thoughts on sample sales?

jaz0822

Hi Ladies, What are your thoughts on buying a sample dress? I'm not quite sure how I feel about it... I guess I buy dresses all the time that other people have tried on, right?  But I always thought my wedding dress would be new and fresh, just for me, just for my special day.... however, my wedding is in June and the pressure is on to find one FAST.  We just picked our location a week ago, I knew it would be crazy, and I thought as long as I had 4-6 months for my dress I'd be all set... but the bridal shops are all freaking me out and lecturing me to hurry up and make a decision! are they just pushing for a sale or do I have to consider buying off the rack and having major alterations?? 

SummerBoston10

I am getting married July 4 and haven't tried a single dress on yet!  I actually called Priscilla of Boston a few weeks ago because I wanted to figure out how much time I TRULY had.  They told me that if I found my dress there and ordered it by early January I would be fine.  If I ordered it after early January, I might have to pay a rush fee for some of the designers but that I could still get any dress that I wanted. 

I am going to Kleinfelds next week and another store in NYC but if I don't find anything then, I will be dress shopping the weekend of Jan 8 and I'm SURE that I will be able to find something that will come in in time.  Good luck!

dallface

 I think it might be pressure to buy. I went shopping a while back and didn't want to buy right away, even if I found the dress. I am losing weight and was told to order because they can take in the dress if I lose the weight. My wedding is in August. That said, I ended up finding the dress at Wishing Well and was told I had plenty of time and to order when I felt comfortable with my weight. I didn't feel pushed into buying that day. I may only go down 2 sizes, but still that would be less alterations. Anyways, I am ordering my dress on Black Friday and have lost 30 pounds. Even better than that my 2 sisters are both paying for my dress as a gift.

glenbride09

It worked perfectly for me b/c I wanted a 3K dress and I paid 1500 for the sample. I wouldn't have had my dream dress otherwise!

RoyalOrient

I think as long as you have the dress properly cleaned and altered, you should be fine. I am planning on buying a sample dress from either POB sample sale or the Running of the Brides in Feb. There are bridal shops like Party Dress Express and Liz's bridal that also sell sample dresses. I would double check the condition before purchasing it. I also checked oncewed to find wedding dresses. I figure if this bride had a wonderful experience wearing it on the most special day of her life maybe she could pass some of that bliss on to me.

glenbride09

any bridal shop looking to get rid of older models will sell samples. I got mine at house of brides in woonsocket, they were simply wishing to get rid of the dress and since it was a higher priced one not many people had tried it on, i didn;t even have it cleaned b/c it was in perfect condition. Vows in MA is a great place to check out too

pmpkn219

I bought a sample from Vows. I never really had a strong preference, but my mom had heard good things about the shop so I went there JUST to get an idea of what different styles looked like on me (a very helpful idea!)

Well, lo and behold, that first day of shopping i tried about 40 dresses (3 stores) and realized I was madly smitten by a previous-season sample at Vows. I scoured the internet preowned sites looking for any more info on it, like could I get it again, if I didn't get that one at Vows.

The answer was I couldn't, and none of the other beautiful dresses I tried on compared to it for me. In that way I was pressured, because it felt like one of a kind (I couldn't get it anymore!) and I loved it to death. So I put down the deposit and never looked back.

I did periodically scour preowned sites looking for it (I still have no idea what year it is from) and I have Never seen it again. It was the right choice for me, even though it needed a lot in the way of hemming (I'm 5'3")... but it has a plain skirt and I kept that in mind, because even a new petite length dress would've needed to be taken up!

Long story short- I think samples are a very viable option. I didn't feel like the dress was any less special, and though I adored it, it wasn't the most important part of the day. I wouldn't necessarily rule out all samples on principle, you never know what you may find. Plus, mine was 50% off retail, and that was cool

FutureMrs,ACS

My beautiful dress was bought at a sale. it originally cost 1200, and i got it for 400 something!! It is just about perfect, minus it needing a few nips and tucks. if You love it who cares if its last season or has been tried on before..

jaz0822

thanks!!  i ended up finding one at a trunk show but had the opportunity to order it - in my size, i'm petite so alterations would have been a fortune - and i still got a massive discount!!  I got a casablanca at a price comparable to david's bridal!!  I'm SO excited!!!