Shopping for a wedding dress can be exciting and a bit overwhelming if you’re on a tight budget. While it can be an anticipated part of the wedding planning process, for me it was frustrating.
When I was planning my wedding, I was on a tight budget and very anxious about saving money where I could. For that reason, I looked for frugal alternatives in every category possible. That being said, I’m very excited to share my Dressilyme review with you!
One of the best books I have read about planning a wedding has been Bridal Bargains. It’s a no nonsense guide to planning a wedding. As I was out dress shopping, I gave this book a read and it really helped reframe my thinking as I found a wedding dress.
When I was wedding dress shopping, I visited a well known bridal dress chain. During my visit, I had a really awkward experience. While I understand the salespeople work on commission, I felt very pressured to put in my contact information, and had been warned ahead of time of their marketing tactics.
I wanted to shop some of the cheaper dresses, but was directed to look at the regular merchandise first. I was really frustrated to realize that the dresses I was being shown were all well over $900. For that price, I wasn’t impressed with any sort of “superior” materials or craftsmanship.
During my visit, I tried on several dresses with one of their employees. What really irked me, was the usage of the word “custom” that the salesclerk kept throwing around. “Custom” was used to describe a dress that was going to be ordered for me, but not be custom at all.
I was told, that after up to six months of waiting, my dress would still show up in a “off the rack size.” So, my “custom” dress would still need $400 in alterations. That’s not custom.
To top it off, several the sales people kept bringing up my mother, whom had recently passed away. At first, I mentioned she wouldn’t be involved, then by the third time it happened, I simply said she was out of state. The fact it kept coming up felt really phony and made me uneasy.
To save money, you absolutely can shop sales and clearance racks at the chain bridal stores. That being said, even if I had shopped a sale, I found my whole experience to be uncomfortable. After my first visit, I decided I wouldn’t be back. Between the price tag and constant questions about my mom and bridesmaid also needing dresses, I felt exceptionally uncomfortable.
Depending on where you shop for a wedding dress, you may experience some frustrating sales tactics like I did. Brides on the message boards I frequented were vocal about slimy tactics and grey areas when ordering a dress.
Fortunately, knowing this, you can skip the slimey salesmen and take a chance on buying your dress directly. No matter what you decide, make the best choice for you.
In Bridal Bargains, there’s a full chapter dedicated to side-stepping pressure tactics while dress shopping. In it, they mentioned online vendors to buy your wedding gown direct from China. For some brides, this is a route to get a wedding dress directly from the manufacturers.
One website they recommended was Dressilyme. Intrigued and scared by my experience at the chain store, I started to do my due diligence to give Dressilyme a fair review.
In my research to put together an honest dressilyme review, I read a fair share of horror stories. But for every upset bride on WeddingBee, that there were plenty of brides who were thrilled with what they purchased. Here’s the kicker- they were getting dresses direct from China for $200 as opposed to $900+….cha-ching!
After reading a variety of posts on various wedding forums, the jury was still out for me. I wanted to give dressilyme a review for myself and after my experience at the big chain store, I was open to ideas.
So- I started browsing on Dressilyme.com and found some gorgeous dresses in a variety of price points, but many were around $200 and totally beautiful. I was curious if the dress I’d get would look like the dress photo on the website (which was one of the biggest complaints I heard brides vent about when ordering a dress on a website and not in-person).
I pitched Dressilyme for a wedding dress review, placed my order, and waited a whopping three weeks to get my dress. Yes, three weeks. Not six months… I digress.
Your dresses can be rushed to arrive in a month, not 6 months like with many retailers. So, if there is and issue (like weight loss or gain, or who knows what else) you have time to reassess your dress.
The dress was custom fitted, saving me $200-400 in even basic alterations (like the length and the sleeves were too big on all the dresses I tried on locally). My dress arrived in a few weeks, jammed into a tiny box, but don’t let the lackluster packaging fool you.
Despite the menacing look of this bride, it was a helpful measurement guide provided by the company.
It arrived quickly, and was made to my measurements, so unlike the retail chain- it truly was custom. I would highly recommend a friend helps you with your measurements. After sending in my specifications, my contact at Dressilyme asked me to check once again. Turns out, I had made a mistake in measuring my shoulders and she caught it. We made adjustments, and my dress was off to be produced.
*Unfortunately this dress is no longer available, but here’s a similar one.
After a few weeks of waiting, my dress arrived via DHL. The box was taped up completely, and you’d be surprised a full wedding gown fit inside! The dress came inside out and bagged thoroughly, so there was no damage from being shipped in a box. Yes, with a bit of steaming, the dress looked great!
Before I even tried it on, I inspected the stitching. My aunt is quite the seamstress and also took a look. Overall, we were very happy with the quality of the work put into this dress. Not only did it fit perfectly, but the stitching was solid.
