When your WOW dress is discontinued

snowywinter

I think I already know the answer to this, but am posting just in case anyone has been in a similar situation and found a way to make it happen. Two weeks ago, I saw a wedding gown in a bridal magazine at the doctor's office. It was the dress of my dreams and I looked it up online to find that it was in the designer's 2013 line and is no longer being made.

A friend of mine suggested calling bridal shops to see if anyone still had one. I've been doing this with no luck. There is one website that carries it for about 20% of the original cost, which just seems so shady that I didn't bother purchasing it because I thought it was a scam. Am I just out of luck here?

[Deleted User]

If it sounds like a scam, it probably is.  However, you can always post the website to see if anyone has used it before.  Also, if you aren't opposed to used, you can try www.preownedweddingdresses.com or Craigslist in your area. 

[Deleted User]

Also, not every dress on www.preownedweddingdresses.com is actually used.  Some are new.

CMGragain

There is no way that you can look at a picture in a magazine and decide that this is your dress.  Those dresses will look completely different on you.
Write down what it is about the dress that attracted you, and take it in when you are dress shopping.  The consultant will pull dresses that have some of the features.
Do keep an open mind when shopping.  Most brides choose something very different from what they thought they would like.  My daughter was set on a Maggie Sottero dress she saw on line, but when she tried it on - eh.  What if you found your "wow dress", bought it, and then had this experience?  You would be stuck with a dress that wasn't the best look for you.
Any website that sells a dress for less than 75% of retail is a knock off site - probably based in China.  Don't even think about ordering a dress direct from China!  You don't know what you will get, and there is almost no hope of getting a refund.  They use the picture, stolen from the designer's website, but they deliver something that can resemble a cheap Halloween costume.

KnottieBride61710

The dress I am in love with is also from 2013. I would try looking on https://www.tradesy.com or if they don't have it I found this woman on Etsy if it is your style. She does custom orders and has excellent reviews http://lacemarry.com/. I wish you the best of luck!

julieanne912

Agreed w/ CMGragain.  Before I went shopping, I had my heart set on a vintage tea length style dress.  I was certain that was the kind of dress I was going to buy, and I would never been interested in anything form fitting.  Once I tried on the tea length style, it looked awful.  I looked stubby and matronly in it.  The dresses that looked best on me were very narrow Alines or Fit N Flares.  Totally not what I would have ever pictured myself wearing.

In fact, if I had seen my dress in pictures first, I would have ruled it out.  But it look AWESOME in it, so I'm glad I didn't base my "dream dress" on a picture I saw in a magazine.

kasasr1024

@snowywinter do you know the designer & dress style?  I'd love to help you look for it!

snowywinter

kasasr1024 said:

@snowywinter do you know the designer & dress style?  I'd love to help you look for it!

Just sent you a PM.

AddieCake

I looked like a birthday cake in my dream dress.

CMGragain

Knottie01797202 said:

The dress I am in love with is also from 2013. I would try looking on https://www.tradesy.com or if they don't have it I found this woman on Etsy if it is your style. She does custom orders and has excellent reviews http://lacemarry.com/. I wish you the best of luck!

The lady you recommend on Etsy lives in China. (Hong Kong)

Pupatella

I saw my dream dress in a magazine as well.  Went to the store that specifically had that dress, and the woman that was helping me said "If you don't mind me being honest, I think you would look so much better in a mermaid fit / fit and flare, and I have just the dress in mind for you".  The dress I thought I wanted was more of an a-line.  I tried both dresses on, and she was 100% right - my dress was the one that wasn't even on my radar!!  I bought it almost 9 months ago, got shivers of excitement when I tried it on for my first fitting last week, and have no regrets I didn't purchase the dress from the magazine.

Take the picture of your dream dress to a bridal shop, but keep an open mind, and you may be surprised at what you truly look the best in.

