SHRADDHA BANSAL
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REVIEW ESSAY
Replicas of Bridal Wear
Replicas and their original representation can be seen as fake or real depending on the viewer. Good replicas take much education related to understanding all the processes and history that go behind the culture and the original creation. To create a good and authentic replica of an object, there is to be a skilled artisan or forger to create the same authentic experience that the original object provides. When producing celebrity replica wedding dresses or evening gowns for a gala there are also other things that can be done to keep the cost down.
There are various methods in how to construct a bridal lehanga. You can produce the entire dress by hand which will of course take longer. This means the cost will be higher. There are also certain parts of the construction where a machine can be used instead of hand finishing. This of course makes a huge difference in the cost of a garment as well. For example, as you look at various bridal lehenga and evening dresses first take a look at the hem. You can easily tell if it was done by hand or machine. The terms knock off or copy have a very negative connotation. But the truth of the matter is a bride may just love a design and simply cant afford it. Or sometimes the lehenga design may be discontinued and no longer available from the original dress designer. Having a knock off designer wedding dress may be her only option. These are ways to save money with a wedding dress recreation on the inside of the dress without the item looking totally different on the outside. Just by changing some of the minor construction points can make a huge difference in your custom gown and its pricing.
The embellishments on a wedding dress reproduction can also make a difference. Lets take beaded sequin for example. Years ago people would hand bead the entire dress. They would tie down every 3rd to 5th bead for better quality to make sure if you lost some beads it would not be a large portion. And in some cases this is still true. This of course will increase the cost of any garment. But there are also large factories now who can manufacture all types of sequin fabrics and beaded laces (or embroideries) in a wide variety of colors and patterns. So we can use the fabric that is already beaded and simple finish the edges. This saves on time and on money. However the overall design of the formal evening dress has not changed dramatically.
Grades and Quality
A/Regular - This is the worst quality of rep. If accuracy of cut, materials, and detail are what you're looking for, this quality is to be avoided at all costs. They are cheaply made and poorly designed.AAA - One tier up from A/Regular quality. These are made with slightly better materials and often have much better cuts, but still use poor materials. Perfect - These are a much better quality than AAA, often using materials and a cut very close to the Authentics. These are good for rocking from afar, but up close the flaws are likely apparent.Super Perfect - These are essentially Perfects with all the fixes, making them much closer to authentic look and quality. Super Max Perfect - This is the best replica grade possible without going Authentic. These are essentially Super Perfects with the the problems and flaws fixed. They are pricey, but we get our money's worth.Authentic - This is the best grade possible. They are essentially unauthorized productions of the real, retail shoe. All cuts, colors, and materials will be spot on with retail pairs.
Typical Good/Bad Replicas
Now things to avoid, because the replica world isnt all sunshine and roses, these lehengas should stay away from unless you really dont care about quality or accurate looks
Some replica sites do use generic photographs of lehenga, and sometimes even steal photos from legit websites to use for their lehenga. Its wrong, but there is nothing you can really do about it. If you ordered a lehanga and it was not how you saw it in the picture, be sure to post about it on this subreddit, so people know what to avoid! And now for sites to buy from'
Where to Purchase & General Info
Realistically, there are an unlimited number of sites from where we could purchase online and offline.
Online:
Offline:
1.Karol Bagh : Ajmal Khan Road has been the mecca for shopping for wedding clothes for years. Although once popular for being reasonably priced, today it has shops selling exquisite bridal pieces costing lakhs of rupees.
