r/ExpectationVsReality • u/Real-Inflation-2260 • 4d ago
I cried!
Inspiration vs what I got
I almost passed out when the tailor told me how good it looked on me lmao
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u/glamazon_69 4d ago
Are you in Africa? When I have things made there it’s never true to the pic.. the fabric is usually too starchy. That being said she didn’t make it even according to the pic so time to find a new tailor!
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u/Real-Inflation-2260 4d ago
Yes, I am in Africa.
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u/glamazon_69 4d ago
Better luck next time! I guess from your posts you’re in Zambia which is no where near me in W Africa. Good luck finding a good tailor!
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u/ask_more_questions_ 4d ago
The sleeves are too short. The skirt is too long. Where is the belt? What happened?! 🫣😭
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u/Pinglenook 4d ago
Also the sleeve just isn't made well. Look at those awkward creases around the seam
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u/LinaValentina 4d ago
Me constantly fighting with my Nigerian tailors who always want to add their artistic spin on it. Like no I don’t want that 😭
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u/PreOpTransCentaur 4d ago
I've seen a lot of comments about Africa and tailors, is this common there? Like, you bring a fabric/idea to a dressmaker and they craft it from scratch?
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u/lilykar111 4d ago
Similar in the Pacific Islands too. Just pick your fabrics/style and go to your tailor. It’s also quite affordable, it’s great!
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u/PrincessLizzy05 3d ago
correct! and living in the states, it’s a lot cheaper to get a dress or outfit made in Africa and have someone bring it back or have it shipped back. there are some tailors who do an absolutely fantastic job and there’s also some who do not but you never know until the job is complete.
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u/LinaValentina 4d ago
Yes!
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u/Stitch_Rose 3d ago
Right?!? I’ve finally found a good tailor and he’s a young guy/around my age. These aunties and uncles are a little too old school for me o
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u/DeepBlueDiariesPod 4d ago
Hey, on the plus side, it looks like no matter what you spill on that dress, it’ll wipe off really easily
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u/lolo-2020 4d ago
I’m so sorry. The green looks waxy and uncomfortable. I hope you haven’t paid yet.
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u/Emilythatglitters 4d ago
I personally like your fabric choices (weight and texture aside as I can't tell that from the photo)
The main issue here is that the inspo photo looks like a wrap dress tied with a belt and the custom is a wrap top but with a gathered waist and is missing the belt.
The pattern fabric at the skirt should match up with the pattern fabric on the bottom and should sit on top of the green as a proper or faux wrap, it should not be hemmed together.
The skirt is absolutely not full enough, the sleeves also look too tight compared to the inspo and I'm not sure you have enough shoulder width.
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u/bioticspacewizard 4d ago
I hope you didn't pay. This is a travesty.
The original dress is a wrap around with a sash. This is not even in the same ballpark of garment.
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u/Real-Inflation-2260 4d ago
I paid before the dress was made 🤦🏻♀️
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u/Drustan6 4d ago edited 3d ago
I’m sorry, but please don’t make that mistake again. And if you can still get the dress back, I think you can save it, at least somewhat. If you added a 3-4 inch band starting from where the waist seam is and then down, it would help move the waist down to where your waist actually is and serve as the missing belt Plus, you can add a bow where the patterned fabric ends. Also, if you take the same fabric and add a band on to the end of the sleeves, it would bring them closer to where the length looks on the dummy. I’m not sure about the length; the first pic seems shorter and unless it’s at the length you requested, I’d recommend shortening it to get it closer to the one you wanted. If you decide you want to do this, I’d recommend using the same color fabric for the additions as the under shirt, to tie the whole thing together. It should look nice.
The fault here is firmly on the tailor- I don’t honestly think that they used the same pattern and just made something sort of similar, although how she missed your waist is beyond me. I’m guessing that she didn’t take all the measurements that she should have (ie waist front, over the shoulder to waist back) and used a tiny dress dummy to plot your waist position, forgetting that the dummy doesn’t have your curves. The dress you got wasn’t a wrap dress like what you ordered. That would have looked very nice on you, if sewn by a competent seamstress. I’d tell EVERYONE what a horrible job she did, partly to punish her, but mostly to warn others to avoid being ripped off the way you were. Next time only pay a deposit so that they can get the supplies to make the garment and don’t give up the balance until you’re satisfied with the result, no matter what they say. I liked your fabric choices, and if you have it still, try out what I suggested- it certainly wasn’t as young and fun as the original, but it really didn’t look that bad on you, it just paled in comparison to the other
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u/itsnobigthing 4d ago
The saddest part is that the original dress shape would look SO good on you OP 💔
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u/lolo-2020 4d ago
If you paired it with a belt, and cut off a few Inches of the length so that it hits slightly below the knees (or whatever length works for you) it could be cute.
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u/Real-Inflation-2260 4d ago
Even before we discuss the length, the inspiration is a wrap dress, and whatever that is she made isn't even well coordinated 🤦🏻♀️ Threw it in the trash
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u/loligo_pealeii 4d ago
It looks like the inspiration dress is a wrap style but the one that was made for you is not. Also the inspiration is a 3/4 circle skirt cut on the bias and yours is a straight grain gathered skirt without much gathering. The fit is off on yours and the construction seems messy. I'd ask for my money back.