Source: Brides.com
I will say though, one of my only complaints about the dress is that I wasn’t in love with the lace that was chosen. I am very picky about materials, and while the inside of the dress felt good (satin, no pokey stitching) the outside of the dress was not the type of lace I would have chosen had I gotten a better look at it.
I am very, very picky about fabrics. I wasn’t in love with this lace, and I wish I would have picked an off-white instead of a pure white. I believe you can message the site and ask for swatches to be photographed and emailed over, so if I were to do this over, I absolutely recommend you familiarize yourself with what materials are available.
If possible, spend some time getting familiar with wedding dress fabrics such as tulle, taffeta, organza, satin and chiffon. You’ll also want to see wedding dresses in person so you really know what shade of white suits your wedding. Are you really certain you want a blindly white dress? Maybe an eggshell or even a blush?
So, if you’d like to give Dressilyme.com a try for your wedding dress, please use my affiliate link!
1) Bridal Bargains 2) Tailor Measuring Tape 3) A Practical Wedding 4) The Budget-Savvy Wedding Planner & Organizer (written by my dear friend Jessica over at The Budget Savvy Bride) 5) Handheld Clothing Steamer 6) Body and Apparel Tape
UPDATE: Unfortunately, I don’t have pictures of me in the dress. I had taken a few mirror selfies in it when it arrived, and it fit like a glove. As most of my readers know, I called the wedding off, so I don’t have the happy update with pictures as I’d hoped.
While I’m very happy I didn’t walk down the aisle, I’m very sad I don’t have pictures to share with you so you could see just how it fit. In the end, it was personal and painful to have the photos of the dress, so I deleted them, and the dress was donated to charity. Not a happily ever after, but it’s what happened to the dress.
My friend Erica though- did get a similar dress from Dressilyme based on my recommendation and she has better photos of her dress! Congrats Erica!
Further Reading and Helpful Links:
That’s a gorgeous dress! I’m nowhere near ready to get married (not even a fiancé or boyfriend on the horizon), but I’m going to need to Pin this for the future, should that actually come. 🙂
totally! I hope it’s a good resource for you!
Shannyn your dress is beautiful, I feel pretty confident about ordering from dressilyme after watching yours and a couple other videos where they actually show the dress. but my problem right now is the ip adress for the website has changed a few time…. see the dressilyme.com website is having trouble and has a lawsuit disclaimer when you go on it and cant do anything on the website. Than there is a website called m.dressilyme.us which now isnt working and finally the one that works now is dressilyme.net I want to make sure I am ordering from the correct company and that these websites are not scams. I wanted to ask you what was the exact web adress that you used. and if you think that the ones i am looking at are the same company?
Hi elvi,
Sorry to butt in, but I think you’re right to wonder what’s going on if their IP address is changing! Maybe contact them directly to hear their own explanation?
I will however say that I am going to be a bridesmaid in June and the bride ordered 5 custom bridesmaid dresses in early Jan from the normal dressilyme.com website which we received 2 weeks ago. The dresses were the cheapest ones on the site, yet still look beautiful and from what I have seen they all fitted well. HOWEVER, they all say “Ada’s Bridal” inside which we thought was odd but we assumed dressilyme must have outsourced some of the production being busy ahead of Chinese New Year…. Maybe they are re-branding? This is now 11 dresses I have been involved in coming from dressilyme (2 of which were wedding dresses I wore on my wedding day) and I would say all have been absolutely amazing for the money paid, so if you can figure out what’s going on – go for it!!
Hy girls, I want buy a wedding dress of dressilyme, but I dont know if is good new Ip , dressilyme.net, I dont want make a stake. If somebody can help my with this. … thank!
That dress is gorgeous! I’m glad you had a good experience with buying your dress online! I did the dress-shopping thing several months ago and could not fathom paying $1k for just the dress, another few hundred for alterations, veil, pretty rhinestone waistband… Seriously, the list goes on!
Yes, all the dresses I tried on were “meh,” and the alterations were astronomical for dresses that pretty much “almost” fit but still had tons of little things to fix since they weren’t custom-sized… thanks for commenting!
I did NOT have unlimited funds for my wedding, so I was on a tight budget as well, but I have to admit, I really felt funny about ordering a dress from China, especially because they’re pretty open about the fact that they lift some of the designs from legitimate designers. Something about this did not ethically sit right with me, and I ended up finding a beautiful dress in my price range that made me look like a supermodel from a place in Charlotte. I’m glad it worked out well for you, but this practice really was not the right one for me.
Hi Cheri!
First off, thanks for commenting and sharing your perspective. To address your points, there are ebay sellers who legitimately steal designer dress photos and then rip off the entire dress…which includes misleading pictures with misleading watermarks from the brands they stole from.
