On Wednesday, yes... I know I'm a week behind, I went wedding dress shopping with my sister. Well she shopped, I just oohed and awwed. Anyways, there was this girl there who was trying on a wedding dress that I tried on four years ago when I was dress shopping.
So, my dad brought up this point: Why is there no second hand market for wedding dresses? Obviously if they have the same style in a store for four years it is not all about the changes in fashion. Also, they are SOO expensive new, you think people would just be flocking to save money but this does not seem to be the case.
I think it may have something to do with every woman wanting her dress to be "her own" and no one else's. Personally my dress is in a box in my closet. I will probably never wear it again and may only look at it once or twice if my kids ask. But, I did the same thing that lots of people do. I just couldn't bear to part with it so I had it cleaned and stuffed into a box to gather dust in my closet. Makes sense doesn't it?
So, here's your discussion topic for the day. What is your opinion as to why there is very little market for second hand wedding dresses? If you are married, did you even consider looking for one or was it new all the way? Finally, where is your dress now? (Or your mom's or sister's or friend's if you are not married.)
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
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9 comments:
I think that there is a difference between borrowing a wedding dress from a friend or a family member who has had a happy marriage. The stigma begins when you are buying a wedding dress from someone that you do not know and do not know the history of their marriage. I would not want to get married in a dress that a doomed marriage started in...call me crazy!
My dress is still hanging in my spare room closet... soon that room will no longer be "Spare" and I will need to store it in a much better manner!
We got married by ourselves at the courthouse, so I did not have a wedding dress. I know that my mom's wedding dress spent years (probably over 20) in a cedar chest at my grandmother's house. Once I started working at a drycleaners during my senior year of high school, I convinced my mom to take advantage of my discount and have her dress taken care of correctly. So now it is in a box with a plastic see-through front that anyone can see. Of course, it's on the top of the armoire in my old bedroom just collecting dust, but if I ever wanted to see it I could. My mom was saving the dress in case I ever wanted to use it, but unfortunately, my chest was much bigger than hers and I could never zip the back all the way up.
I absolutely would have bought a secondhand dress. In fact, I bought my wedding dress at a shop that sold only secondhand dresses and samples (all donated--the proceeds went to charity). I ended up buying a sample, which meant I could afford a much nicer dress than if I'd bought new, but I also wouldn't have had a problem buying one of the secondhand ones.
On the other hand, I had my dress preserved and it's sitting in a box in my closet. I considered donating it back to the same shop but I just couldn't part with it. :)
Great topic! I have been married for almost 14 years now. I got married in a secondhand wedding dress (or maybe it was 3rd or 4th hand...I have no idea!) that was purchased for $125 from a shop specializing in reused formal wear. The dress is (I think)in a plastic tote under my front staircase. I know, shame on me! It's never been cleaned, it's improperly stored...it even still has a rip in the hem from where the pastor's wife stepped on it as I started up the aisle. I haven't looked at it in awhile to see how it's doing. I think many women do choose to hold onto their wedding dresses for the sake of nostalgia. Or in my case, to say, "Look how skinny I was when we got married!" At the time I got married, we were poor college students, so it was never an issue of new vs. old. Finances dictated the selection. I loved my dress, though, I do rememeber that!
Sorry Heather, I'll quit clogging your blog comments and give up now. I spell checked my comment and everything went wacko. I'll tuck my tail between my legs and hide in a corner now. I'm so embaressed! :)
I borrowed the dress of a friend (more like a second mother) who saved her dress for her "daughter someday" and had only sons. I was honored to wear it and it required no alterations. Meant to be....
Actually, down here there is a pretty big market for second-hand dresses and resale. Also Ebay has a lot of wedding dresses for sale. So it might be a regional thing. Personally, I saw mine in a magazine and fell in love with it. Though, I did consider wearing my mother's.
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