8 months.. Order or off the Rack?

ddoane · January 2015

At this point I am unsure of what to do, I was holding out for an appointment with a designer that ended horribly. I did some gown shopping in the late fall, not finding the one. I did try on 2 that I liked not loved (different stores) but one the pushy lady said if I did not order the Casablanca that day or very soon they thought it would never make if for my wedding. Being a street size 12 and liking some gowns they only had in small sizes did not help at all. Nothing like feeling like sausage stuffed in a dress.

One dress is Casablanca the other an Alfred Angelo, I do think I can get the AA dress in time but the Casablanca fits my venue better.

Brides, what would you do? Off the rack shop at this point? Wedding is in 8 months.

kvruns · January 2015

If the Casablanca is the one you like the best can you ask at the store if they have an expedited option - I know some places so but not sure if this is one. Or call around to a couple of stores that sell that dress or online retailers if that is the concern. I also wonder if the lady was trying to "scare" you into making a decision right then and may have embellished the time line? Then again depending on the kind of alterations you need you might need all of that time but sees crazy to me.

kkcc2015 · January 2015

If you can't get the Casablanca, you can definitely get the alfred Angelo. I think their rush fee is pretty cheap, and even without it my dress came in in about 3 months. Good luck!

msuprincess04 · January 2015

If timing is all you are worried about, call another that carries Cassablanca gowns. You may have a better experience. If you want to try the gown on again, maybe look up any plus sized stores that carry that designer? I only say that becaue if you felt uncomfortable trying on a size 8, you may feel better if it's a 16 pinned to be smaller than the other way around. Another thing to look at is BestBridalPrices.com or call Pearls Place. Since you already know the dress, and they carry Casablanca, they should be able to get you a more realistic delivery date.

plainjane0415 · January 2015

You still have time to order if you do it ASAP. Personally, I prefer ordering because it's a brand new dress, but that's personal preference.

I was told when I ordered my dress at the 8 month mark, that it would take 4-6 months to come in. It came in in 3 months. You never really can tell, and I sure wouldn't want to chance it if I were you.

MandyMost · January 2015

I think you should go shopping again ASAP and only try on dresses that the store can guarantee will be in in time. They'll probably have some off-the-rack that you can try, and you can also try anything else you can get with a rush order. You said you don't love the 2 options....at least give it one more shot to find one you love!

marie2785 · January 2015

I think my dress was Jasmine Couture, and they said 4-6 months for it to come in, so 8 months would work. Alfred Angelo and Maggie Sotterro has similar time frames from what I remember (Alfred Angelo being the fastest by far). For many brands, if you go NOW you're probably ok. But go NOW!

aliwis000 · January 2015

I just ordered my dress 2 days ago for my wedding in mid September. My wedding planner was pushing me to go and I had been putting it off. I am not in love with my body type at the moment so I was procrastinating.

I finally got my mom and sister together last Friday and went to 3 appointments in one day. All the sales people knew my date and none of them seemed too worried or cautioned me. Though I realized I probably needed to make a choice by the end of Jan or the first week or 2 in Feb.

So you have time. Do not stress just make yourself a plan and start working on it today.

I also think you should try and find other shops that carry the dress you really like. I frankly subscribe to the idea that anything can be done for a price. So if you absolutly love the dress you just might have to make it clear to one of the shops that you are willing to pay extra (maybe even over the rush fee).

If that does not work start shopping for another gown. Mine is supposed to take 4 months, that gives me about 4 months to do alterations since I am not doing a bridal shoot.

ddoane · January 2015

Thanks everyone, I am currently in the middle of dieting and I will say that is playing a huge part on ordering. When I hit my goal of a 20 pound loss dresses are going to look much better. I'm a bit concerned with the dress being too big and may push to order a smaller size. I am just trying to get down to my usual weight. I was on some prescriptions in the past year that caused the weight gain.

plainjane0415 · January 2015

My suggestion would be to order a dress in the size you are now, and then when it comes in have it altered to fit the size you are at that time. If you order, as you can read from PP, it takes a few months for a gown to come in. You could try to lose weight while you are waiting on the dress to come in. With your wedding being 8 months away, I wouldn't push off the dress much longer.