Knottie1430965129

If you try on dresses similar in style and shape and still love the one you saw in the magazine, ask the bridal shops in your area about designers that can provide custom gowns. The bridal shop where I purchased my dress carries a designer that will build a custom dress based on measurements, material & embellishment requirements, and pretty much anything else the customer specifies. It's worth a shot if you have tried on others that are similar and are happy with the silhouette and how you feel in it. Hope this helps! 

snowywinter

Knottie1430965129 said:

If you try on dresses similar in style and shape and still love the one you saw in the magazine, ask the bridal shops in your area about designers that can provide custom gowns. The bridal shop where I purchased my dress carries a designer that will build a custom dress based on measurements, material & embellishment requirements, and pretty much anything else the customer specifies. It's worth a shot if you have tried on others that are similar and are happy with the silhouette and how you feel in it. Hope this helps! 

Thank you so much!! I might actually do that since I have a lot of time before the wedding.

kasasr1024

Is it a dress w/ red on it @snowywinter?  

snowywinter

Yes.

CMGragain

Just remember that if you order something to be custom made, you will be stuck with it if you don't like the results.

doeydo

If you post what dress it is, myself and/or some other users might be able to help you find similar gowns to try.

Knottie1432668587

If you really really want it I suppose you could have it custom made, but as you haven't actually tried it on it's a bit of a risk. Your best bet is to try on similar gowns, or with a similar shape if not colour, and then if you're happy that the style will work you can have it custom made or settle with a different one. 

KnottieBride61710

Yes, I know she lives in China. I know it's a risk but she does incredible work and custom orders. She has really good reviews on Etsy and I checked her out on Facebook thinking I MIGHT have to take this route if my dress was discontinued. You take the same risks going to preownedweddingdresses.com and any other used wedding gown site. I figured it might be worth a look.

lembaslover

I used an online person as well who custom made my dream dress. I paid a fraction of the cost and I love it. It didn't need alterations except for the bustle. http://www.jaksflowergirldresses.com/ She's in the US. I called and asked how she had such good prices and she gave me a lot of reasons that made sense, a couple of which are she does everything custom so she doesn't have to pay designer fees or pay to have room for a bunch of stock, etc... If you'd like to see pictures of my dress I'll PM them though I think I posted some on some thread. 

I agree that you have no way of knowing what you like without trying some dresses on. I went to a store and tried on dresses in the style of my dress and tried to get them to give me the options I wanted. They refused to add any sort of color to the dress (I wanted hunter green accents). So I talked to my fiance and after calling the owner of this shop we agreed that I'd order the dress from her and if it was awful as I was afraid it might be I could go back to the bridal salon and order that dress. I will say if the bridal salon had worked with me at all with what I wanted I would have paid the higher price and bought from them but they didn't so I took a risk.

Knottie1428719992

I found the dress of my dreams on preownedweddingdresses.com!  I tried the dress on in a store and fell in love--that's when the salesperson told me it was a dress from 2012 and I would have to buy the sample if I wanted it.  The sample was 5 sizes larger than me and already close to the top of my budget, so I didn't purchase it.  I started scouring the internet, searching on tradesy.com, nearlynewlywed.com and oncewed.com and about three weeks of searching, I came across the dress--in my size, being sold by someone in my city!  So it can be done!! 

I would recommend trying on some dresses similar to your fav to see if you really do like the style.  My pinterest board was full of mermaid gowns, but I hated how restricted they made my legs feel!

snowywinter

Update -- I tried on a similar dress and liked it on me. I have looked at tons of photos and tried on a lot of other dresses and I still keep coming back to this one. Already checked all the websites mentioned and can't find it, unfortunately.

I'm going to keep looking before I consider having one made.

kasasr1024

@snowywinter, I'm telling you that gold dress I sent you is GORGEOUS!!  

snowywinter

Thanks @kasasr. I tried one on that was very similar to it at David's Bridal. I didn't like it on me. There were a couple of others you sent me that I still haven't found so I am going to try to find some of those before I resort to a custom made one.

kasasr1024

Good luck!!