In my experience at the chain bridal stores, all of them borrow ideas or flat out copy designer gowns. I was told “this dress is exactly like X brand that you’ll pay $3000 for elsewhere.”
In the normal market, chain stores borrow trend ideas and styles from the big guys all the time in order to make it affordable for the mass market. They don’t steal pictures, they just manufacture and photograph it themselves with some differences to get the cost down…which is what Dressilyme.com does. They find dress styles that are on-trend and then manufacture and photograph it themselves, so it’s their dresses.
I think that, right there- is exactly what the major chains and less expensive manufacturers do as well…get inspiration from the runway shows or trendy dresses (like Kate Middleton’s famous designer gown from Alexander McQueen, I have seen dozens of impersonations of it.
That’s how fashion works… major retailers make their own versions of designer trends…but there is a HUGE difference between that and stealing pictures from designers websites or trying to market themselves as a “so and so knockoff.”
I have even heard of bridal boutiques buying from sites like this but marking it up a few hundred bucks…so I’m not sure it’s so cut and dry and I see it as removing the middle man, as long as it’s done from a site that doesn’t profit off ripping other people’s designs completely off…ya know?
Again, I totally hear where you’re coming from and just wanted to respond with my thoughts 🙂
I so appreciate you responding.
Actually, when I was shopping for my wedding dress, I first started on Etsy, and had an experience where a Chinese vendor had stolen pictures from Inbal Dror’s website (she is an incredible Israli designer, but her dresses retail for like 10k) and she was representing the work as her own. I really thought about it, and I thought about it, but I ended up dropping a little more money (still within my range) for a dress that made me look like a supermodel in the end 🙂
I definitely understand the motivation to check some of these vendors out, but in the end, I don’t think it was right for me, and I was legitimately concerned about getting a crappy dress in the mail and then being out a few hundred bucks. I’m really glad it worked out for you though, and I hope your wedding day turns out well!
Where in Charlotte? I live in Raleigh and I am contemplating Chinese knockoffs but want to explore other feasible options too!
Oh my, you are brave!!! And it looks like it paid off 🙂 David’s Bridal also has many dresses under $500 and there is always some supposed “sale” going on.
Hi Brittany, maybe I had the worst luck, but not one dress I found was under $500 and I was feeling a lot of pressure to “BUY NOW,” since it would take 6-8 months to get my dress plus alterations….. so I decided to try something else 🙂
thanks for commenting!
It looks beautiful! That is awesome. I bought my dress as a sample and it was STILL $950!
Good luck!!
Thanks so much for the review. I’ve been planning to get my dress from one of these sites, too, and the one I’ve pinned a dozen times is on this site.
I can’t wait to see you in the dress!
Aww thanks so much Wendy!
I love it! It’s so pretty. What a great deal too 🙂
I JUST started reading Bridal Bargains and I love it so far! Reading about all the ways bridal shops can screw you over really makes me want to just forgo the shop altogether and buy online! This post is definitely what I needed to read.
Hello,
I found your video and post to be very helpful. I took the plunge and purchased my dress from Dressilyme. Initially, they were really good with responding right away, but once I paid, they went silent. I am having a bit of a panic, that I may have been scammed. Granted, it has only been a few days. But, typically, they’re super good with responding, that I am shocked it’s been so silent on their end, as I had some follow-up questions.
What was your experience, during the ordering phase?
Thanks in advance!
Hi, Shannyn ! I really enjoyed your video online and your dress came out beautifully and I was quite surprised the quality came out as well as it did. But I’m so happy for you that it did because ordering anything online, especially a weddng dress is so risky! But i have gone back and forth about this site. Its so alluring to all brides bc I have drooled over the name brand wedding gowns but freaked over the sky high prices so to see your dream gown on this site but thousands of dollars cheaper it catches your attention. So I’m dying to know what your entire process was like once you ordered your gown, any hassles, or worries, was it easy to contact and follow up on? I’m thinking about taking the plunge, so reassurance would be pretty awesome. I’d love to hear from you soon! I love your site btw 😉 thanks!
Thanks so much for sharing your dress! I found it all very helpful!
I have recently (just this week actually) ordered my dress from Dressilyme also. The sales lady Ana was more than accommodating with all of my requests for alterations, and she spoke English almost flawlessly. She also sent me a photo of the fabric to be used when I requested it and I am hoping, praying, and crossing my fingers that my dress will turn out as good as yours!
Did you get your dress? Can you post pics? 🙂
So glad that you had a great experience with dressilyme.com! I have been watching this site for a long time now and have noticed that they do delete bad reviews, but the majority of the reviews on their site with pictures seem like they are well made- especially for the price! Also, for those consideeing a lace dress – they have recently added more types of lace to choose from- so make sure you ask about your options and for pictures before ordering or it’s luck of the draw what you will get! You can also add beading to any dress without it for $40! What a steal! When is your wedding? Can’t wait to see pics of you in your dress!
