I've never had a dress made before, but I now need a bridesmaid's dress for a wedding in Australia in late October.

Has anyone had a formal dress made? I'm curious to know roughly how many months it takes to get done (simple halter-neck design) and if it's much more expensive than an off-the-shelf dress. Any pitfalls to watch out for also much appreciaed.

It really depends on your dress maker.
Best thing for you to do is to ring/email/or go around different places and get an estimate. Normally if you ask to see their portfolio of previous works done, they'll be glad to show you. Take a colour/fabric sample and the design and they will be able to help you out.

I'm not sure where you could buy dresses off the rack in Switzerland for a decent price though...... maybe you should do some dress hunting before you consider getting it made. The dresses I've seen around CH were all so expensive compared to New Zealand where I'm from =(

Australia has so many little shops to get dresses for a very decent price. I'd say if you were there a week earlier before the wedding you could even find something there if you tried/willing to take the risk =).

Good luck to you anyways

Thanks for the info. The decision about bridesmaids outfits isn't up to me - it's the bride, and she wants exactly the same colour but different styles of dress so both birdesmaids get something that suit them. One lives in France (me) and one in Queensland. It turns out that a friend's mum did it for a living, so I'll be giving her a call.