Bless Her Busy Heart

Normally, I wouldn’t take the time to post something like this… but this one really made me mad. When it involves my kid, wasted money, and a fake dress from a shady site? Yeah, I’m speaking up.

It all started with a screenshot. My teenage daughter came running in, phone in hand, beaming from ear to ear. “Mom, THIS is the dress. I need it for the wedding!” She had been invited to a family wedding and wanted something special—something that made her feel confident and cute but still appropriate. And I’ll admit, the dress was gorgeous

She sent me the link, and without thinking much about it, I placed the order. The website looked a little off, but I chalked it up to one of those smaller online boutiques that seem to pop up all over social media. The price was reasonable, and we were cutting it close on time—so I clicked “buy” and crossed it off my to-do list.

A week or so later, a package arrived. My daughter tore it open in excitement… and the look on her face said it all. This was not the dress!!!!. Her excitement turned to confusion, then frustration.

I felt awful—like I’d let her down.

Trying to figure out what went wrong, I double-checked the website and decided to do a little digging. I looked up the return address listed on the shipping label, and to my surprise, it was tied to several scam warnings on Google. Apparently, this site—or ones like it—had been flagged by multiple people for sending incorrect or low-quality items and offering no real customer service or return process. The site had no phone number, the “contact us” form bounced back, and the return policy was intentionally vague. We’d been scammed.

In the end, we had to scramble to find another dress (shoutout to the local boutique that saved the day last minute!). But more importantly, we learned a lesson I won’t soon forget: when it comes to online shopping—especially for special occasions—do your homework. Check reviews. Google the company. And if the price looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Here is the dress on the site:

Buyer beware: The website we ordered from was jalatvs.com, and based on our experience—and what we’ve now found online—it appears to be part of a larger network of scammy online shops. While the site looks legit at first glance, what you get may be nothing like what you ordered. If you’re considering buying from them, please do your research first. We learned the hard way so you don’t have to.

My daughter took it like a champ, and now we can laugh about the whole thing… kind of. But hopefully, our little fashion fiasco saves another mom or teen from the same disappointment.