Sarah
Hi! I just bought my wedding dress there today! Cost me under $200 including shipping cause they have a $10 cupon for all purchases over $200. I am so excited to get it! I didn’t buy a rush fee, so I don’t know how long it will take until it gets here.
I got this one https://www.dressilyme.com/p-elegant-tulle-v-neck-neckline-natural-waistline-a-line-wedding-dress-with-embroidery-beadings-52875.html and I really hope it is as great as it looks… I hope the tuille is really soft!
Thank you for reassuring me with this article, as I’ve been a little weary all day, wondering if I did the right thing. =)
You’re welcome! I hope it turns out perfectly for you.
Hi Shannyn,
whiles researching online on where to buy my wedding dress, I came across your blog and saw your review for dressilyme. After watching a few more, I finally decided to order my wedding dress from them. I did this on 12th Jan, on the 15th Jan I wanted to ask them if they can change my order to custom made, this was no problem, on the 16th, Jenny from their customer service took care of the situation and told them to to stop making my dress until I provided my measurements. On 18th Jan I finally sent them my measurements, it got confirmed to me on 19th Jan. Then I had to make an additional payment of 14,99$ for each dress (I ordered 2) so they sent me a payment request, which I payed on the 21st of Jan. After I got the confirmation that they received everything, I decided to ask how long it will now take, she said that my order is being processed for 8 days and it will take them another 12-17 days to finish it before shipping.
Suprisingly my dresses were brought to my door step on 6th Feb at 12:00 noon and both were perfect, I had absolutely nothing to complain.
All my friends tried to talk me out of it because they do not trust this whole China industry thing, but I secretly did it without their knowledge, I just had a good gut feeling. Now I am really proud of myself because they would never believe these dresses are from China. Here in Germany, it would have cost me a fortune.
So thanks again for your honest review, it really really helped me.
Thank you for sharing your experience here, Amanda! I’m really glad everything worked out well with your order!
Omg Randi K! You ordered my #2 dress the day after I ordered this one: https://www.dressilyme.com/p-glamorous-tulle-jewel-neckline-natural-waistline-ball-gown-wedding-dress-with-beaded-lace-appliques-51634.html Please let us know how it turns out! Fingers Xed we both get what we hope for!
Yes! I am so excited! So far the communiction has been great! The Chinese New Year celebration (which lasts for 20 days or so) will delay the dress a bit, but that won’t be a problem for me. When is your special day? Ours is 15th May 2015 <3
Not before 1st August, so I also have time in theory but cannot wait to see the dress! I got a different back to the original so I am super nervous about how it will turn out…
Next concern is whether we get whacked with a customs fee I guess (I am based in the UK) as think that can easily add an extra cost we were not expecting… https://www.dutycalculator.com supposedly gives you an idea what you should budget for just in case – so worth keeping that in mind before spending the whole dress budget on the dress+shipping…!
Thanks again to Shannyn for such a reassuring review – let’s hope we are all as lucky as she was!
Rebecca: You know, you can write them (in messages) on your profile and ask if the can mark the package and invoice a specific value for the dress. No problem at all! So I’m not concearned about that… =)
Here in Norway the limit is 30GBP including shipping.
Yes, Shannon, thank you! X-ing my fingers it’s a great dress! I must say I’m a little concearned about the back and waist with all the intricate beading and lace… I hope it turns out great!! 1. August, so you still have time to get a tailor to fix a little here and there if it shouldn’t be fitted enough… =)
Thank you so much for making me feel safe about ordering from https://www.dressilyme.com/. I am getting married on July 11, 2015 and have been dress shopping and on a very tight budget (only spending $300 on a dress) I haven’t loved any of the dresses at Davids Bridal or local stores. But i did find one on the site that I am in LOVE with. But asking around on forums and people say don’t trust China sites, its a rip off, etc. You have calmed my nerves and i am ready to take the plunge. I can’t wait. Do you have any advance? Would you suggest I pay for the rush shipping?
Yay for taking a leap of faith in those talented dress makers!
I ordered from there as well. After about one hundred emails I designed my dress myself and I cried when I got it. I haven’t ever seen anything more beautiful. And honestly, after trying on $4k dresses at the bridal boutique, I cannot tell the difference between the quality. It is THAT excellent. I will post a blog with photos after my wedding, as I am afraid my fiance will somehow see it.
Hi, just wondering if you had let them know you were going to do a review for them before ordering the dress. I just ordered two wedding dresses there because I was going to do two ceremonies.
One of the dresses was made lopsided. One breast pad was a size D, one a size B. When I took a picture of it on and emailed them, they said it was because my breasts are different sized, when it was clearly that they used different sized pads. The ribbing on one side had protruded out of the dress and they blamed that on shipping.
