Dear Dress: You’re MINE
How much do I love this vintage, tea-length wedding dress that sold almost eight months ago on Etsy? Too much. The first dress that has had my heart all aflutter so far. I have a slight, unhealthy obsession for it…and the body that is required to wear it. I found it on OneWed.
Although I can’t have this particular dress…I know, I wiped away a small tear…I definitely have a style that I want now…lucky for me, I’ve found a number of similar dresses for c-h-e-a-p online. I haven’t decided yet if I’m open to buying online…probably not. Of course, the recent wedding dress obsession is only to distract me from the fact that we haven’t yet picked a venue and we’re past our one-year-away-deadline.
I’m all: “Ooh, pretty! Shiny! Distracting!” But that’s okay, right?
Really, I said all that to ask you this:
Did you buy your wedding dress online or know someone who did?
Good/atrocious experience?
Thanks for all of your wedding advice lately, really.
Our $10,000 Windy City Wedding 
That dress is so feminine and flirty. LOVE!!
Thanks!
I bought mine NWT off Craigslist for a cheapy-cheap $100, but I tried the dress on beforehand and knew which size would work. The only con was that the seller wadded up the dress and shipped it into a shoebox. Which was strange, but whateva because she gave me free shipping.
However, I do know people who have purchased completely random wedding dresses online sans horror stories. Check out OnceWed.com because they usually give measurements (and if you’re working via Etsy, they’re pretty good with measurements, too).
Just check out the return policy & all that good shiz before you dive into anything. Or you could always resell if you get it and are hating on it.
Thanks so much for sharing, and $100! $&@*!&@% That’s what I have to say to that!!
Measurements just sound awful to me…I don’t want to take mine at all right now after sitting on my tush for a week and a half with strep, haha. But great advice, thanks!
holey.moley. that dress is flippin gorgeous! I bought my dress in person but i’m sure many people have had good experiences online! and i’m just going to repeat what hollie said, double check the return policy!
It’s HAUNTING me, Lisa! I think it’ll be impossible to know what kind of dress I want until I just suck it up and go try some on anyways, you know? Mermaid style = pretty, but out for me, haha…for example.
Pretty! I actually wish I DIDN’T know what kind of dress I want. It would make finding a dress that made me happy a LOT easier.
BTW — why do people buy structured, heavy wedding gowns for summer weddings? I tried one of those on the other day and holy moley I felt like I was going to suffocate I was so hot.
I agree! I’m all closed-minded and prejudicial to the rest of the wedding dresses…aww…I AGREE! I helped my mom into her wedding dress a few years ago and it took two of us just to LIFT the fabric of the dress over her head! Nuts!
i saw my dress in a store, never tried it on and ordered in my size. i was willing to take that risk because i didn’t have many options at the time.
and lizzie, you must wear that dress. and twirl the night away. TWIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TWIRL, I WILL ANGIE! Haha. I plan to bust out my feminine side in full swing that night. Risky lady, but your dress is flipping amazing! You lucked out, eh?!
i’ve heard good things all over about wedding dresses online. (and THAT really is a gorgeous dress- can’t wait to see yours)
(and don’t let the venue bog you down. we found ours… 3? months before the wedding? but you know i damn well had my shoes and lipstick already bought by then.)
You are awesome for way more reasons than this…but this is adding. I love that you found your venue three months before. My pickiness is dwindling and I’m not freaking out as much as long as there’s room for everyone, haha.
Thanks so much, I really love the dress!
Hey Lizzie! You may have read on my blog that I ordered my dress online from a 1950’s vintage designer who specializes in short dresses like the one above. Going the online shopping route definitely causes anxiety, but the thing to look out for is the return policy and customer service of online vendors. This is key.
I got my gown from Dolly Couture and they are FABULOUS. They accept returns on gowns that you order from their collection. If you order a dress with custom measurements, or if you design your own gown like I did, you can’t make a return BUT you can send it back if there’s anything you want them to change. They will fix the problem (or make you a new dress, which is what happened to me), often times at no extra charge! Trust me, I was one of those CRAZY, indecisive, detail-oriented brides and walked away totally in love with my gown despite all the kinks of buying online.
Here’s the website: http://dollycouture.com/. If you friend “Dolly Thicke” on Facebook you can flip through a whole bunch of real brides in her designs, which is nice because then you can find women who match your body type and see how they look in certain designs. (Cuz ya know, how it looks on the model is never quite how it ends up looking on me!) You can also interact with the designer/ owner herself, as well as her other customers on there.
Good luck!
Thanks SO much Kim, I checked out Dolly and loved their styles as well! Your dress was beautiful, so I know they do great work! Thanks for the tip!
Oh I love this style too – this dress is awesome!!
Def got to be doing some twirling in a dress like this, maybe a first dance routine?
Thanks so much! I can only hope it’ll be twirl-able. 🙂
I bought my dress from a salon but this dress is so unbelievably beautiful! I would twirl all day in it.
Yes, agreed. There will be twirling!
Ooh la la! Gorgeous!
Oui!
Love, love that dress. That style just gets me every time. I also firmly do not believe it’s a body type specific style either–I mean, that hem length is pretty difficult depending on height, but style in general, no. It’s all about the fit.
Thanks! I hope you’re right, I found out the Etsy seller who made the dress can TOTALLY make it custom! LOVE the idea!
LOVE this dress too!
I love this dress, and I love Etsy. However, I don’t really like the idea of a short wedding dress. It can look totally cute, and I am not against it, but it’s just not for me. It’s a really cute dress though.