Review: Jane BonBon Silk Dress as Bridesmaid Dress
This is a photo heavy review of a dress I had made by Jane BonBon on etsy. It is a silk dress that I wore as a bridesmaid dress for my brother's wedding.
My beloved big brother got married in November to his incredible wife. They asked me to be a bridesmaid which got me super excited, and then super stressed about what to wear. I could wear anything as long as it was purple and wasn't metallic or super sparkly. I looked and looked and didn't see anything I liked that was either in my size range or in my budget (under $200 ideally, willing to spend up to $250). I went searching for custom dresses and found this gorgeous dress, in silk for $150. Basically, custom fit, in a wide range of colors and below budget. Fan-fucking-tastic.
I e-mailed to get some modifications done (I wanted the waist band from a different dress). I picked colors and sent my measurements in. Because my proportions are unusual, I also sent in a picture of myself in bra and panties with lines drawn where I took the measurements (I don't think that step was necessary for most people, link 1, link 2).
I gave her at least five weeks lead time and told her when my deadline was. She communicated regularly (when the fabric arrived, when she was sending it out, etc) and was super friendly and helpful about it. When my dress came I immediately put it on and made my roommate take pictures. It fit really well. Really really well. I was amazed that the fit was so good considering we were doing this over the internet. My only complaint was that I wanted maybe a 1/4-1/2 inch more room in the bust. It didn't look tight at all, and nothing was straining. Just in an ideal world I would want that teeny bit more space.
Front and back
I also wanted to point out how nicely she finished the interior. The dress is fully lined in plain cotton, all seams are well finished, the zipper is neatly put in and there is a care tag. These details may not seem important because no one can see, but they contribute to both the dress fitting well and it holding up in the long run.
For the wedding, I accessorized the dress with a fake pearl necklace and a beaded hair flower from Ododo Originals (via etsy). I wore silver flats from Payless.
Me and my big brother!
The wedding party (the color is true here)
The dress was super comfortable and I got a ton of compliments on it. Unfortunately, after the wedding there was a snag. Under my arms the dress had changed color from the lovely lilac to a bright pink purple. I took the dress to some friends who are knowledgeable about fabric and dyes. Their assessment was that it wasn't a stain. What had happened is my sweat had reacted with the dye and changed the color. Some people have, well, reactive sweat. I know sometimes makeup colors shift when I put them on, so it wasn't a total surprise even if I've never had my clothing shift color like this on me before.
I e-mailed Jane BonBon about this and she was apologetic. This had never happened to her before. She e-mailed the company who supplied the fabric repeatedly about this issue and got no response. She very kindly has offered compensation for the dress, which is great. If I had bought this at a store, I would have taken it right the fuck back and asked for my money back. I did not expect any kind compensation for a custom item from a small seller. Her customer service ethic is seriously fantastic.
Since the dress was unwearable with bright pink stains under the arms, I decided to try dyeing it. I got some Jacquard silk dye, and went to town. I tried to not dye the waist band. I decided to overdye in a raspberry color since the stain was pink.
Here it is freshly dyed. It's wrinkly because I let it air dry, and the color needs to be set. I'm pleased with how it came out and I think I will have a wearable dress at the end of the day.
To sum up this ENORMOUS post. I was incredibly pleased with my dealings with Jane BonBon. She made me a gorgeous dress that fit exceedingly well. I will definitely purchase from her again and would recommend her work to other Fatshionistas. I think she is a great choice for people who are frustrated with the limited (and expensive) options for bridesmaid dresses and the like. I also wanted to say that all of the cotton dresses of hers that I've seen in person are fantastic and I plan to get some. Jane BonBon TWO THUMBS UP.
My beloved big brother got married in November to his incredible wife. They asked me to be a bridesmaid which got me super excited, and then super stressed about what to wear. I could wear anything as long as it was purple and wasn't metallic or super sparkly. I looked and looked and didn't see anything I liked that was either in my size range or in my budget (under $200 ideally, willing to spend up to $250). I went searching for custom dresses and found this gorgeous dress, in silk for $150. Basically, custom fit, in a wide range of colors and below budget. Fan-fucking-tastic.
I e-mailed to get some modifications done (I wanted the waist band from a different dress). I picked colors and sent my measurements in. Because my proportions are unusual, I also sent in a picture of myself in bra and panties with lines drawn where I took the measurements (I don't think that step was necessary for most people, link 1, link 2).
I gave her at least five weeks lead time and told her when my deadline was. She communicated regularly (when the fabric arrived, when she was sending it out, etc) and was super friendly and helpful about it. When my dress came I immediately put it on and made my roommate take pictures. It fit really well. Really really well. I was amazed that the fit was so good considering we were doing this over the internet. My only complaint was that I wanted maybe a 1/4-1/2 inch more room in the bust. It didn't look tight at all, and nothing was straining. Just in an ideal world I would want that teeny bit more space.
Front and back
I also wanted to point out how nicely she finished the interior. The dress is fully lined in plain cotton, all seams are well finished, the zipper is neatly put in and there is a care tag. These details may not seem important because no one can see, but they contribute to both the dress fitting well and it holding up in the long run.
For the wedding, I accessorized the dress with a fake pearl necklace and a beaded hair flower from Ododo Originals (via etsy). I wore silver flats from Payless.
Me and my big brother!
The wedding party (the color is true here)
The dress was super comfortable and I got a ton of compliments on it. Unfortunately, after the wedding there was a snag. Under my arms the dress had changed color from the lovely lilac to a bright pink purple. I took the dress to some friends who are knowledgeable about fabric and dyes. Their assessment was that it wasn't a stain. What had happened is my sweat had reacted with the dye and changed the color. Some people have, well, reactive sweat. I know sometimes makeup colors shift when I put them on, so it wasn't a total surprise even if I've never had my clothing shift color like this on me before.
I e-mailed Jane BonBon about this and she was apologetic. This had never happened to her before. She e-mailed the company who supplied the fabric repeatedly about this issue and got no response. She very kindly has offered compensation for the dress, which is great. If I had bought this at a store, I would have taken it right the fuck back and asked for my money back. I did not expect any kind compensation for a custom item from a small seller. Her customer service ethic is seriously fantastic.
Since the dress was unwearable with bright pink stains under the arms, I decided to try dyeing it. I got some Jacquard silk dye, and went to town. I tried to not dye the waist band. I decided to overdye in a raspberry color since the stain was pink.
Here it is freshly dyed. It's wrinkly because I let it air dry, and the color needs to be set. I'm pleased with how it came out and I think I will have a wearable dress at the end of the day.
To sum up this ENORMOUS post. I was incredibly pleased with my dealings with Jane BonBon. She made me a gorgeous dress that fit exceedingly well. I will definitely purchase from her again and would recommend her work to other Fatshionistas. I think she is a great choice for people who are frustrated with the limited (and expensive) options for bridesmaid dresses and the like. I also wanted to say that all of the cotton dresses of hers that I've seen in person are fantastic and I plan to get some. Jane BonBon TWO THUMBS UP.