The other dress had a big red stain on it, the butt portion had been sewn so bad that it came out to an angle! It looked like i was hiding a sharpened pencil in my butt and it was poking straight out! I wish I could post pictures to show you. I am not trying to discount your experience. I’m sure it was good but my experience was absolutely terrible!
Hi again!
Just wanted to let you all know I received the dressilyme dress discussed above today – and it’s absolutely beautiful. I had really thrown them a challenge by asking for the front of one dress and the back from another, but they did a splendid job. All I would say is the dress is a tiny bit bigger than it needed to be, but this can be easily altered. The zipper at the back was also not perfectly concealed at the top, but this will be fixed when the dress is tailored.
The dress was shipped with FedEx Friday and arrived in London today, Monday, so it’s been very quick (maybe special for Chinese New Year as I did not pay for expedited shipping). I also did not need to pay for customs clearance (at least not yet!). Could not be happier!
TAMMY: I have not mentioned that I would write a review. I did however say I need to order bridesmaid dresses and asked them to include fabric samples (which I had to pay for) in my dress package. I will not hesitate to order the bridesmaids dresses from them after this wedding dress experience, but I note the colour swatches are a bit lighter than they appear on the website.
Randi K: saa morsomt at du ogsaa er norsk!!! Lykke til med kjolen!
Thanks for replying, Rebecca. Have you taken it to a tailor yet? I actually thought the dresses were fantastic in terms of the material quality and how they looked. I just thought they were a bit big (they made it about 4 sizes too big despite me paying extra and sending them my measurements). It was when I took the dresses to the tailor when I realized that the dresses were asymmetrical and poorly made. My tailor said it would cost more to alter the dresses than the dresses actually cost because she would need to take the whole thing apart and recut to make it symmetrical.
I’m not trying to undermine your experience. It could very well be much better than mine but I just wanted to warn people about this website and their clothing. Please double check with a tailor before you get your bridesmaid dresses. They hide their mistakes really well to untrained eyes!
Hi Tammy,
Terrible! 4 sizes too big?? Did you complain to dressilyme and write a bad review on somewhere like trustpilot? This seems to be the way to get Chinese dress companies to react from what I have read from others.
You’ve just persuaded me to get it into the tailor earlier than I’d perhaps planned. I definitely think mine will be fine though. I could actually wear it as is (crisscross back straps were perfectly symmetrical for example), so I am just talking about taking in some parts around the zipper at the back to tailor it, the sort of dress-fitting you’d do with any dress you bought locally as well. Frankly I think I wouldn’t make a big fuss if there is a slight asymmetry in the pattern somewhere, I highly doubt ANY of my guests have “trained eyes” so that they will spot any small mistakes that I/my bridesmaid did not see when we had the dress out on the table as well as trying it on. The way I see it is I spent £200 on a dress when my favorite option locally was £2200. Even if I have to spend £200 tailoring it I am still getting a bargain!
One tip I would give to someone thinking of ordering from dressilyme is to look for a dress design that’s forgiving in the sense that there’s not a lot of symmetric decoration, and one where if you needed to make adjustments (remember you can also lose/gain weight before the wedding even if the dress fits when you get it).
Good luck!
RK
Well that’s the thing. I thought the dress was fine, other than it being too big. But the tailor said it would cost so much to fix that I may as well get another dress. If I had gotten it altered, the total cost of ONE dress would be $800 – as much as a dress in a shop.
I tried emailing them for months and they swore it was because my boobs are different sized and warped the dress. Then I pointed out that my boobs haven’t warped any other articles of clothing and they blamed it on shipping. They then stopped responding via email so I complained on their FB page and they blocked me. I’m now in the process of reporting them to the Better Business Bureau. I have spent $1200 on their website buying dresses and accessories, none of which I could actually use at the wedding. I ended up having to buy everything again elsewhere because everything was either broken, messed up, stained, etc. So mad!
Hi everyone. I got my dress too yesterday, and I must say I’m quite disappointed. The beading looks nothing like the pictures. It’s asymmetrical, and not done very well. Actually very sloppy. Yes, you will have to study the dress, to notice, and we’re not having a big party where people will be studying the dress (We’re getting married at the court house and then dinner with my maid of honor and his best man, and taking photos, but still it bugs me… ) I’m contemplating buying a new dress… I’m really bummed!
Hi Randi – That sucks… So sorry to hear that! I understand you’re very disappointed right now, but if the front looks nice, maybe you can get the back fixed locally or even yourself by adding some bling to it? Hard to gauge how bad it is without pics on this site…
I must admit I was suspicious of that dress, this is why I ended up choosing something else… It was one of the cheaper dresses on the site, but with all that beading (to my mind at least) this was one of the more complicated dresses to get right. Also looked like it would be difficult to change if the size was wrong as the top is quite rigid…
Really hope you can make it work!