Chandni Chownk Take a metro ride to Chandni Chowk (because you probably won’t find space to park your car). Yes, it is crowded and congested. But a palpable upside is the sheer variety on offer. And no, the shopkeepers here are not clueless uncles not understanding what you are looking for. In fact, they speak fashion and will tell you about the latest trends. There are a slew of shops selling replicas of the works of established designers. Some, say they house ‘inspired by Bollywood’ pieces, like the shop Anarkali Bazaar.Hauz khaz village the bohemian market is home to several boutique outlets. The charming alleys offer a wonderful shopping experience and lots of cafes to relax once you find your dreamlehenga! The popular ones here are: Ogaan (also in Khan Market and Emporio Mall) and Ole Couture. Ogaan owned by Kavita Bhartia, retails works of various designers starting at Rs 1 lakh. While, Ole offers stunning lehenga collection a bit on expensive side.South Extension ,At Frontier Raas, you will find an astounding collection of bridal wear. All the lehengas have intricate work matching or perhaps even outdoing the designer ones you saw at designer showrooms; and so is the price. The shop, like all others in this market, is ideal for you if your budget is upwards of Rs 60-70k. Fronteir Raas also has an excellent collection of bridal gowns for your wedding and other wedding functions like engagement, cocktail, etc.Lajpat Nagar if you are in this market for some or other wedding shopping. This market has it all. For bridal lehenga, it has options like Libas. “Our USP is the quality of products and great designs that appease NRIs and overseas markets too,” says Purshotam Keswani, co-owner, Libas. Others offering a good variety are Malhotra’s, Shakutalam and CTC Plaza. The price range starts from Rs. 40,000. If you are looking for something in lower price, check out Rudrakshi. And, this market has its fair share of designer stores as well. Check out Kapil & Mmonika’s store, near the Lajpat Nagar metro station, if you are looking for heavy stuff.Defence Colony is another area coming up as a posh hub. If a bridal saree and not lehenga is what you are looking for, check out Nalli Sarees here. There are high-end designer boutique stores under the defence colony flyover worth checking out. Then there are the biggies like Tarun Tahiliani, Shantanu & Nikhil, and Anjalee and Arjun Kapoor.
Some cost-cutting (approximate price):
Designers
Originals
Replicas
Sabyasachi
2.25 lakh onwards
50-80,000
Manish malhotra
5 lakh onwards
30-60,000
Varun bahl
2.5 lakh onwards
25-50,000
Every girl has a dream to look her best at her wedding day. Every girl would want to wear the similar lehenga which Aishawarya Rai wore on her wedding, but can every girl afford it? No. Replicas are similar looking lehenga which a girl could buy and wear on her wedding day. These replicas are not harming the designers image nor is it trying to “steal” there personal creation, because when replicas are sold they are sold with the Designers name only. These replicas definitely lack in the quality but look very similar to the originals and people prefer buying them to satisfy their needs for the same. Therefore I feel that it is okay for the sellers to sell the Replicas and the buyers to buy them. Every girl deserves to wear whatever she wants to on her wedding day at least and if buying a designer replica helps her to fulfil her desire then she should definitely buy one.
I would like to conclude that there are many people who belong to middle class families or below, they too have desires of wearing beautiful and designer lehengas which they cannot afford so they opt for replicas. These replicas are available online and offline at very reasonable prices. Many shopkeepers also make such lehengas on order as in people can give them the picture of the lehenga and they can make it for such customers. These replicas look very similar to the original designer lehengas, they just lack in quality. In the end I would just say that buying a replica is a good and reasonable option.
Refrencing :
Fibre2Fashion(2015) Bridal dress suppliers and manufactures from skylark international,India [online].Available from: http://garment.fibre2fashion.com/819978/bridal-dress_suppliers.html. [Acessed :22 feb 2015].
Sneakerreps(2015) A beginners ride guide to replica sneakers[online].Available from : http://www.reddit.com/r/sneakerreps/comments/24ivq8/a_beginners_guide_to_replica_sneakers/ [Acessed:22 feb 2015]
Unnati exports [2015] The punch of 12 extra ordinary designer partywear lehengas.[online] Available from: http://unnatiexports.com/blog/author/Admin/ [Acessed :23 feb 2015]
Bollywood replica –suits,sarees and kurtis –shipping worldwide [2015] Hit design stock ready [online] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/Bollywoodapparels [Acessed:23 feb 2015]
The times of india,Tuli.A [2013]Delhi brides strategy : designer lehenga at local price [online] Available from: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/fashion/trends/Delhi-brides-strategy-Designer-lehenga-at-local-price/articleshow/20121603.cms [Acessed :22 feb 2015]
Darius cordell fashion ltd [2015] Replica wedding dresses – reproduction bridal gowns [online] Availble from: http://www.dariuscordell.com/featured/replica-wedding-dresses-reproduction-bridal-gowns/ [Acessed:23 feb ,2015]
Horras.s[2013] Current market trends [online] Available from: https://shyennehorras.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/market-analysis-of-the-wedding-dress-industry.pdf [Acessed:23 feb,2015]
Bennoit.A [2006] strategies for replica placement in tree networks [online]Available from: http://graal.ens-lyon.fr/~yrobert/slides/slides-replicas.pdf [Acessed:23 feb,2015]