Quality of Oriental Trading Items (Parasols)

Hey ladies:

For those of you who have ordered or used OT parasols, are they of decent quality and size?

I am only ordering 12 for our mothers, our flower girl, me and those guests that really cannot take the sun.

The ceremony is less that 1/2 hour long, so the rest won't die

Luna Bazaar does not ship to Canada, so they are not an option, and OT is cheaper than Asian Ideas....

But does cheaper mean poorer quality?

I bought the package of 12 parasols for $29.99 that you are supposed to paint but we left them as they were, just tied some ribbon on the handle to match the colour of the bridesmaids dresses. They were just for the guests to use whilst waiting and watching the ceremony. No one in the wedding party used one and none were used in any of the photo's.

They came shipped in a box that fit nicely into a friend's suitcase. The guests certainly appreciated having them as it was pretty hot during the ceremony. Many of them thanked me for them. They were ok quality for what we needed them for. None of them got broken or torn as far as I know, but I told the guests to take them with them I didn't keep them.

I did go into Toronto's China town and checked the parasols out but they were all decorated and we decided to go with something plain. I did get sandalwood fans there though for $1 a piece but don't ask me which store it was.

Paper Paint Your Own! Parasols

Looks like a good deal! I would think the quality is fine for the short time. I just wish they had solid colors vs. the paint-your-own and the hibiscus...

Mine just came so I will answer my own question

They are more of an off-white/ magnolia white as opposed to a pristine white. This will not matter in the sunlight as I am sure they will show up as bright white.

All 12 of mine came in great condition. I read on the OT website that some people recieved their order with stains and rips, so only 2 of the 12 were usable. But not the case with mine. I prayed about this...as I do with everything

The construction is a little rough...the wooden handles are not very smooth or refined. At first, you may be afraid to open them becaue they are paper and do not open readily/ easily. But once up, they are fine.

They are not overly large. They can be used for adults and will not overwhelm a flower girl. But I am not sure that two people could fit under them without huddling...very closely. So if you are thinking one parasol for two people...hmmmm...you may want to think about that.

What else? They will need some sort of decor. Their original purpose is for painting projects, so I don't think they were created to stand alone...ribbons, paint or crystals will definately up their potential. If you want more refined elegance, I would try the nylon or silk parasols.

I live in Toronto and mine came in 10 business days, instead of the 20 business days they quoted me. Think about it...20 business days is ONE MONTH! So Canadian brides, get on this, just in case shipping is slow or they run out. They cost me $59.04 CAD with shipping...so yes, that is double the cost for us Canadian girls!

But they're here and all set up in my living room...I am excited to start doing something to them!

Thanks BeautifulBridetoBe for giving us a description of the parasols from OT. That's helpful

I didn't know oriental trading carried parasols. Thanks for this post. I think they serve it's purpose.

I also purchased my parasols from OTC but I had a similar experience as a lot of the reviewers on OTC's website. Our of the original 12 parasols we received we had 5 that were perfect with no tears or big stains. We only needed 5 for our purposes so we got lucky.

We did end up with 3 more parasols that would have been usable in a pinch and probably would have done the job if we were painting them all one color.

We had 3 that were not usable in any way and that we would have returned if we had needed all twelve of them. Our last parasol was a total joke and had a giant tear that was about 1/4 of the entire size of the parasol. When we opened that one just to play with it we had problems with the handle.

All of the handles were pretty rough but not so much that they were unusable. I'm happy with our parasols overall.

Thanks for the information, I think I'm going to head to Chinatown to see what I can find.