That (dupe) Strawberry Dress

Well, since we covered that strawberry dress yesterday, I thought we'd take a moment to talk about the dupe.  I know dupes are a touchy subject for some, but let's be honest:  without a similar version of designer stuff most of us wouldn't be very fashionable at all.

Claiming the moral high ground is all well and good, but some of us want to look chic but can't spend all our money on name brands.  We have those pesky things like rent, food, tuition, bills, children, etc. just sucking up all the money we would otherwise be spending on beautifully made designer-original locally-produced clothing and accessories.  It's a real bummer, I know, but unfortunately clothing is a necessity, but name brands are not.  

So, here's my take on dupes.  Buy the real thing when you can.  Even buying it secondhand, originals are better, but don't be too hard on yourself if you have to buy the inexpensive facsimile now and then.  Designers copy each other all the time and compete to sell their versions; it's part of the biz.,<--More on that subject tomorrow.

When I first saw the strawberry dress I knew I wanted it.  When I first saw the price tag I knew I could never afford it.  I managed it in the end, but not before I did a ton of research to try to find a nice similar dress, or even make it myself.   There are several versions available now and some are better than others.  I'm really only going to talk about the one that I bought.

A little tip about buying dupes:  there is a sweet spot.  Buy them too early and you'll likely pay more for a crappier quality because there's a high demand (so the price is high) but they're rushing them off the manufacturing line so quickly that they're not really getting them right.  On the other hand, if you wait too long for the price to go down, you may miss your window for buying at all.

I have seen this version of the dress selling for $50 to $100 on sites like Ebay and Poshmark.  DON'T PAY THAT MUCH!  This dress is cute and decently made, but it's a $30 dress--Max!

Dress Pros: As far as the fit goes I'd say it's true to size.  The quality is decent; I haven't been dropping sequins all the way here and back.   It is a pretty dress, especially if you haven't seen the original and the colors are quite nice.  Dress Cons:  When it comes to differences let's do a side by side comparison and make note of the big ones.  

1.  Less Dress.  You'll notice that there is way less dress.  The skirt is not as full and it has far fewer layers of tulle.   It's a cheaper dress, so naturally there's less of it.

 2.  Way less strawberries.   There's probably 25% of the strawberries You'll also notice 3.  there's a pretty big Color Difference.  One is a rich dusty pink.  The other is a pale, but still pretty shade of pink.

4. Sequins vs. Glitter.  One dress is covered in hand painted glitter strawberries.  This makes it quite fragile, prone to shedding glitter everywhere and you will notice little blank places where the  glitter didn't stick to the glue.  The sequins don't have those issues, but you will notice odd places where the fabric had to be cut leaving little strips of sequins.  Other than that the sequins are quite nice and so is the glitter. 

All things considered, I would say that if I had never seen the original dress, I would love the dupe and would think it was an incredible bargain at $25.  But, when you do a side by side comparison, it falls woefully short as a replacement.  It's up to you and your budget, of course, but if you can buy the real thing, I highly recommend it.  If you can't this is a very decent doppleganger to help quench that strawberry craving.  I've got one more strawberry post coming at 'cha tomorrow, so join me right back here.

Shopping Info:  Copy Strawberry dress from Aliexpress