I recently got engaged at the end of July and needed to find a dress before the wedding this December. Being Mormon, I needed to find a dress that met certain standards. Being a cheapskate, I wanted a beautiful dress that didn't cost me an arm and a leg... as well as my first child. Might I also mention, I live in Texas and it's almost impossible to find a wedding dress with sleeves in any of the bridal boutiques here?

I ran across Shirley's Dress soon after a very disappointing appointment at David's Bridal and decided to take a chance. I'd read all the reviews online... but all that really mattered to me was that the dress was as white as a sheet of paper, had sleeves, and fit. If I had my way I'd just wear any old dress... but my mother insisted.

I found a dress that I liked and ordered away, choosing to input my specific measurements rather than choosing a pre-ordered size. After ordering, I realized I forgot to include the measurements for my arm circumference & arm hole. Immediately, I emailed their customer service the issue and the amended measurements (This was about 11 pm central time). Their customer service responded the next morning that they had added the measurements to my order. I received an email 2 days later stating that the tailoring of the dress had started. 2 weeks after ordering, I received an email saying that the dress had been shipped with DHL and included the tracking number as well as a link to the DHL website where I could view the dress' progress. The shipping was incredibly fast. My dress showed up 2 days later after I received my email.

Here's what I noticed about the dress:

It wasn't exactly like the picture (being that the dress' design was by Allure Bridal, I'm pretty sure this was a knock-off... but hey, I'm not complaining) but it was pretty darn close.

There were a couple of strings hanging off the dress, but that's easily solved.

The dress itself was beautiful, I was pretty excited to see that there was a hidden zipper behind all the buttons in the back. This wasn't included in the description of the dress, but I'm very happy that it's there. All those buttons could've been a problem on the wedding night;)

Though I had put in my exact measurements the dress was a bit too big on me, but I had expected this and planned on getting it tailored in person so that it would fit like a glove.

Other than that? I'd say that I would buy from them again. I'm satisfied with my purchase, even after all the sketchy reviews. Then again, everyone has their own opinion... I figured I would put my two cents out there with the facts.

The only reason I rated it four-stars was because of the hanging strings, and the fact that the fit wasn't closer to perfect. Overall I'm glad I saved all the money I would've spent on a gown. Now I can put it towards other things!:)

Also, I would like to point out that I've copied this review and posted it to other review sites as well