At the end of the day, I think all our comments are a product of our expectations. For me, my expectations were not very high for £200 and I also did not know exactly how the dress would turn out as I had requested 2 dresses in 1, and therefore I suppose I was positively surprised that it worked as I had hoped… For others, if they had some clear pic on the website of what the dress would look like, I guess the risk of disappointment has been greater!
RK
I am sorry I posted again today… I forgot that I posted earlier! Please delete it.
I wish I could post pictures of it, cause it is really so horrible… I didn’t get ONE $ refund on the dress.
There was NO chance of fixing it at a local seamstress either. It would just cost me too much. Probably more than my new dress.
I didn’t expect it to look exactly like the picture… Far from it! But I at least expected the beads to be glass beads and the pattern to be symmetrical.
I’m not saying all the dresses form them are bad, but I would advice everyone: If you want a simple dress and are willing to risk the money: Go for it. If you want a dress with intracate beading or pattern of some kind: Shop else where.
Thank you for your reply, Rebecca!
Thank you for your review this definitely helps put me at ease before ordering my dress!
I’m happy it helped!
I just saw your youtube video review and would love to see a picture of it on! Did you like it on? Do you have a picture??
Thanks & great blog!!
I just received my dress from Dressilyme.
Oh my goodness.
It is beautiful. I paid the extra to get customised sizing, and the bust is a bit big. However, it is a wonderful dress, and can’t believe it only cost me $324 total – shipping and everything.
Would highly recommend dressily me.
Hello,
I just had a question did you buy it from a specific seller or tailor?
Or are all the dresses from the same company/seller?
Thanx, Amy
When are you getting married? I’m so curious to see what the dress looks like on? Ya know besides the websites promotional pic. I hope you like it! 🙂
Hi im getting married this year and I just saw your review about dressilyme.com on youtube. I saw the most amazing dress on the website at 100.00 with a discount cause it was originaly $209.98. I was super excited, but then I googled dressilyme.com reviews and almost every review said to not trust the page. But the reviews on youtube were wonderfull. And now im confused. Is there something to do that you recommend in order for me to have a good experience?. or maybe ordering the dress custom size or something like that?? And do you have pictures with the dress on?? Hope to hear from you soon and hope you can help me.
Hi Claudia! Yes, I know a lot of reviews out there were negative. But I can say that I used to sew dresses myself and know a bit about construction/manufacturing and was impressed with what I got for $200. The dress fit perfectly, and while the quality of fabric was not as good as I wanted, (the lace wasn’t as high quality) I would say that you can fix that by asking them to email over a picture of the fabric before you buy, so you can be sure.
There are plenty of brides I know who were disappointed by David’s Bridal, or they had a wedding shop close up business and run off with their money. Every industry has horror stories. I would say, that for $200 you get an amazing dress. At David’s Bridal, most dresses were $800 or more, and they did NOT come custom sized, requiring $400-$600 in alterations, which I did not need with the dressilyme dress. Additionally, accessories on here are much cheaper. I would say- to be safe- you can look at both…go to a dress shop locally, and also online. Give yourself gobs of time, the dressilyme site takes like 3-6 weeks, so order it and if you hate it- well, it’s still better than going straight to a boutique and waiting 6 months for a dress you still have to tailor.
That’s just my two cents. They’ve really improved things since I started reading about them 2 years ago. You are getting a $200 dress so you may not have the most high quality fabrics- but the stitching was good, the dress came clean and fit to my measurements out of the box.
I wanted to wait with responding as my mum just got her mother of the bride dress from dressilyme today, and I ordered my wedding dress from there before (see above).
What’s clear to me from these two experiences is this: the quality is far superior to what you pay. My mum’s dress has really good boning running through it, the lace looks great, and she is very happy with the fit overall. However, the colour is nothing like what was depicted online (but she is happy with what they have chosen) and it’s also not a perfect fit as is to be expected considering they have never seen her (will need tailoring around the back zip – same as my dress.) Personally, I regretted paying extra for the tailored fit as I was an EXACT size 4 on their site and the dress I got was not any better fitting than I think a standard size would have been – i.e. still needs to be tailored. For my mum however, she was in between a few different sizes, so for her the tailoring was totally worth while as it’s now perfect on her bust/middle/bum and I think frankly the dress is stunning for the $116 she paid (including custom sizing).
I would NOT buy a wedding dress in a funky colour from dressily me without first ordering a sample (did that for my bridesmaid dresses), as the colours are not what you see online. White/ivory however is completely safe.
Other advice: if the dress design is super complicated but it’s only $100 – be suspicious – you’ll probably not get what you wanted. (See Randi’s experience above.) I would also advise that you should factor in having to pay for alterations once the dress arrives (perfectly normal for any wedding dress though). Having now got 2 dresses from them, I am going to order 4 bridesmaid dresses as well so clearly I trust them! Good luck!
