**Please note; the original seller of this dress has turned out to be a scammer. Since the posting of my original review they have been nothing but unprofessional so I have removed their name and links from my review. Although my first interaction with them was positive, I do not wish anyone else get scammed. I have left my review as it was but have redacted the stores name and links. Thank you for your understanding**

I remember when I first started sewing, much like anyone new to the skill, I created a list of all the outfits I will one day make. Towards the top of my list was the iconic blue dress worn by Rachel McAdam’s in the 2004 film, ‘The Notebook’. It’s been several years since I learnt to sew and I still haven’t felt brave enough to attempt sewing such a dress and for quite a while, I’ve been keeping my eye out for a good dupe or replica of the outfit. It was late one Wednesday night that I was reminded that I still didn’t own my dream blue dress so I began to look for it online, eventually, after quite some searching, I came across the company, **REDACTED** who sell budget friendly replica’s of iconic dresses from vintage and modern films, celebrities and stage costumes. They also sold The Notebook dress. In today’s post we will be looking at a review of **REDACTED** and seeing if this replica stands up to it’s potential.

I had never heard of **REDACTED** before and I was honestly a little skeptical as some online retailers may promise you dreams but deliver absolute nightmares. I couldn’t find out where **REDACTED** was based, who owns it or much about it so I was a little hesitant. There are plenty of sketchy celebrity-dupe online stores where you are offered budget friendly celebrity red carpet gowns but there’s never an actual picture of what you could possibly receive. I was pleasantly surprised that **REDACTED** did offer true images of their gowns and only used the true celebrity image as inspiration. In the About Us section of the**REDACTED**site, they shared their story but they also promoted how each item is handmade, and made to be close to, but not exact to the original idea. I actually found this section pretty helpful as they showed photos of various stages of dress construction which gave me hope for my future order.

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I figured it would be worth a try, I knew if I would attempt this dress myself, we would both end up on the floor an emotional mess because there’s no way I won’t stuff it up somewhere along the line. Alrighty, let’s do it, let’s order the Notebook dress. This is the dress we chose, and oddly enough, there were no photos of what the dress may look like, no reviews and no description…what could possibly go wrong. The dress retails for about $200 AUD which can be pretty hefty for a dress; I was really concerned by what the blue floral fabric could look like (used in the collar and buttons) as it could really be anything. I ordered the US size 6, (EU 36, UK 10) and then waited as patiently as Allie did for letter from Noah.

The dress took just under one month to arrive at my house (pretty standard for current shipping times due to the world’s status). I ripped open the bag and folded really nicely inside another plastic bag, was my brand new Notebook replica dress. One of the main things I was worried about was the blue floral accent fabric that would be used for the collar and buttons on the dress. Well, it’s basically perfect. The floral fabric works perfectly well with the rest of the dress and the scale and size of the flowers is pretty accurate to what was used for the original costume. I dont think I could have found a better fabric if I tried (and believe me, I tried).

As for the fit, well, it fit like an absolute glove, but if I were to be picky, maybe it was just slightly too tight as a bit of a looser fit would have made it more comfortable. The dress sits quite high on the neckline so if you are wearing a pearl necklace like in the film, you won’t see it. The skirt hits me just on the knee line so I wish it was a few inches longer. The dress is fully lined and really well made; I cannot fault it for it’s quality. I am also really happy with the little belt it comes with as it fits really well and doesn’t slip off like some others. I really felt beautiful whilst wearing this dress, it’s perfect for vintage lover, film buffs or anyone else wishing Ryan Gosling would write them 365 letters.

I am beyond pleasantly surprised about the outcome of this science experiment. I really wasn’t expecting to love this dress and find it as perfect as it was but oh my gosh I love it and I already have a Wishlist for my next purchase. If you have wanted to own the blue Notebook dress for as long as I have, you don’t have to look any further because we found where to get an amazing copy of it. I did see it on Etsy several years ago but I cannot find that listing again so I would say it’s gone. I really did a lot of searching and this was the only current available replica of this dress. The price can be a little hefty but knowing it was made by hand and seeing the final quality of the piece makes me know it was completely worth the final price.

Note: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions and thoughts expressed are solely my own and not influenced in any way. There are no affiliate links and I do not benefit from any link clicks or purchases made.