[Deleted User] · January 2015

A friend of mine ordered her wedding dress from AA and it did take 8 months to come in. It came in 3 weeks before the wedding. The reason her dress took so long is the lace that was on the dress ended up being on back order. I'm sure that it's not a normal thing for that to happen. But if the store tells you that you need 4, 6 or 8 months to order, go on their order time line. This way if by some chance there is a delay, you're wedding won't be impacted.

bellefemme12 · January 2015

My wedding is in 8 months and none of the bridal places I went to seemed put off by that. I definitely think you can order a dress and for it to come in prior to your wedding.

travla77 · January 2015

My Alfred Angelo Sapphire dress took about 3 months to come in.. you have plenty of time.. Call around if the Casablanca is the one that you want!

tj&cw · January 2015

Hi

I ordered a Casablanca dress and was told 12-18 weeks for the dress to come in. Looking at your tracker we are getting married around the same time....they did say I could rush if I wanted too. I did order the dress a size smaller was in a foot cast and gained some weight last fall

ddoane · January 2015

Thanks everyone, I am going to take one last trip shopping before I decide what I will order. I am attending an Allure trunk show this weekend.

lovemesomemonster · January 2015

I am looking at a Casablanca dress and was told 6 months at most to get it in so at 8 months I would think you would be OK since they tailor it to your body when they make it so fittings/alterations should be minimal?

LoubieLove · January 2015

My dress is a Casablanca and I was told 6 months. It came in 3 and I even had a corset sewn in the back. Try another shop that carries Casablanca if that is what you really want. 8 months should be plenty of time.

ddoane · January 2015

Thanks everyone, I have an appointment this weekend at an Allure trunk show. Hopefully a decision will be made!

WhatawagSBNy · January 2015

I had 5 months engagement to wedding, my SIL and 2 of my sisters and closest friend had 5 to 6 months. Well enough time to shop, order, and receive our Maggie Sottero and Casablanca dresses 7 to 9 weeks before wedding so alterations were not a problem. And 2 of us had changes to be made at the factory for our orders.

I once worked part time for a big gown maker. What no one tells customers is that because their monthly orders are so variable, more gowns to ship for June weddings than Sept or March, the only way to keep their experienced workers working steadily year round, rather than lay off when it is slow and add extra workers or pay overtime for busy times, is to encourage all stores to have people order really early. Some makers give retail stores a bonus for any order at least 6 months in advance, or similar so they keep steady production.

In fact, if you and a friend order the same dress from Maggie, she orders it 9 months in advance, and you order yours 5 months in advance for a wedding 6 weeks before hers, they do everything possible to see you both get your orders at least six weeks before your wedding. Which means the 5 month order might actually be made before the one ordered months before. It is not first ordered, first made. They space out orders made far in advance and leave spaces in the production schedule for orders placed closer to the wedding.

This is true for orders placed up to 14 weeks ( approx) before the wedding. After that, only special shipping will get it to you with a comfortable margin for alterations. So if you leave it to 10 weeks, it may arrive too late. But don't let a salesperson close a sale you are unsure about by saying, most people ordered 9 or 10 months in advance, and now that there is only 6 months you must order this week. They are playing on your insecurities. Their store wants the bonuses for early orders, and stores that do alterations have a legitimate reason to try to spread their seamstresses work more evenly.
But the bottom line is, they want every order they can get, and no good store will refuse an order at 4.5 or 5 months. But they won't tell you that if you are alive and have money 7 or10 months out. They make you think anything not IMMEDIATELY is risky.

ddoane · January 2015

That is real good information. Thank you!

hyechica81 · January 2015

my mori lee gown came in two months after it was ordered the salon kept it in the store untill alterations i was able to pick it up 2 days before my wedding.

ddoane · January 2015

Well I went in to try a few Maggie Sottero dresses today and ended up falling in love. I left the shop and couldn't stop thinking about it so I went back and bought it. I feel like a big weight has been lifted.

plainjane0415 · January 2015

That's gorgeous! Congrats!

8 months.. Order or off the Rack?

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