Dress off the Rack?

ccia84

Hello everyone!   I am flying back to Atlanta in a couple of weeks to go dress shopping with my mom.   Right now, our wedding is planned for sometime in April (Still trying to work the dates out with our ceremony site) but recently we are thinking we might need to push it up to sometime in February for job reasons.  I was worried that dress shopping now for a wedding in April was pushing it, but now February seems impossible to get a dress that fast.  Has anyone has any luck buying a dress off the rack?  Is this even possible?  I wear a street size 2 or 4, so I’m not sure what sizes the stores even offer. If anyone has any experience they can throw my way I would love to hear it!!

bridesrighthand

Do to a screwed up custom dress, I had to purchase an off the rack dress, 3 DAYS before my wedding. I ended up getting the dress of my dreams and was so happy with it and so was my *now* husband. I got mine from David's.

rad3585

It is definitely possible. I'd try David's Bridal first, since they are known for selling off the rack. They carry tons of sizes, many should fit you. If you don't find anything that you like, try a different bridal shop and see if you can buy the sample dress for a discounted price. Good luck! I know you'll find something you love!

october010bride

Try calling around local bridal shops for sample sales... or just samples they don't mind selling. Make sure to tell them upfront that you need to buy off the rack. As for sizing... from what I've seen most sample dresses range from 6 to 10 (but street size is smaller). If you find a sample that's small enough then a good seamstress can alter it to your size. And just to put your mind at ease... someone on my local bought a size 10 sample dress and had it altered to a size 2/4 and it looked AMAZING on her... you could never tell!

mbcdefg

You should be able to buy one at Group USA and take it home that same day. Get it altered there or have a local seamstress alter it. You might also be able to purchase a sample from a regular bridal salon. You could also look for one on preownedweddingdresses.com, oncewed.com, savethedress.com, eBay or Craigslist. You should try on dresses in salons first, get an idea of what you want (and what size you are), and then start looking for the re-sale dresses. Look in some local thrift shops and consignment stores as well. I saw a beautiful and modern Mori Lee gown at the Salvation Army a few years ago for $100. There are some simple, pretty dresses available on nordstrom.com and jcrew.com. Would you be opposed to wearing an evening gown? You could find one in white, champagne or maybe a light gold or silver, or buy something in your favorite color (green, red, black, etc.). Try department stores, clothing boutiques and websites that sell formal dresses.

aerinpegadrak

My David's dress had actually been discontinued, so my only option was to buy it off the rack.  We had to call around to a few stores before we found one that had my size in stock.To buy off the rack, you need to have fairly standard proportions.  If you're extremely top heavy, bottom heavy, tall, or short, then the alteration costs might end up being higher than the rush charges on a dress ordered to your measurements.Just get out there and see what you can find.  There are a lot of options for reselling dresses which PPs have brought up, so if you find something you like and there's no way to order it in time, you shouldn't have too terribly tough a time finding someone who's reselling it.

nvdmeulen

I ended up buying my dress off the rack too, mainly as my dress was discontinued. you're about my size too, and I found the bridal sizes 6 and 8 fit me the best. and even though my dress (bridla size 8) was too big initially, it was no problem to get it taken in to be perfect.

meredithl618

Most bridal stores, and there are a ton in ATL, have gowns that you can buy off the rack, aka buy the sample. Sometimes this is a great deal, if the gown is in good condition and fits well. I would ask on the ATL board for recommendations of bridal salons to check out where you can see great gowns and have the option to buy samples too. I think that if you are size 2-4, most gowns will be somewhat big on you, but probably well within the range for easy alterations. So, it wouldn't be too hard to get it to be altered to your size. Some bridal salons carry different sizes in different dresses, so who knows, maybe you'll get lucky!! ps. if I were you, I'd look at larger stores that carry gowns in ATL that you can't see back home. If that trip is unsuccessful, then you should have plenty of time to go to Davids Bridal to check out all of their stuff!

orangejulius

MBC had some great ideas! If you don't mind a dress that has been put on a few times, then I would go for the sample at a bridal boutique because you can usually get them for up to half the price off, and walk out with it that day! That would give you plenty of time for any alterations you may need.If you prefer brand new, J-Crew has some of my favorite dresses you can order from online.

shellybeth

My sister bought one off the rack and it was beautiful. Just make sure you look it over carefully! (some of those dresses have been tried on MANY times are get dirty.. especially back where the train is has been dragged on the ground so much). Good luck!