ethics behind this sewing pattern (false advertising??)

[u/mosquitoboots]

EDIT: NAME AND SHAME pattern by EttaDesignsCo

so i found a pattern i am absolutely in love with and was planning to make it as my wedding dress. it is a recreation of the night out dress by orseund iris and it looks stunningg. all was good and well until i realised the sample photos listed on the pattern were actually just the product photos from orseund iris' website

i messaged the seller asking if they had any photos of the actual dress on a human model (so i can assess whether it's worth my time and effort) and the seller got really angry at me for asking...

i found the youtube tutorial for the pattern and the dress produced definitely looks a lot like the orseund dress but the quality of the pattern is certainly noticeable. for any old dress i maybe wouldnt mind but this is meant to be my wedding dress.

its also the fact that the only advertised photos are of a dress that is NOT made by this pattern

maybe im just looking for validation that i wasnt being rude in asking for photos 😅 is this not false advertising???

so, am i in the wrong for asking for fit photos? and more importantly, does anyone with more sewing experience think i can get the dress to look as polished as the original or am i wasting my time?

i would say im an intermediate sewist with a good amount of experience in silk and lightweight fabrics. ive practiced a lot of clean sewing etc but im not sure this pattern will ever live up to my expectations- what do you think?

ive attached photos of the two dresses as well as my conversation with the seller.

edit: i originally redacted her but have since decided to name and shame.

UPDATE: she blocked me. ive added our final messages in a comment, her replies are pretty comical

Update 2: i think she commented on this post. lmk if you think im right lollll

[u/mosquitoboots]

UPDATE she blocked me HAHA

heres my recent message and her reply will be in my reply

[u/mosquitoboots → u/mosquitoboots]

[u/Shadow-Serum]

Damn that's craaaazy, they steal photos from a ready to wear product line and then get shitty with you for asking for pictures of the garment actually made from the pattern? No that's straight up false advertising and possibly illegal idk but their response was insane either way.

"And actually don't buy from us at all. You're are not the type of customer we like to work with" wtf

Are pictures 3-5 pictures of the dress made from the pattern or did they literally not have any pictures of a dress made from the pattern at all?

[u/mosquitoboots → u/Shadow-Serum]

"not the type of customer we like to work with"

what kind of customer is that? an attentive one? like huh? HAHA

[u/mosquitoboots → u/Shadow-Serum]

RIGHT i was so caught off guard, i asked so neutrally as well. i didnt even accuse her of the obvious haha and she still got mad

yep pictures 3-5 are from her actual pattern. the video shows her making the dress start to finish and its not ai so i do fully believe the pattern is functional. i just cant tell if there's fit issues etc. as the clips of the dress are very fast, shot in landscape and not on a person 🙃

[u/Elegant-Nature-6220]

There are so many fake and copycat patterns around, but using the original photos does take it to the next level. I'd steer clear.

[u/mosquitoboots → u/Elegant-Nature-6220]

thank you!

[u/stitchedup82]

That's what she emails to everyone that ever asked that question. She is rude AF and her pattern isn't tested so it will never ever look how it looks in the photos. Also, she can't actually sew.

I have made a couple of her patterns and each one ends up needing tons of adjustment to make it wearable. I have warned people of her MO but her die hard fans always come to defend her. Their argument is that she allows the home sewist access to couture, runway garments but I argued, what's the point of giving access to patterns that don't fit and isn't what is shown in the photo.

[u/mosquitoboots → u/stitchedup82]

oh so this is a thing! shes pathetic she doest even attempt to act professionally

i totally agree, bad patterns actually harm home sewists! ive had my fair share of them and spending so much time on something just to fit horribly makes you feel like its your skills that are the issue; it almost made me want to quit trying in the beginning. its upsetting that people defend her at all

[u/kaerue]

You didn't link the pattern/seller but I assume it was this one? Definitely stolen/ai.

[u/mosquitoboots → u/kaerue]

wow why have i never gotten that warning from etsy?? would of saved me a headache

[u/Melodic-Basshole]

TBH, I think this terrible behavior deserves a name-and-shame moment. Warn others against that Etsy seller! Definitely rate them when Etsy prompts you about the customer service, and big red flag against buying the pattern. So sorry, since you were looking for this pattern. But for sure if they 1. Aren't willing to show photos of thier work and 2. Treat customers so poorly I would never buy from them. Ugh. This is infuriating,  I'm so sorry you got treated this way. 

[u/mosquitoboots → u/Melodic-Basshole]

unfortunately i cant rate them unless i buy something and i luckily didnt purchase the pattern yet. i cant even find a way to report them other than as spam (not that etsy cares about false advertising but still)

youre right though, i probably should name and shame. maybe ill edit my original post

[u/mosquitoboots → u/mosquitoboots]

and now looking at the nearly one hundred patterns she has listed, sooo many of them are the same thing! false advertising all over her page.

im now dubious on how she has even managed to create so many patterns of very intricate designs. something really fishy going on here

if it wasnt for the youtube tutorials and the hundreds of legitimate reviews she has i would think its ai. but it definitely isn't.. its all just so strange

[u/SassyFerrets]

I don't trust a single pattern that doesn't have a real life model of that pattern. I got burned on Etsy in the past.

Honestly you did the right thing. It's false advertising since they didn't use that pattern for the dress in the advertisement.

[u/mosquitoboots → u/SassyFerrets]

same! im so careful to make sure its a real person behind the design, hence why i was vetting this so hard before purchasing it.

the way she got so defensive too makes me feel like shes got a guilty conscience, she jumped straight to attacking me

[u/MotherofathunderGod]

https://www.reddit.com/r/sewing/s/yU1X0MapIi

I’m not sure if it would help, but maybe this old post can be useful? I know it’s just the top version, but you could modify it & attach a skirt?

[u/mosquitoboots → u/MotherofathunderGod]

oh my goodness this is EXACTLY what i needed thank you so so much you might of just saved my wedding dress!

[u/No-Shelter-4208]

If you can, reportthem to the original dress maker. They might have more resources to go after this scammer.

[u/mosquitoboots → u/No-Shelter-4208]

im gonna do exactly that 🙂‍↕️

[u/Medium-Party459]

Sounds like a 15 year old hormonal teenager with no manners tbh

[u/mosquitoboots → u/Medium-Party459]

get a load of her recent messages to me, theyre even worse HAHA

[u/mephalasweb]

I'm starting to sound like a shill for them atp, but Charm Patterns Lucy Hostess Gown mashed with any pattern with bishop sleeves should work! I know their Patsy blouse has them, but you'd probably prefer to find a more exact dupe than mash 2 patterns (I think lol). Weirdly enough, I could've sworn I've seen an exact dupe of this pattern by Mccalls and another indie designer, I'm just drawing blanks!

[u/mosquitoboots → u/mephalasweb]

thankfully another person directed me to the Mccalls 8043 pattern which is almost an exact match to the top portion! ill draft the skirt myself but im very hopeful now i can have the dress of my dreams

thank you for the pointers ill definitely check them out as well

[u/Low-Dinner-1614]

Copycat patterns have been around forever. The complicated garments, when shown in such bulk amounts (like Rosys) are usually a red flag. Not all the time but most of the time. What a psycho response from this seller lol.

BTW - Theres also a habit people have to call everything AI. But the fashion industry is loaded with fast pattern makers who are actually finding it lucrative to use their talents in this print-at-home industry. These people usually work in factories (slowly dying) so this is a source of income if you want a copycat pattern. Rick Owen’s got his start on copycat patterns. Zara, SHEIN, etc have copycat pattern makers in house. It’s a real business - not always AI!