Q: I’m currently wedding dress shopping, and finding myself wrestling with the idea of ordering a wedding dress from China. I don’t have a giant budget to begin with, and every dress I love is falling hundreds of dollars over my max budget. I spent a few hours down a wedding dress rabbit hole, and realized that there’s a whole world of wedding gowns that I haven’t considered out there, and I can totally afford them. The problem? The gowns are made in China, and I can’t decide how this makes me feel.
On one hand, the wedding dresses from China look gorgeous, the reviews are more positive than negative, and I can afford everything. On the other, I feel like there are serious ethical considerations to make, and I don’t know if I can fully get behind buying a dress from someone who is forced to work in terrible conditions, or who might have ripped off the design from an artist or dressmaker. Plus, there’s no way to REALLY know if the quality is as good as it looks.
I have six months until my wedding, which is enough time to order a dress or two, receive them, and figure out if they’ll work—but if they don’t, I don’t know if I’ll have time (or cash) to get another dress. Help!
Have you ordered a wedding dress from China? What tips do you have? What should someone keep in mind when they’re shopping around the internet for a dress from overseas?
If you want the APW community’s two cents, send it to QUESTIONS AT APRACTICALWEDDING DOT COM, and we’ll do our best to crowdsource you some answers!
