

[Blair138]

Yes, but don''t worry about quality of the dress you would get in relation to the samples. TONS of people have tried that on and it has been man-handled quite a bit. The train on the sample of my dress had ripped and come unsewn but I had NO problems with my dress, not even when someone accidentally stepped on it!

 

[ChemGeek]

Just wanted to chime in and say that I bought a sample dress and am thrilled with it!! It''s a Reem Acra sample gown. Check out Your Dream Dress (she sells on eBay as well...where I got mine) The best part was that when I recieved it, I had 24 hours to look it over, inspect it, and think about whether I wanted to keep it or not. If it had gotten to me and I saw anything that wasn''t perfect, discolored, holes, tears, etc... etc... I would have sent it back, but it arrived and it was absolutely stunning! Also, she only sells high-end designer dresses, so I got a good deal on it, too! I would have NEVER been able to afford ordering it from some place at the full retail cost. I knew I wanted a designer gown, and a sample was the way to go for me. I''m guessing it came from a store like maybe Saks or something where it wasn''t tried on as much as it would have been if had come from David''s?? I obviously ended up keeping the dress and can''t wait to wear it! It is just absolute perfection. Reem might be my favorite bridal designer of all time!

I tried making a collage of the dress just to show it...these are from another website since I don''t actually have any pictures of the dress on me yet

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 7/28/2009 2:18:31 PM
Author: merrymunky
^^


That''s interesting, because my dress is a lace up back, but on the Sincerity website and all promotional shots, the dress is button up.

Sometimes things change about a design prior to the gown being released so either the samples or the promo shots look a little different than the ultimate gown that''s released. Happens all the time but I wouldn''t think it meant it was lower quality. Probably just a design change.

 

[musincy]

My dress was a sample, and it seemed to be the same quality as a non-sample dress. If you don''t care that other people have tried it on, then I think samples are the way to go. My dress would have cost me close to $1000 new, and I got it for $300. I felt beautiful in the dress, and got so many compliments. Nobody believed me when I told them the cost, and nobody guessed it was a sample!

 

[EricaR]

My dress was a sample, complete with missing beads. However, since I know how to sew, I used this to my advantage and negotiated an extra discount!

Full price of dress: $700. Sample was selling for $300. After a sad face or two and a discussion of how much time I''d have to put into fixing the beads and sewing down the buttons (some were loose) I walked away spending $150. Ten dollars in beads and two hours of sewing fixed everything else right up!

 

[Londongirl1]

Date: 8/24/2009 12:03:56 PM
Author: EricaR
My dress was a sample, complete with missing beads. However, since I know how to sew, I used this to my advantage and negotiated an extra discount!

Full price of dress: $700. Sample was selling for $300. After a sad face or two and a discussion of how much time I''d have to put into fixing the beads and sewing down the buttons (some were loose) I walked away spending $150. Ten dollars in beads and two hours of sewing fixed everything else right up!

Good on you

Wedding dresses are bloody expensive so if you can save money and no one knows it''s a sample then well done to you

 

[trinity911]

Merry, my dress was a sample vera wang as it was from a past season (but the only dress I ever really wanted!) When I got it from ''www.bridepower.com'', it was in perfect condition; in fact my seamstress said she loved it as it was like a new dress but hated it too cos it was so well made! She had to battle through 5 layers (and it was only a simple mermaid shape!) including 2 horsehair hems, two tulle layers and a silk lining! So, in short, yes, definitely samples are just like the ''real'' thing so just go ahead and enjoy yr dress knowing how much you saved!! (I saved £4,000 - no-one knew any better on the day!)