A recent article in the New Zealand Herald and Wairarapa Times mentioned the hidden cost of buying dresses online. We have been well aware of the buying habbits of New Zealand students and we agree that buying online can be a win win situation so long as the cost of the dress does not out way the cost of altering it. However as the article mentioned there is never any guarantee of the quality of dress and to quote Rasha Taylor of Upper Hutt “many customers would be better off buying a completely new gown” The one thing not mentioned in the article is timing of delivery. We have experienced many girls and mothers contacting our dress advertisers out of desperation because the dress they purchased online needed to be altered and arrived far too late to be fixed in time for the ball. Some retailers have also told us that many girls would visit their shops to view dresses and take advantage of a free fitting only to then purchase the dress online to save a few dollars. In a world of websites, emails, text messages and social networking, buying online is here to stay but it will never beat that face to face retail experience that comes with a 100% local guarantee. Full article