Heyy,
So wedding planning has been put on hold for a while, considering Halloween, Christmas and all those wintery, autumnal activities. However with Christmas fast approaching I have word from Santa and his Elves that our Tweedle is coming home for the Holidays! After a brief phone-call a moment ago with Mrs Tweedle-Dumb, I am pleased to announce that she will be coming back to the UK with her husband for Christmas, flying in on the big day and staying until New Years. Plenty of time for catch-ups, chats, sleepovers and wedding stuff.
One of the things I really need to hammer down on and get arranged when Mrs Tweedle-Dumb is back will be the bridesmaid's dresses. Now it is all good and well-going shopping and trying on dresses, however, I know that I will never buy them from a shop and more likely to buy online, almost certainly shipping them in from China or Asia as far cheaper and generally of acceptable quality.
Now initially, back in the day, I was suspicious of the pricing and the quality of goods from Asian countries, however, whilst looking for a cheap bargain on dresses for other peoples weddings or events I was going to, I began to trust and even become pro in ordering stuff online from cheap websites such as AliExpress, Wish.com and eBay. Our culture tells us that things are priced at specific points for a reason and to question anything that is below or higher than this.
Sizing is a big deal and I can honestly say it has been the one bugbear I have with ordering from Asian countries. There is no fat size? Now it is common knowledge that Chinese sizings often run small but some sellers are getting better and along with the bog-standard small, medium, large and extra-large, very often they will now post measurements in centimetres or inches to check against so that you order something that fits you right. This being said however they also they jump from country to country for dress sizes so be sure you are looking at the right one as a US, Australian, EU and UK dress size are not the same. Scour the listing very carefully to check which they're using, although on the other hand, if they're a Chinese designer/manufacturer and are making things for you themselves rather than a wholesaler, they will sometimes do made-to-order custom stuff, something I will definitely be keeping an eye out for when purchasing the real deal.
Now, this is not to say everything I have ordered from the East has been a success with multiple failures, returns and refunds made along the way the last few years, nevertheless I find a lot of the time you are buying the same goods but directly from the wholesaler or manufacturer, effectively cutting out the middle man. This can mean you get the exact same product for less than you would pay in the high street or online retailers and whilst sometimes it means the product is better, sometimes it means the product is worse because of that annoying middleman would order a sample before deciding which items are worth investing in fully. You win some and you lose some but if you're happy with a gamble it could be worthwhile.
On the subject of returns and refunds, be prepared that trying to return broken/damaged items to China are difficult at the best of times and sellers will make every effort not to accept returns, even if their listing says it does. Truth is, the return postage costs more than the original item itself so if you are going down this route, be prepared to save yourself the effort and either buy something you know you definitely want or be ready to make a decision to write off the cost.
Getting your item in the first place can always be a bit of an ordeal too and you will not have to search long or hard in order to find horror stories of dresses, wedding, bridesmaid or otherwise as well as many, many other things that are ordered and never show up. Sometimes they can take the expected four-weeks to a month to turn up, but other times they take well over that to arrive. Then again, other times, they amaze you by turning up in a week. The reasons for such a difference in postal timings is entirely dependant on the seller and their choice of the postal carrier. When it's free postage, you can't really complain though and ticking the "gift" column on customs declaration card can help smooth things along the way of providing faster delivery. Sometimes they say "commercial sample" in which case you may or may not get hit by customs charges but to avoid customs charges on personal purchases, make sure you put multiple purchases through separately and ask for separate shipping as it will save you many moula's and is completely legal in the UK - as long as you're not a business.
And so as I placed my order through eBay (all £600.00+ of dresses) I excitedly listened to my phone ping with notifications of the orders being accepted and shipped. Initially, my thought process is to order several types of different dresses and styles to check out quality, shape, fit, sizing and colour. Then I will send them all back, get a refund and then purchase similar or even better with the middleman cut out the same dress via a China-based store/seller, thus saving in the long run.
Yes it is a faff and yes it is a hassle, however with Mrs Tweedle-Dumb back for only a couple of short weeks, I need to make sure that what I am ordering is something that both her and Miss Tweedle-Dee will both wear and be happy in come my wedding day. The problem is that there are so many variations and even with these ones I get the girls to try on there are so many things that could change or be different about the ones ordered from China. UK ordered dresses may fit better and vice-versa or measurements might be out slightly. Don't even get me started on colours either - Is red a dark red or bright red? Is Burgandy the same colour as Wine? Are two Wines the same colour tone? Is Blush and Pink identical? Is plum actually just a lilac or a deep cherry? And what the fuck is a dusty peach?
Calm. Stressing aside, as long as I follow all the simple guidelines I have used for years I will be fine. Remember ladies (and maybe gents too) if you are buying from far-flung destinations make sure the seller has at least 98% positive feedback, be patient and size correctly and you should be fine. She says until all twenty-odd dresses turn up either late, way too small or damaged from being thrown over the fence.
'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx
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