You’ve shopped till you dropped, ready to spend every last cent you earned on that gorgeous gown for prom. How excited were you to find the dress for 25% off the rack pricing online!? With anticipation, you ripped open the box when it arrived. But, instead of excitement you felt duped and angry. The gown you thought you ordered is not the one in that box. Welcome to the new con in couture. Yesterday, the Today Show brought to light a scary new trend in online prom dress shopping – copycat designers overseas are literally tricking teens with ‘too good to be true’ pricing. Turns out they really are too good to be true. High-end designer websites are being replicated and replaced with very low-end, cheaply designed gowns that look identical online – but, are in fact not at all like their counterparts. Often these sites steal photos right off the designer’s page and insert them into their fake sites using identical images, backgrounds and text. They work hard to trick you!   Why not just buy a cheaper copy of the gown I want? We hear you. Gowns are pricey – but you really do get what you pay for. There is no discount in purchasing a copycat dress. These knock-off gowns are very cheaply made using low-end fabrics that quickly fall apart. Sizing is never correct. Often colors are wrong as well as intricate beading, edging or detailing not included or completely different than photographed. On The Today Show this teen was expected to sew on her own beading!  

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  Getting your money back is also a nightmare – it will likely never happen. There are no returns, no exchanges. Time to go shopping for a replacement! So, how’s a girl to know when she’s shopping at the real designer sites? Here at Sydney’s Closet we suggest always looking for an Authorized Retailer page. For an extra security measure you can always feel free to call the designer directly before you place your order. Our gowns are always original design, created using only high-quality materials and always backed by strict quality standards. Pictures Speak A Thousand Words… Here are some photos our Sydney’s Closet Team put together illustrating the differences between our authentic product and the copycats.     Don’t be fooled! Please contact us if you have any questions about our products or designs.