“Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak.” – Rachel Zoe

I don’t know many people that would venture to purchase a second hand wedding dress. “What if it’s dirty?” “What if it’s ripped?” “You don’t know what’s been on there” and of course, the stigma of buying something second hand is always attached. However, I set out to find a preowned dress because I thought it represented me and my sense of style so well. Plus, I wouldn’t have to pay a fortune for a beautiful dress. So the search began!

I started by looking at various Goodwill’s, but finally turned to online. I originally wanted to piece together a few different wedding dresses to make them my own, but it turned out that I was looking for a seamless style, which couldn’t be done with piecing together many fabrics. I wanted something with 3/4 sleeves, lace, A-line, with buttons and a hidden zipper on the back, all in my size and in good condition. I know, it seems like a tall order for dresses that were typically from the 80’s that brides finally decided to let go.

However, not long after I began looking, I found it. It was from a private seller on eBay so I was able to message the woman about her height and dress size. As it turns out, she and I were practically the same height and the dress was my size! Hallelujah! It had the A-line, seamless lace, and even the buttons complete with hidden zipper, and it was in my budget! Unfortunately, it was strapless. I wasn’t sure what to do, so when I showed my mom, she suggested that she could make sleeves for it. What a woman!

This part was a bit more difficult than we originally thought (a lot more if you ask her), and required months of pinning, cutting, and cheap lace to practice on. She ended up hand-sewing the sleeves to the dress, we got it cleaned, steamed, and it was ready to go!

Not everyone is cut out for something this extreme (and not everyone has an amazing seamstress for a mother), but the point of this post and others to follow, is to not be afraid to get creative! Sometimes shopping second hand means that you will have to pin, tuck, and layer certain pieces, but it can be done. It will take lots of patience, but you will end up with something unique that is totally your own, tailored to you, and under budget! Plus, it was so special to have designed parts of my dress with my mother and have her hand-sew it together which made it all the more wonderful.

(Here is a play-by-play of the transformation of the dress!)