Wednesday, June 27, 2007

How a Real Duchess Recycles a Royal Wedding Dress

Why spend a fortune on a dress that you'll only wear once? Apparently that idea recently ran through the mind of the Duchess of Cornwall --Camilla--who was recently photographed wearing her wedding dress. The British newspapers are calling her the: "Royal Recycler."

"...the Duchess of Cornwall obviously couldn't bear to confine her beautiful wedding outfit to the back of the wardrobe. The royal recycler wore the ivory-hued Robinson Valentine ensemble again this week as she attended the opening of the National Assembly of Wales with her husband."
--source: Hello magazine

The Duchess recycled her dress with new accessories, including a different hat and pearls.

There are other ways to recycle a wedding dress:

1. Donate it to charity. This article from an ABC station has some tips about donating a wedding dress to charity.

2. Create a wedding dress bank. In my community, various women maintain a stock of wedding dresses. It's like a borrowing library and it's filled with gowns for brides, mothers of the bride, and bridesmaids. This free dress lending service really cuts down on wedding costs and creates a real sense of community. And each dress looks different on every girl or woman. I've gone to lots of local weddings and I've never spotted a familiar-looking dress.

3. Give it to your sister, cousin or daughter. For my Central Park Wedding in 1992, I wore a hand-me-down gown from one of my younger sisters. It was an expensive dress, but I only spent about $150 on alterations and cleaning. Beyond my immediate family, no one -- at least until now -- realized that my gown was a repeat performer.

4. Sell it on eBay, a consignment store or through a standard newspaper classified ad.

5. Alter it and wear it again. Wear your wedding dress--done over--to a black-tie event.





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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Or, rent it for less in the first place, and avoid the recycling issue entirely. It's all good