Replikate review: Ikat print dress from Ebay

The dress Kate wore when she visited the Blue Mountains during last April's Royal Tour was one of my all time favourites on Kate as soon as I saw it. It is perfect for both formal and informal occasions, making you look appropriately dressed both for the office and for a family barbecue, depending on what accessories you combine it with. 

Kate's original dress was quickly IDd as the 'Patrice' dress from Diane von Furstenberg (US$ 450), which features 3/4-length sleeves, a cross-over wrap front with self-fastening waist tie, a hidden side zipper and two pockets. The 'Patrice' is made of 100% no-stretch cotton and is unlined. 

Several weeks ago a few Kate blogs posted about this replikate on Ebay, that looked almost identical to the original one, but for a fraction of the price: US$ 59. That sounded almost too good to be true (replikates made in China tend to be too short for me, to not even talk about the abysmal quality), but I gave it a shot anyway and ordered it.

The package arrived very fast! After payment it only took about 10 days to arrive in the Netherlands. It came however, in a very tiny package, so I was afraid the dress would be very thin, and also: very wrinkled. Luckily though, both were not the case. 

Just a few facts about this replikate, to compare it to the original dress: it is made of 80% polyester and 20% silk and is lined with a white fabric made of 90% viscose and 10% silk. To be honest, I mostly notice the polyester and viscose, and not really any silk :-P The replikate is a faux-wrap dress, with a separate sash, a hidden zipper on the left side, and no pockets. But although there are a few design differences with the original 'Patrice' dress, I must say the Ebay dress is a really good replikate (I only noticed the differences when I researched the original dress for this post). 

I am 5'9" and usually a US 8, sometimes 10, and the XL I ordered fits me great, leaving a bit of room for me in case I gain a few pounds, so I'd say the XL is a solid US 10 (UK 14), which matches the size guide in the Ebay listing. 

The verdict:
I won't lie, so I'll tell you you won't fool anyone who knows a bit about fashion into thinking this is a real DvF dress. The craftsmanship and fabric are both alright, but definitely not DvF quality. But is it a good replikate worth your US$ 59? Absolutely!

You can buy the replikate here.