Hi! Your review is one of the first ones I watched and it was so helpful! I was just wondering how smoothly the ordering/payment process was for you? I’m renewing my vows after 10 years and since we had a courthouse wedding with practically no family there, we are doing it right this time. I found my dream dress and just got the go ahead to make the order. I entered all of the information and I got a page that said something had not gone through. Naturally I got frustrated, but then a moment later I got an email saying that I had successfully completed my order. Is this common, or something that you experienced? This is my first time ordering from Dressilyme and I’m not sure what to expect. I just really want this to go smoothly and this has me slightly concerned.
Hi, I was also hesitant to order my wedding dress online as I have read a lot of bad reviews about it but because of this blog i believe that there is a bit of hope. I am currently in Dubai, i hope it is not an issue to deliver in UAE. Anyone has an idea how much it would cost for the custom duty?
I will not recommend anyone to buy their dress from here. Mine arrived looking nothing like the picture. Yes, it fitted, but the original on the picture had intricate beading all over the top of the dress. The beading was supposed to be symmetrical… It was not. It was very crocked, and the beads were not even glass, they were plastc and they looked very cheap…. It was the right size, but it looked like a costume you would wear on halloween… Very, very cheap! I just wish I could upload pictures here! I had to buy a new dress. THis time I went to a STORE!
I don’t know how long this comment will stay on here before it gets deleted, but if I can help only one of you NOT spend all your budget on a dress you just cannot wear to your wedding, then at least I have tried.
DO NOT SHOP HERE!
Hi Randi, I don’t delete comments. There isn’t a conspiracy! Honestly- I had a good experience with them and I’m really sorry yours wasn’t. As stated in my review, I was disappointed with the type of lace that was used, and wished I would have asked for photos of the fabric they would use for the lace, but other than that, it fit like a glove.
I’m very picky about material, but found that they were really responsive when I had questions and even replied when they thought my shoulder measurements were off to double check, sure enough, I had misread the directions.
I’m sorry your experience with them wasn’t good. 🙁
I am totally looking to order from dressilyme because I want some different thing I can’t find one on any of the dresses I’ve tried on (and I’ve tried a lot).
I’m hesitant still even after reading your positive review because you just never know, but at the same time, at the very least it will be a learning experience for me to share with others.
Hi! Thanx for this blog. It convinced me to order at Dressilyme also! What I got was a wonderful dress. It was beau-ti-ful. I say it matches, nay, exceeds the quality of the bridal shop dresses that cost as much as 2000 dollars. I paid 170 dollars and it is a dream. Need alterations though as I did not order custom size. Here is the link to my dress and review: https://www.dressilyme.com/p-elegant-polka-dot-tulle-v-neck-neckline-natural-waistline-sheath-wedding-dress-with-beaded-lace-appliques-48014.html (my review will be updated with pics with me IN the dress)
Much gratitude!
This is to balance out the 5 Stars! They are Horrible! They send me a Wedding Gown too small almost two sizes smaller than what they put on their size chart!
Return and Exchange rule they put on their website … Its a joke! There s no Return and Exchange with Dresslyme! After they send you something horrible and when you request Exchange not even return they will tell you to give it as a Donation and buy a new one from them again! That is how Nonsense they are!
I do not want what happen to me to happen to anyone. Then again my bridesmaids I ordered together arrive after the wedding. They gave me a reason they put the bridesmaids dresses order on hold because I was arguing with them about the wedding own wrong sized which arrived before. …??? Seriously? They were not even in the same order! They will forget what you order after they collect your money and will give this funny reason!
Do not waste your money and time they are HORRIBLE!
I’m so sorry you had this experience! I’ve had several friends like their stuff and get what they ordered, but I’m sorry you didn’t 🙁
Yeah, so….
I changed my venue and season in which to get married, and also changed my dress. As i only paid 200 or so for my Dressilyme dress, i decided to buy another.
My seamstress had pointed out some flaws in the Dressilyme dress, for one thing that the pic had a chiffon underlay, and this one had satin. Big difference. Also, she mentioned that the silhouette was supposed to be sheath but it was kind of an Aline. Also, it was kind of white compared to other ivory dresses…..
Moreover: my MOH s Dressilyme dress came in: horrid fit….. And totally different from pic. We can compare: shes a model herself..
So: to order from Dressilyme again? No!
Went looking: found a won-der-ful shop on Etsy. They made my ceremony dress, and my reception dress, and they were totally awesome. Compared to Dressilyme, dressily is a joke.
Since this Etsy shop made 2 dresses for me, I can say that their quality is consistent and amazing.
Hope to be of help!
What etsy shop did you use?
