Buying dress sight unseen?

[anchor31]

First, I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart again for your caring support with the situation with my sister. Things are going great, she''s actually talking to our brother''s GF (she didn''t use to) and offered to take me to Ottawa and Quebec City to help me find my dream dress. Talk about a turn around!

Now to the dilemma of the day...

I found this dress from Bonny bridal in February.

Before that, I wanted this dress from Alfred Angelo (I tried it on and it looked stunning!), but we decide to tone our wedding down and changed our date, time of ceremony, reception venue and formality, so I was looking for something similar but simpler. When I found the Bonny dress, it was love at first sight. It’s The One. I HAVE to have it. I even based my new colour scheme around it.

Among the things I want to do before school starts again in September is order my dress. On Saturday, I called bridal boutiques to ask if they had a sample I could try on. No Bonny retailer in Montreal carries a sample of that dress! One lady told me she could order one for me, but I’d have to buy it. I want to try it on! They have this dress, which has different beading and colour inserts, but it’s pretty much the same cut, so I guess I could try it on to get my size.

I know the style suits me because the Alfred Angelo dress looked perfect on me. I can try a similar dress by Bonny to get my size. I’ve read so many great reviews about netbride to know I have nothing to worry about… And I know it’s The One. It’s perfect for me and our wedding. But I’m really, really nervous about buying my dress sight unseen.

Has anyone done this? Does anyone have any advice I could use?

 

[mercoledi]

I did this. I ordered a dress that wasn''t offically released yet, so no one had samples. I had tried on other gowns of similar materials and shapes by the same designer to get an idea of whether the cut and quality would be what I wanted. Due to a mis-communication about sizes I ended up having some pretty serious alterations, but all in all I think it went well. I''m not a sample size, so nothing was really very indicative of how a gown would look on me. I picked a shape that I know works for me, and had a bit of faith that it would all work out.

If you do decide to go this route, I would highly reccomend trying on the similar Bonny gown to be certain that the material feels ok/drapes well/ is opaque etc and to be sure that the Bonny version of a A-line is flattering on you. It''s amazing how differently a-line gowns can fit!

Good luck! I love your touches of color!

 

[labbielove]

First of all, I LOVE that dress!!

Secondly, I think you will be fine purchasing it sight unseen for a few reasons
1) it''s an a-line or similar skirt, generally flattering on most types of figures
2) it has a corset back (correct? or am I thinking of the #2 or 3 dress?) which is extremely forgiving, so even if the size was off, which is unlikely, there is lots of room to play
3) if you try a similar cut from the same manufacturer I think you will be fine.
4) the dress is a simple style which would make it fairly straightforward for a seamstress to alter

 

[anchor31]

Date: 5/21/2007 9:19:01 PM
Author: mercoledi
I did this. I ordered a dress that wasn''t offically released yet, so no one had samples. I had tried on other gowns of similar materials and shapes by the same designer to get an idea of whether the cut and quality would be what I wanted. Due to a mis-communication about sizes I ended up having some pretty serious alterations, but all in all I think it went well. I''m not a sample size, so nothing was really very indicative of how a gown would look on me. I picked a shape that I know works for me, and had a bit of faith that it would all work out.

If you do decide to go this route, I would highly reccomend trying on the similar Bonny gown to be certain that the material feels ok/drapes well/ is opaque etc and to be sure that the Bonny version of a A-line is flattering on you. It''s amazing how differently a-line gowns can fit!

Good luck! I love your touches of color!

Thanks for the insight. It''s comforting to know that someone else has done this. I will definitely try on the other Bonny dress!

 

[neatfreak]

I''ve done this, and I wouldn''t necessarily recommend it.

I ordered a dress sight unseen (and obviously not tried on) online. It was a style that looked like it would be really flattering, it was a very well known name brand, so I figured with a few alterations it would be perfect. THEN it arrived.

Didn''t fit my body AT ALL and unfortunately it was not returnable. Took it to a tailor but because of where it didn''t fit (baggy under the arms of all places) the alterations were tricky and thus expensive, so I decided not to risk it. Luckily I was able to turn it around and sell it on ebay and only took a $50 hit or so, but it was a PAIN.

Short of trying on the dress itself, I second the opinion of making sure that the fabric, drape, etc. is all what you want. Also do your best to get all the measurements possible, but if you''re working with a dress shop they should take care of it for you. Things look a lot different online/on a model than on a real body.

I hope you get the dress you love!!!

 

[anchor31]

Date: 5/21/2007 10:20:37 PM
Author: labbielove
First of all, I LOVE that dress!!

Secondly, I think you will be fine purchasing it sight unseen for a few reasons
1) it''s an a-line or similar skirt, generally flattering on most types of figures
2) it has a corset back (correct? or am I thinking of the #2 or 3 dress?) which is extremely forgiving, so even if the size was off, which is unlikely, there is lots of room to play
3) if you try a similar cut from the same manufacturer I think you will be fine.
4) the dress is a simple style which would make it fairly straightforward for a seamstress to alter

Thank you! I love it so much too! I never believed in love at first sight and I''m usually very indecisive, but since I''ve found this dress I just know.

Yes, it has a corset back, just like the Alfred Angelo I tried on. They have the same sizing charts and the AA in a size 6 looked perfect, just a foot too long...

It''s great that it has a plain shirt because it won''t break my heart to chop it off!

 

[anchor31]

Date: 5/22/2007 7:19:51 PM
Author: neatfreak
I''ve done this, and I wouldn''t necessarily recommend it.

I ordered a dress sight unseen (and obviously not tried on) online. It was a style that looked like it would be really flattering, it was a very well known name brand, so I figured with a few alterations it would be perfect. THEN it arrived.

Didn''t fit my body AT ALL and unfortunately it was not returnable. Took it to a tailor but because of where it didn''t fit (baggy under the arms of all places) the alterations were tricky and thus expensive, so I decided not to risk it. Luckily I was able to turn it around and sell it on ebay and only took a $50 hit or so, but it was a PAIN.

Short of trying on the dress itself, I second the opinion of making sure that the fabric, drape, etc. is all what you want. Also do your best to get all the measurements possible, but if you''re working with a dress shop they should take care of it for you. Things look a lot different online/on a model than on a real body.

I hope you get the dress you love!!!

Thanks for your insight and warning! I''ll do my homework.

 

[allycat0303]

Hey Anchor,

The dress is very, very you. Simple, sweet, and it will fit your body perfectly. Just enough for a little drama. Are you going to order it after all?

 

[anchor31]

Ally, you''re really sweet. I never believed in love at first sight and never had a "this is IT" moment when I tried some dresses on (although I really liked some), but when I saw this one...

I called Bonny, and they have a program called Borrow a Bonny. For a 50$ fee, the store can "borrow" a dress and have it brought in so I can try it on. I printed off the FAQ page from their website for reference and I''ll go to the store the weekend after next to ask. The dress will cost me 375$ + 40$ shipping through netbride, so paying an extra 50$ to try it on (and take pics!) doesn''t really bother me.