A wedding is a once (or a few times) in a lifetime experience. That begs the question: why are more and more women buying dresses that have already gone down the aisle? Typically, brides spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on their wedding dress alone. Now, many brides are turning to secondhand stores to find something to wear for their big day.
The Knot Worldwide is a well-known wedding brand that, according to their website, “In 15 countries around the world, The Knot Worldwide’s leading global family of brands inspire, inform and celebrate our communities as they move through life’s biggest milestones. From the proposal to the wedding day, creating a home to starting a family together, we’re there for them every step of the way.”
The Knot’s Real Wedding conducted a study which surveyed 14,000 couples who married in 2018. The result: only 4 percent of brides wore a used gown, but it’s a trend that is increasing in popularity. How do we see this upward swing? Just check out Google search; search for “used wedding dresses for sale” and you’ll see it has increased by 100 percent over the past five years.
Brides are turning to online-only bridal consignment stores such as PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com and StillWhite.com, as well as larger marketplaces like TheRealReal, Tradesy, Poshmark, and eBay. Of course, there are other affordable options from stores like David’s Bridal and BHLDN. StillWhite is a premier retailer for wedding dress resale, they reported that they generated over $27 million in dress sales since its launch in 2010.
Sasha Skoda, head of women’s at TheRealReal said, “Norms are definitely changing, and weddings are being documented across social channels more than ever before. With this rise, there seems to be less of an attachment to physical objects to remind people of these memories. Why not earn money back on your initial investment to put toward a future vacation or your next handbag purchase?”
CEO and Cofounder of StillWhite said, “Brides—and millennial brides in particular—are becoming more conscious consumers and want to see their dress worn more than once. They’re looking at it from a sustainability perspective and understand that buying secondhand is better for the environment.”