I brought my dress from http://www.Dressilyme.com back in 2013 and I really wish I hadn’t of bothered with them to be honest. ( maybe it was because they were still developing their branding and craftsmanship). Whilst the gown was nice, and of acceptable quality, I wish it had been made better, but i guess its what I paid for 🙁
My best friend brought a gown from http://www.LillyBridal.com.au late last year and it arrived perfectly packaged in a big box, cute little card inside and the gown was just lovely!!! I actually was jealous at how different the quality was of her dress compared to mine ( back in the day).
My friend sent Lilly Bridal images of the gown she wanted and said she wanted straps and a naked illusion lace back and they customised the gown without charging her for the customisation and it was delivered in 7 weeks in Australia.
I don’t know if Dressilyme have gotten any better, but for the extra $300 I wish I had of brought my dress from LillyBridal instead 🙁
Like this Article! The Wedding Gown looks stylish with attractive design. You have mentioned briefly about the dress, so anyone can get an easy idea about it, especially while shopping such outfits. Keep sharing such stuff!
hi, thank you so much for your review. Still no pictures of you in the dress? does it fit? does it feel good to the touch?
Hi Diana,
Unfortunately there are no pictures of me in the dress…I wanted it to be a surprise for my groom, but it turns out we’d never see it. I called off the wedding, and by that point, showcasing the dress was too personal and painful to post online. I had some photos on my phone (mirror selfies) but they got washed out when my phone took a swim. 🙁
I would say that the lace was not what I wanted, I should have asked for pictures- but the rest of the dress was well made. Honestly, I was looking at dresses at David’s Bridal that were $1-2,000 and wasn’t super impressed with those either and they’d have to be special ordered way in advance then paid to tailor. This might be an option for a more casual bride or someone on a tight budget!
“IM IN TEARS!! THE WORST DAY OF MY ENTIRE LIFE!!” – Im crying while writing this review..my wedding is in eight days and I don’t know what to do. I ordered this dress and sent in my exact measurements, which were done by a professional taylor. First it was delivered almost two weeks past scheduled delivery date. I received it about an hour ago. I tried it on and this dress will not zip up, I haven’t gained anything. My daughter received the bridesmaid dress that we ordered and her exact measurements were also sent her dress did not fit. A friend of mine who also ordered from them, sent her measurements in and she had to buy another dress because the bust size was all wrong..Now what do I do? PLEASE ORDER FROM JJS HOUSE OR ANYWHERE OTHER THAN HERE..they haven’t responded to my email expressing my dissatisfaction.
I just received my dress from Dressilyme. WOW. It’s amazing, and i saved over 3000 euros!!
Felt lots of anxiety about ordering online. Checked out reviews and decided to take the risk. I Chose a dress that had real life photos from another buyer under feedback. Helped me so much that I want to pay it forward and do the same. I purposely bought a dress too large and will get alterations a month before the big day. 6 months to go. Though I’m sure it’s a bit of luck if you have a good seamstress or not.
Can’t seem to add a photo for you
A beautiful wedding dress!
Nice Wedding Collections..
Looking for your next wedding post
I think that is a very good point about the lace on the dress. It can look super different in far away pictures. If you don’t see your dress in person before you buy it, make sure that they send you close up pictures of it! I think it’s best to be able to actually try it on and see it in person before you commit to one though.
I’m getting married very soon and waiting for the day eagerly. I want your suggestion on the dress for my wedding day. I like this dress https://simplyfabdress.com/collections/wedding-dress/products/sheer-illusion-a-line-wedding-dress very much and want your suggestion.
Is it good buy or not? I’m going to buy this dress soon from this website. Price is low i.e. $399.95 and my budget not allow me to go more than $500.
I ordered my wedding from dressilyme.com too, and it is a beautiful dress for my wedding in September. With everything it came to $213.00, its a long white dress with 3/4 sleeves lace, tulle, and Satin with cathedral train. I cant wait for my wedding to wear it.
I’m so jealous that’s all your food allergies are! I actually have seven total (can you believe that luck) and I didn’t travel for a LONG time because I was honestly terrified of what could happen…but it’s really down to planning your food well during a trip and making sure to inform the server every single time – good luck on your next trip, hope it’s for something fun!Condominio 221
I just love New York! We get to visit once in a while with my husband on business and it is a real treat. I also travel with food allergies so I feel like I have found a friend!! Thankfully my allergies are to pecans and kidney beans which are both way easier to avoid than yours! Traveling while allergic can really be hard. Our next trip is coming up soon and it will be super cold for us Texans so we need to bundle up.Tierras del Este
Nice Blog! very informative
Another alternative for budget minded brides or those in a hurry is The Gown Loft at http://www.thegownloft.com. All the gowns are high quality designer sample gowns from bridal shops and are 50 – 80% off retail! We will provide as many details and close up photos as you like and you will receive your gown within 3-5 business days in most cases. We work carefully with our brides to assure a good fit. Our goal is 100% satisfaction for every bride!