If you are a bride shopping for your wedding dress, then you have likely started to become familiar with some of the more popular wedding dress designers. As you research bridal stores that you want to shop at, you will become familiar with the collections they carry in store and might find that you are drawn to a particular designer or certain style of wedding dress. If you have begun wedding dress shopping, you may have come across some private label wedding dresses and be curious. You might wonder if private label wedding dresses are a good or bad thing or maybe you aren’t even sure what a private label wedding dress is.
We are here to shed some light on what private label wedding dresses are so that you can decide if a private label bridal dress might be a good fit for you. Our tips and advice will help you learn the good and the bad to private label wedding dresses and help you understand exactly what private label dresses are.
What Does Private Label Mean?
A private label wedding dress collection is something that a lot of brides will come across when shopping for their wedding dress. Since wedding dress shopping is not something you do on a regular basis, you might not understand what a private label is or how the process works to order a private label gown.
When it comes to private label wedding dresses, it’s not a good thing or a bad thing. Private label dresses are exactly what the name says. It’s a collection of dresses that is essentially private. They are not available online for the masses but are available in select stores that decide to carry that particular label in their inventory.
VIDEO: What is a Private Label Wedding Dress?
If you are a bride who is shopping for your wedding dress, be sure to watch our video advice about private label wedding dresses so you can be fully informed before you find your dream wedding dress.
More Exclusive
If you are a bride that is worried about a lot of other brides wearing the same wedding dress as you, then a private label wedding dress might be a good fit for you. Since private label dresses are not available in every bridal store, you will likely see less brides in the world wearing the particular dress you love from a private label.
That being said, private labels are not completely exclusive wedding dresses. Brides in your same community will be shopping the same inventory as you and could potentially buy the exact same wedding dress as you. This is just a fact of wedding dress shopping as most brides shop locally and will be selecting from the same inventory as you.
Even if you decide to drive or fly a distance away, you are eventually going to see the same dresses and the same inventory. There are only so many designers that a bridal store can carry and so you will start to see the same dresses repeat as you visit multiple stores. If you are really set on having a unique, one of a kind wedding dress that no one else will have, then a custom wedding dress might be the right fit for you. We would encourage you to not fixate on the fact that other brides might choose the same dress as you. Your wedding day is going to be special and unique to you and your partner, so choose your wedding dress based on how you feel and what you truly love.
Dress Quality
Another question we often hear from brides who are curious about private label wedding dresses is whether the quality of the gowns will be the same as the sample they are trying on or the same as other designer dresses. Private label dresses are essentially the same as any other dress you are trying on at a bridal shop. There will be a sample dress for you to try on and you will place your order just as you would with any national brand or more well known bridal designer brand. A private label wedding dress is going to be the same quality as a designer label dress. Private label collections just don’t have the same brand recognition as a larger designer like Vera Wang or Ines Di Santo. They might not have the same marketing budget or overall online presence as some of the larger designers, but they are still producing quality dresses or bridal stores would not choose to keep these dresses in their inventory.
To put it in more common terms, think about shopping at Target. If you choose to buy Up & Up brand bottled water, that is a private label that is owned by Target. The same goes for other stores like Kirkland brand at Costco. These lines are private label brands owned by the company, versus a well known, national brand like Smartwater or Dasani. There is not a huge difference in quality, it’s more about personal preference.
What You Pay For
Going along with the quality of private label wedding dresses, brides also always want to know about the cost of a private label wedding dress. Some people think you get what you pay for, and that’s not necessarily the case with private label wedding dresses. We have some higher end designers that create a private label wedding dress collection that is less expensive than their signature dresses. Private label dresses might also be more expensive than some designer dresses. It all just depends on the particular dress style and design. Some top bridal designers have wedding dresses that are the same quality as some private label dresses.
Trustworthiness
When it comes to thinking about can you trust a private label wedding dress, that will go hand in hand with the bridal store you are shopping at. If you trust the store you are shopping, then you can trust the private label. You want to be sure that the bridal store you are purchasing your wedding dress from is trustworthy.
A trustworthy bridal store is going to ensure you receive your order on time and as you ordered it. Now just with any designer, there can be some variations in your particular order compared to the sample you tried on. For example, if you are ordering a different size dress than the sample dress, the lace pattern might be slightly different on your dress because of the size change in the pattern. It’s going to be a minor change, and likely not even noticeable to the naked eye, but this can happen with any designer or private label dress.
As long as your bridal store trusts the private label, then you should feel comfortable purchasing a private label dress from that store. They would not bring in a private label, or any designer for that matter, that is not going to be producing quality dresses and delivering on time.
More Helpful Wedding Dress Shopping Advice
We hope you have found this advice helpful when it comes to knowing what a private label wedding dress is and if it might be the right choice for you. For even more helpful advice when it comes to shopping for your dream wedding dress, be sure to check out our past posts:
- What to Consider Before Buying or Having a Wedding Dress Made
- How Much Do Wedding Dresses Cost
- Price Shopping Bridal Stores: Why it's not recommended!
About Lovella
If you're shopping for your perfect wedding dress, come visit us at Lovella Bridal in Glendale, CA. We carry wedding dresses in all sizes and styles, including plus-size bridal gowns and a full selection of veils and accessories. Lovella Bridal is the premier, luxury bridal wedding dress shopping boutique located in Los Angeles, California. Lovella features couture, feminine, modern and chic bridal gowns in all sizes from the best wedding dress designers. Schedule an appointment to find the wedding dress of your dreams at Lovella Bridal. We can't wait to help you!
About Wedding Fashion Expert
Our wedding dress shopping tips and advice are from Nayri, Lovella's own, in-house wedding fashion expert. Nayri is truly the expert when it comes to bridal fashion and wedding style. As the Wedding Fashion Expert, Nayri is the top bridal fashion stylist and the best-selling author of the book "I'm Getting Married And I Have Nothing To Wear," the ultimate guide to helping brides find their wedding day style and their perfect wedding dress. You can subscribe to her YouTube channel or listen to her podcast for more helpful and practical advice on wedding dress shopping.