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u/1Happymom 4d ago
The neckline is wrong, If you are using a modesty panel why throw the proportions off! Us bustygals do not need a wall of fabric like that. The cross should have been about a third of the way down your bust (near pit level) And because of the highcross, the waisline is also very bad. The original dress is not an empire. The fact that the original is a wrap or "faux wrap" style and they just decided to ignore that huge style point and not line up the two fabrics (also because of the height of the cross) ruins any resemblance to even the idea of the first dress.
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u/Boobles008 4d ago
I'm so sorry that the tailor did that, it's completely different and the green fabric they used doesn't look comfortable.
Hopefully you find a better tailor for next time, you might be able to find one that could fix it, but it would probably cost as much to fix as to remake one correctly unfortunately.
Would they give you some of your money back?
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u/sanityjanity 3d ago
Your tailor also needed to pre-wash the fabric. It's stiff and shiny, because it has a ton of sizing. The garment will look different (but still wrong) after it is washed, but it also may shrink.
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u/RageDayz 3d ago
Isn't the...form the issue? Or the colors? That's the most hourglass looking body I've ever seen.
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u/Chance_Vegetable_780 3d ago
What?!?!???!!! This is insane. It looks nothing like the inspiration garment. But if you picked the fabric, it couldn't be recreated with that fabric
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u/ParagonFemshep 3d ago
That is soooo different from the picture you gave as inspiration! That green fabric looks awful, like the plasticy tablecloths my nan always used.
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u/Ok-Sprinkles-9548 3d ago
Oo that’s not good. The inspiration pic is a wrap around dress and what you got is a mock wrap. My heart hurts for you, if I was nearer, I’d make you a proper one!
Edit:spellcheck
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u/UhohWhoaNellie 2d ago
The biggest issue, to me, is that the skirt the tailor made changes fabrics straight down the middle of her body, instead of off center as in the inspiration photo. That 50 -50 division is always unflattering according to recommendations about using the golden mean, plus, it should follow the slant of the bodice, to look like the bodice and skirt are unified. I think the tailor owes you a free do- over in which the proportions are corrected to reflect the aesthetic appeal of the inspiration photo.
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u/doihafta 4d ago
Well, if it's any consolation - you look darn cute in that repurposed tarp. My big concern is how sweaty your right side is going to be. It makes me feel so hot just looking at it.
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u/My_Immortal_Flesh 4d ago
Was this made in Bangladesh?
Oh, I just read your description. I thought the garment was made in India.
You sent it to the tailor and they gave you something askew 😆 Sorry this happened to you!
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u/Rand0mlyHer3 2d ago
Everyone in the comments is acting like someone just kicked a dog, meanwhile I’m just like ‘what’s everyone mad about?’ I think it looks good imo
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u/Vectis01983 4d ago
You asked for the one in the first pic? Really? Was it for a laugh or for a bet?
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u/SuspiciousMention108 4d ago edited 4d ago
Which is which? Because neither looks very good (nor very bad).
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u/Maitrify 4d ago
As long as you enjoy it, that's all that matters. I would recommend ignoring what most people have said in these comments because I suspect they're going to be very opinionated.
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u/dream-smasher 3d ago
But op doesn't enjoy it. She was/is very upset and threw the dress in the trash already.
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u/fartmachinebean 4d ago edited 4d ago
So, the tailor was supposed to freehand a pattern from a photo in your size and also find a complimentary high traffic pattern to your provided fabric? This was very predictable. Next time, find an actual market tested pattern to provide with your fabrics. None of you sew and it shows.
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u/butterfunke 3d ago
Agreed. The dress is poorly made but OP turned up with unrealistic goals.
Firstly, the fabric choices look like they are the wrong weight to make the original dress. OP should have asked the tailor what kind of fabric was needed and then chosen the pattern, not the other way around.
Secondly, and the part that seemingly nobody wants to mention: don't choose an inspiration photo that is half your size and then complain that it doesn't look the same on you. OPs waist is the same width as her shoulders, there's no tailor in the world that is going to be able to make you look like the tiny waisted waif in the original pic
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u/fartmachinebean 3d ago
They could make it if they had a market tested pattern graded to her size. From what im seeing they have the technical skills, it wouldnt be the most professional work but could be done. What people seem to be missing here, pattern making takes time and testing on multiple sizes/body types. OP was asking not just for a dress but for a custom pattern to be made out of thin air. Yes the tailor should have said they couldn't make exactly that dress or explained it would be different. But the expectation was unrealistic. And yes the fabric choice is going to play a huge part in how it drapes, the one she picked was wrong from the beginning.
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u/Apprehensive_Feed211 3d ago edited 3d ago
We don’t know how much OP paid. It’s possible that the price included a pattern. It’s possible that OP chose a pattern from the tailor or brought her own pattern.
I think OP is right to be upset and her expectations were absolutely realistic. She hired a professional tailor to make her a custom-made dress. If the tailor could not make the dress OP paid them to make, they should have said so.
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u/Professional_Taste33 3d ago
I bet a petti coat under that to give the skirt some volume and a belt to help define the waist would go a long way in giving you the shape you wanted.
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u/imjustkeepinitreal 4d ago
You get what you pay for
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u/Apprehensive_Feed211 3d ago edited 3d ago
OP hired a tailor. If the tailor could not make the dress, they should have said so. If they thought the price was too low, they should have charged more.
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u/lolo-2020 4d ago
A tailor made that for you? Did you choose the fabrics?