pre-owned/used vintage wedding dresses?

while my bf is shopping for my engagement ring, i am beginning the hunt for a wedding dress however, due to the recession and my frugal budget, i cannot afford to spend $1,000+ for a dress i will wear once.

i am an avid thrift/vintage shopper, and therefore have no qualms wearing 2nd-hand clothes. also, due to my very small bust (A/AA) and scars on my torso, vintage dresses
tend to have a higher, more conservative neckline. this will kill 2 birds with one stone, lol...possible 3, if i can get a good deal as well!

for the moment, i am casting a wide net, but have the following in mind:
1) high neckline (preferably something on the lacy/vintage side)
2) sleeveless or cap sleeves
3) $500 or less
4) trumpet/sheath/mermaid cut is ideal--what i lack in bust, i make up in curves
and booty!

where can i shop? how do i go about looking? what do i need to be aware of when
contemplating gently used/sample wedding dresses? do you know anyone in the business or owns a dress they are willing to sell?

i fell in love with this one, but the size (i am only 5'4") and price is too much.

http://www.preownedweddingdres.....ize-8.html

i LOVE dresses and am constantly on the hunt for ones that address my particular needs. thank you all for your suggestions and help! i hope to take all of you along
on this journey from beginning to end

ps: thank you all for your advice on what to wear to a wedding a few weeks ago. i received many compliments all evening about the fuscia ankle-length chinese dress
i wore, and will post pictures once we receive them from the photographer. i'm so happy it is possible--amazingly--to look/feel beautiful in a dress without having cleavage of any kind...hooray!

16 years ago

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

I can't wait to see pictures from the wedding that you went to!

I'd start with family members. Do any of your female relatives have a wedding dress that you could use? You can also try regular thrift stores (ya just never know!), vintage/consignment shops, the Penny Saver or other local trading magazines, the Craigslist website, and ebay.
Some "regular" shops are now carrying lines of wedding dresses, too. Don't discount a "non" wedding dress- and check Macy's if you have one. Check out the dresses at J.Crew:
http://www.jcrew.com/AST/Brows.....ebride.jsp
Some of them are in your price range, and don't forget the option of a rental, too.
Good luck finding the dress of your dreams!

cyan45

Active Member

thank you chewyspaghetti! so far, i have checked out a few online pre-owned dress sites, ebay, etsy and craigslist...although macys & nordies don't tend to stock high neckline dresses (as i discovered while hunting for a wedding guest dress), i will definitely check them out both online and in store.

i guess i can't ask family members about dresses until i have a ring on my finger, right? hahaha. that's a great idea though.

Ana

(website)

I was going to suggest the places you've already looked. And ChewySpaghetti beat me to J. Crew. I borrowed my Aunt's vintage wedding dress for my first wedding. It was really gorgeous, so I'd suggest asking family members. I wouldn't look past wedding dress shops, either. My friend got a dress at David's Bridal for about $300, and she made it semi-custom by having a tailor add a silk sash in her favorite color, which was one of the theme colors in her wedding. I like CS's suggestion of a white or cream dress from a regular department store. Depending on the formality of the ceremony, you have lots of options, I think.

bella

They currently have a $99 gown sale at David's Bridal. Perhaps you might like some of them:

http://www.davidsbridal.com/we.....=-49998492|-49997958|-49997265&catentryId=2000506

A bit more expensive but still some coverage:
http://www.davidsbridal.com/we.....=-49998492|-49997958|-49997265&catentryId=6087337

http://www.davidsbridal.com/we.....=-49998492|-49997958|-49997265&catentryId=6092770

http://www.davidsbridal.com/we.....=-49998492|-49997958|-49997265&catentryId=6092778

carissa

In Dallas we have several upscale resale boutiques. I called them (when I wed ten years ago) to inquire which ones had bridal because it seems that only one will carry bridal and the other second hand stores will refer you to that boutique.

I think I spent $75 maybe $50 on my dress, I know I spent more altering it. It was perfect for the occassion.

So, I'd call the closest large metropolis area. It may be worth a day trip.

Anonymous

Such great advice so far! I have a smaller bust too, and I wanted to tell you that when you get alterations made you can have bra cups sewn into a dress. I bought a sample dress as well; the cups sewn in added some support and shape without the worry of finding a "prefect bra" to work with the dress! Good luck in your search!

Kristen

12 (OMG 13 this fall) years ago, I got married in a vintage dress from the 60s. I found it in a random vintage store in my neighborhood (I lived in downtown Chicago at the time). I think I paid $250 for it because there was a tear on the sleeve; my soon-to-be MIL was an excellent seamstress so she completely replaced both sleeves, somehow finding the perfect matching fabric in Detroit for me. Hilariously, when I went to her house to do the fitting she showed me a picture of her in HER wedding dress from the 60s.

It was THE SAME DRESS THAT I HAD BOUGHT.

The collar was a teeny bit different, but everything else? Exactly the same.

Lesson: ask your family members first before you buy vintage. They might already have it in their closet! Mine has been archived and is in an acid-free box downstairs.

thanks everyone for your posts...i had no idea there were so many options
(and really cool stories too). the hunt begins...

necinov20

Member

I have been looking for this product/service and I found this one http://daughtersofsimone.com/ I am not sure about the quality or the origin of their offering. Has anyone have looked into this before? If you have any other options you know are worth the time to check out, please post them here. Thanks!

12 years ago

lyn*

Have you tried http://www.etsy.com? Tons of different sellers and pricepoints.

Also, shopruche.com has pretty wedding gowns too!

anne

This post is 4 years old...

CocoLion

Zombie thread keeps coming alive!

11 years ago

yea, sorry about that ladies...actually the wedding was called off, so...awkward thanks for the help anyways. time to bury the hatchet with this one...DIE DIE DIE!!! LOL

abhicreative12

very informative thread...have lots of info..!!

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