Your Old Wedding Dress
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Learn what to do with your wedding dress after the wedding
Whether you’re a Bride-to-Be, Just-Married, or you’ve had your dress tucked away in the loft for years, this is for YOU! My quick-start guide will give you ideas and inspiration and clear up some myths about after-care of your precious bridal gown, whatever stage you’re at.
Still got your old wedding dress?
If you’ve recently got married, you may be thinking of selling your dress, or perhaps you’d like to find out if you could shorten, dye it and wear it again?
Maybe you’ve inherited a dress from a member of your family, but what are you supposed to do with it? You can’t throw it away because it’s part of your family history, but there’s a nagging feeling in the back of your mind that you “should” do something about it.
Many of us feel a bit guilty about having our dresses tucked away, often for decades, so let’s explore some ideas to inspire you to get it out of the loft and back into your life!
I am passionate about this subject, and even wrote a book about it - Relovable (find out more HERE). When I’m not making bespoke wedding dresses, I speak, write and create videos about the potential life that these precious heirlooms can have AFTER the wedding.
Scroll down this page and you’ll see I’ve linked to some videos on my YouTube channel where you’ll find heaps more inspiration to do something with YOUR old dress!
Renew, re-design or up-cycle?
You have SO many choices when it comes to what to do with your old wedding dress, but here's a little taster of the possibilities.
1. REDISCOVER YOUR DRESS
Every dress is different, and each will have potential. I would recommend taking your wedding dress out of its box or bag, and assessing it simply as a garment hanging on a hanger. In my book, Relovable, which you can order directly from me (find out more HERE), I encourage you to consider it as a source of fabric. Maybe it has beading on it? Lace? What condition is it in? Not everyone gets their dress cleaned the moment they step out of it, so don't worry if there are stains, nor does it matter if it no longer fits. Perhaps there is a horizontal join at the waist which might inspire you to consider separating the skirt part and using that as a garment on its own? For now, you're just getting used to handling it, and enjoying a little wallow down memory lane.
2. CHANGING YOUR DRESS
Your options are limitless, but for many people, they'd like to change the colour and dye their old wedding dress. This is particularly suited to simple dresses and the process is fascinating, but not for the faint-hearted, as there is risk involved. In my book, I explain how to assess what your dress is made of and therefore what kind of dye or paint you'll need to use, and how to minimise the risk.
There are courses you can take, and a few specialists exist who may be able to dye your dress for you. If you're not interested in changing the colour, there are many ways of repurposing your dress, and I would encourage you to look beyond the traditional destination of old wedding dresses - the christening gown.
In the book, we look at restyling in several ways: shortening the dress to make it more versatile, making the most of the different layers within the dress, harvesting the fabric and making something completely different, and refabricating. This could be cutting it into tagliatelle and using it to knit, weave or crochet. The potential for patchwork is immense because the fabrics of wedding dresses are always so varied, and this creates the opportunity to make everything from garments, bags, home furnishings and baby blankets.
My personal favourite projects for an old wedding dress inlude a lampshade, lingerie and Christmas baubles, and you'll find examples of all of these in the book or get in touch if you’d like to explore your options with me.
BOOK YOUR OLD WEDDING DRESS UPCYCLING DESIGN CONSULTATION HERE
Environmentally-friendly inspiration
There are an estimated 10 million old wedding dresses sitting in peoples' lofts in the UK alone, unloved and often forgotten. Sadly many dress end up in landfill, and as a designer, I've made it my mission to inspire people to rediscover their dresses and bring them back into circulation.
There is fun to be had, and many new creative communities to explore in the process, but there is an option 3...
3. LOVING YOUR DRESS
Our de-cluttering culture can sometimes make us feel at odds with our natural sense of nostalgia and our love of keeping things. You may feel your wedding dress is a treasure and something you would not want to be parted from, let alone chop up. You may have mixed feelings about your dress and your marriage, which may or may not be current.
My book contains a wealth of information about caring for your dress, whatever its condition, as well as options for re-wearing it, donating it, selling it and passing it on to family members to be worn again, I specialise in re-modelling heirlooms and you can find out more HERE.
Sustainability is well known to be an over-used term and many of us feel its meaning has been diluted and confused. My mission is to bring some environmentally-friendly inspiration by celebrating the potential for bringing unused wedding gowns back into circulation, to keep them out of landfill, and to reassure the wedding dress lovers out there (I'm a card-carrying member), that it is not a waste just to keep your dress. I'd just encourage you to enjoy it, look at it every now and then, share it if you feel able to, and know that your personal history is safely locked in its fibres.