2008-03-09 12:33:06 by SMARTBRIDE
Oprah Unveils Designer Wedding Dresses for Under $100
Jan 8th, Oprah revealed a handful of famous celebrity designers who have created low-priced lines for various stores. Sarah Jessica Parker started "Bitten", her line of all American Women’s fashions for Steve & Barry's stores.
Isaac Mizrahi has created a line of wedding dresses for Target ranging in price from $89.99 to $159.99 USD. In addition to wedding dresses, there are tons of accessories including: veils and headpieces, gloves, wraps and sashes, bridal intimates and sleepwear, wedding jewelry, shoes, and handbags. And, of course, there is a line for bridesmaids.
After seeing the show, I was totally dumbfounded over the prices.
I know that regular gowns are marked up by some outrageous percentage – but considering material costs and a relatively small mark up these prices seemed too good to be true. I noticed that the $89.99 Sheath dress did not look particularly good on the Oprah model. Perhaps it was simply not fitted properly as it was obviously too long for the model, but I suspect that it probably has to do with the quality of the material.
My suspicions lead me to the Target website. You should know first of all, that target.com does not ship to Canada, and that you can not buy these items in store. So, if you really want to take advantage of these prices, you’ll have to work out a shipping relay with someone in the U.S.
The dresses all look lovely in the pictures. The styles are modern and some look as though they would flatter a number of body types. A couple models are even on sale for as low as $79.99. However, when you read the user reviews of the items, you get very mixed opinions from ladies who have bought the wedding gowns.
For example, one reviewer says the gown she received was totally unwearable, and that she returned it the same day she got it. Another donated it to a thrift store and went back to a boutique to buy another bridal gown. On the other hand, some reviewers were thrilled with their purchases and were excited about how much money they had saved. After reading all the reviews, I really think it comes down to varying buyer’s expectations. Keep in mind, you are buying a dress for about $100 – even for non-wedding dresses that is pretty cheap.
Some of the complaints included:
- Buttons are hard to do up
- Material is cheap and thin (You’ll find a description of the material in the extra info for each dress. For example: Rich Sateen Fabric is Made of Dense Cotton for Structure, Blended with Polyester for a Luxurious Luster.)
- Colour not as it appeared (ie. Opal was actually yellow)
- Seams are too visible
- Dress arrived damaged (stains, spots, tears, beyond wrinkled)
- Dress smelled of strong chemical odor (my large wooden mirror made in china had the same smell for weeks)
- Late delivery
As far as accessories go, I would certainly check them out. The price point for shoes is perfect for something you’ll probably only wear once. My favorites are the Mossimo® Heidi Satin Bow Pumps ($19.99) (available in size 5-11). They’d look great with Isaac Mizrahi Solid Color Clutch ($14.99). The silk Faille sash comes in many colours and would be the perfect addition to an existing wedding gown, or bridesmaid dress for $19.99 - $39.99. Although, I think you could easily make these yourself for a few dollars at the fabric store and a couple minutes on the sewing machine.
Check out Target's on-line exclusive wedding line.
