...and down goes the dream dress.

So, turns out the vintage dress was a scam. Someone called it on being a rip-off of a current designer's gown, and a cheap one at that. Needless to say, I am no longer interested in a cheap-looking knockoff made in China from a photo.

The upside? I like the actual version even more than the eBay rip-off. A current dress means that bridal salons will carry it, and I can try it on. And get it professionally tailored without freaking out about ruining a vintage dress.

The downside? Price hike. Went from $200 to about $1k. Still very cheap for a wedding dress (especially one as complicated as it is, with tiers and area-specific lace) and can be found brand new for about $800, but still. I was psyched about it being so cheap. Ah, well - not a bad bargain, considering that it'll be two dresses if I modify it the way I plan to. And the wedding is low-budget everywhere else.

And I can always troll ebay or other sites to see if it pops up. I did a quick search on Craigslist, but no luck. And 90% of the wedding sites online are run by the Chinese sweatshop knockoff makers, which is frustrating because there's no way to filter them.

I have an appointment to try it on in a salon on Wednesday. Maybe I can get the sample cheap?