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Danger for Debutants: Buying your Dream Dress Over the Internet Can End Up a Costly Nightmare!   

"There are ways to cut back on the expense of the debs but your dress shouldn’t be it – it plays too important a part on the night."

Debutantes on a budget can be sorely tempted to buy their dream dress over the internet. It seems like good economic sense to shop online for what appear to be very reasonably priced dresses in the U.S. There seems to be even more incredible value to be had from Chinese dress companies on eBay.

Some canny cuties are evening trying on gowns in Irish stores and then hunting down the same dress at cheaper prices on the internet. And it all seems like a really good idea until:

• It doesn’t arrive when it’s supposed to and the clock is ticking but there’s still no sign of the dress.
• Or you get that letter from An Post informing you your parcel is being held until you pay a whacking great bill for customs and excise duties.
• Or perhaps until the dress arrives and you discover it’s the wrong size, colour or doesn’t even slightly resemble the dress you ordered and it’s too late to send it back and reorder.
• Or maybe you lose weight or gain it before your debs but all your after-sales service including dress alterations is in America.

When their net purchases turn into disasters, many tearful debutantes then try to turn to Irish dress stores and expect them to pick up the pieces.

“I’ve seen it umpteen times – girls coming in here with dresses that are four inches too short or sizes too small,’’ said one shop owner. “The problem is many girls don’t know how to measure themselves properly. Or else they get mixed up with American sizes. It happens all the time.’’

Many girls spend more than they ever expected on dresses they buy abroad.

“I had a few girls buy their dresses over the internet and when they arrived, the bustline was totally wrong for the girls,’’ she said. “The girls were spilling out over the dresses. They were fine on a super-skinny size 6 or 8 but were totally wrong on Irish girls.’’

She added: “To top it all they had to pay a big whack of money to customs to get the dresses. They could have bought dresses that fit in my shop for less than they paid in America.’’

She recalled another tearful girl whose dress was slightly soiled by the time it arrived in the post.

“She sent it to a specialist dry cleaners but the tags were still attached – they ran and the dress came back grey,’’ she said.

Another Irish dress store owner admitted that she is regularly approached by desperate debutantes.

“I had one girl who rang me in tears,’’ she said. “She paid an incredible amount for her dress from America which seems like an extortionate price and it was 8 inches too short. The company wouldn’t entertain a refund because they claimed that was what she ordered and it was too late to send it back for alterations.’’

Last year she saw a succession of debutantes and their internet dress disasters.

“I had one girl whose dress arrived in a shoe box – you can imagine the condition of it,’’ she said. “I’ve heard of others who were stung when one of the big online companies suddenly went out of business.’’

Most designer labels will not sell to online stores that supply gowns over the internet.

As a result many so-called ‘designer’ dresses are often poor copies with nothing of the quality, and craftsmanship of the originals.

“Sometimes genuine designer stock does make it on to the internet but if a problem should arise with a gown, the label will not stand over it,’’ said a store owner.

“They will not make alterations, corrections or changes to your gown if it’s not bought from an authorised retailer.”

By ordering a dress from an authorised dress store, the debutante can receive the personal attention that they deserve.

“The after sales service is just as important to a dress store as selling the dress to the debs goer,’’ she said. “There are ways to cut back on the expense of a debs but your dress shouldn’t be it – it plays too important a part in the day.’’

Points to Remember:

• Anything bought in from outside the EU is subject to customs and excise duties.
• It’s easy to make mistakes when ordering online especially with American sizes.
• Remember after sales service is often vital – who is going to alter your dress if it’s the wrong size or if you lose or gain weight? * Beware of poor copies of designer dresses online – most designers will only sell to authorised retailers not on the internet.
• You may need a lot of extra time if you’re buying over the internet to allow for returns, exchanges and reorders if necessary.    
  
  

Dress Disasters - Online Comments from Disgruntled Debutantes:

“The photograph showed a very expensive designed dress and I thought I would order it. The dress arrived in a padded envelope A3 size, with a veil and stole, the veil had a paper edging around it like you would find on a paper doiley. The dress did not resemble the photo in any way, the finish on the dress was so amateurish I could have wept.’’

“I bought a dress from XXXXXXX through e-bay, I paid £170. The dress was two months late and completely unwearable. I took it to a dress maker to see if she could 'put it right'. She said there was nothing she could do. The material was wrong, it was cut completely wrong, it was the wrong size. The 'beautiful embroidery and beading' was stuck on 'patches' which were peeling off already. The company replied to several e-mails but I haven't had a penny back.”

“The dress took 10 weeks to arrive. It didn't look like anything in the picture. It was described as white/Ivory, when it came it was a grey/white, the arms where too tight, not even my size 10 daughter could get it on. There were pink marks on the seams where they had marked out the pattern. The cut of the dresses was wrong and didn't hang right.”

“This is what happened to a friend of mine. She purchased a dress on ebay that came from another country other than an EEC country. The dress came on time and it was a lovely dress, not as well made as you would have expected but OK for the price paid to the seller. However the sting came with the shipping costs, import duty and VAT. She could have purchased a better made dress than this from this country without the hassle.  She also had to find a seamstress to alter the dress.”

“It took three months to arrive - they didn’t pay the postage so it was held at customs for 4 weeks. When I finally received it, it was dreadful. I got into it but on the first attempt to close the zip, it came off in my hand. It is totally unwearable. I e-mailed them loads of times but have had no reply.”

“I have too agree with the previous lady, I bought a dress from Ebay, it looked wonderful in the picture. I asked for it too be made in pale gold or ivory. It came in Olive Green Gold. I nearly died. The beads were bright orange gold. I first thought it was a practical joke. It looked like a halloween outfit.”

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