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Beverly Yip always envisioned herself getting married in a dress worn by brides like Monique Lhuillier, Berta or Casablanca. The former owner of a rental business that supplies bed linen, glassware and other wedding supplies, Yip, who sold that company in 2017, identified favorite designers by noting what the other brides are wearing.
By the time she got engaged in February 2021, “I never thought I would be the bride,” says Yip, 44. Another scenario she never imagined? Buy second hand robe.
Her hunt for a wedding dress begins at Shop Monique Lhuillier near her home in San Francisco, where she found the experience somewhat frightening. “The Pretty Woman scene was like that — no one even offered to let me try on the dress,” she said. “I guess I don’t look like I can afford it.”
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Followed by appointments at other stores, including David’s Bridal. But Yip, who now works in software sales, couldn’t find anything that would justify spending thousands of dollars. She soon expanded her search to second hand retailer, starting with the website Queenly, where she previously resold a tuxedo. After days of consideration, she finally purchased a pre-owned Jovani gown from the site for $500 to wear to her June 26 wedding.
The ivory strapless dressfeatures a pointed neckline, crystal-studded belt, and high-leg slit, which “feels like me,” says Yip.
“You can find a dress that makes you feel good for a fraction of the cost – you can save thousands of dollars,” she adds. “You just have to be willing to dig a little.”
More wedding dresses have hit the market at many thrift stores lately than in previous years, giving brides like Yip an even better chance of finding the perfect gown. fit their style and pocket.
Nikki Pak, 36, an independent business and career coach in Hamilton, New Zealand, drove two hours to pick out a dress she bought on Still White, a website that specializes in bridal gowns. pre-owned, February 2021.
“I was five months pregnant at the time,” says Pak. “I got married in just three months,” she added.
Pak paid about $370 for designer Stella York’s dress, which retails for $2,500, according to its listing. “I don’t want to spend thousands on a dress,” she said, “because I’m pregnant. We wanted to get married quickly.”
Pak added: “I actually have a very good relationship with the woman I bought it from. “I even sent her a photo of me wearing it on my wedding day.”
At Vestiaire Collective, a luxury resale website, wedding dress registrations between March 2020 and March 2022 increased by 527% compared to the two-year period from March 2018 to March 2020, Amber Lopez, a brand partner and influencer said the manager at the company.
Buy wedding dresses from Vestiaire Collectiveno listing fees and making 12% of the total on each sale, which is a 480% increase when compared to that same two-year period, Lopez added.
Ingrid Szajer founder Ingrid Szajer said Still White, which charges a $20 listing fee but does not include sales commissions, has more than 60,000 wedding dresses with prices ranging from $10 to $60,000.
Jenna Wolf, 34, a stay-at-home parent in Bloomfield, Michigan, bought a “Vera” dress by Lee Petra Grebenau to wear at destination wedding she was planning to hold it in Miami in May 2020. When the pandemic hit, she initially folded her arms because of the dream event she thought could still happen. “I was optimistic, but then Miami closed,” she said, “and the venue canceled our wedding.”
That spring, Wolf and her husband were married in a Los Angeles courthouse, where they lived at the time, largely because he needed to join her insurance plan. Then they had a baby and now, she says, “I’m pregnant with #2.” She added, the wedding dress she bought for $7,500 “wouldn’t fit me.”
Unworn, it’s currently listed for $6,000 on Still White.
“Apparel is the second biggest expense after location,” said Wolf. “I was sad” to have to list it for resale, she added, “and there have been several weeks where I have cried. But the baby’s excitement helped.”
Oke Oghene, 31, who lives in Astoria, Queens, said she initially bought two dresses to wear to the wedding she plans to have in Brooklyn in 2020: “One for the ceremony and one for the reception.”
When that event was canceled due to the pandemic, “I had my wedding in a boardroom at the Marriott Hotel on Long Island,” said Oghene, who works as a curator at a public school. . “So I just wore the front desk dress for that.”
The dress she didn’t wear, which was supposed to be for her ceremony, came from Vera Wang and retailed for $1,000. Oghene, who said she bought it for $600 at a time when stores were having a pandemic sale, is now selling it on Still White for $800.
“I don’t feel sad selling it, because I’ve never worn it. There are no emotional ties,” she said. “The dress I wore, I will keep forever.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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