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Are you looking for gorgeous second hand wedding dress shops to score a one-of-a-kind dream wedding dress? Second hand wedding dresses are perfect to extend the life of a gorgeous fashion piece while saving lots of money AND saving lots of resources!
Planning a wedding can be exciting, but it also has the potential to be overwhelming and expensive. Finding a dress you love can be a fun part of the process. I’ve gathered some amazing places to shop second hand wedding dresses that can help you save money and some of the overwhelm.
p.s. for our wedding guests, we also have a full guide to sustainable wedding guest dresses with new and secondhand options!
One of the best ways to find an affordable wedding dress attuned to your specific style is to shop second hand and vintage. Not to mention, finding a second hand wedding dress is a great sustainable way to shop for an item that traditionally only gets worn once!
What are the benefits of wearing a second hand wedding dress?
- Cost-Savings: The average cost of a wedding in 2021 was around $30,000 and the average cost of a dress was $1,800. These numbers may leave you hoping for more affordable wedding dress options! Shopping a pre-loved wedding dress allows you to cut costs by scoring a gown less than the price it originally retailed for.
- Sustainability: As with most fashion, the production of wedding dresses is resource-intensive and creates an environmental impact. The impact of our clothes is lessened the more use they get. Unfortunately, many wedding dresses may only be worn once on the wedding day. By buying a second hand wedding dress, you get to reuse and extend the life of a perfectly great dress! This is an amazing way to incorporate sustainability into your wedding day!
- Variety: Shopping second hand opens up a world of possibilities. You aren’t limited to what’s available and in-style that season at new retailers. You gain access to decades worth of dresses and styles so that you can find a dress that truly aligns with your personal style. Plus, shopping secondhand can open the door to designers or dresses that may have been out of budget if you were shopping new and full-price.
Tips for finding your perfect second hand wedding dress:
1. Know your measurements
Whether shopping online or secondhand, knowing your measurements can be really helpful in ensuring accurate fit in purchases. This is important due to the environmental impact of online returns and the final sale nature of shopping secondhand. I recommend keeping a note in your phone of your relevant body measurements (bust, waist, hip). This can be used when shopping online, either to compare to a brand’s sizing chart or to compare to measurements of vintage or secondhand pieces where sizing is inconsistent. Bridal sizing is also different than traditional sizing. Be sure to visit the brand’s website to see how your measurements translate to dress size.
2. Try shopping in-person to learn your style
Trying dresses on in-person can help provide direction and comfort that you’ve seen how different styles look on you as you shop online. Even if you know you don’t want to buy a new dress, making an appointment at a bridal shop can help narrow down styles that you’re looking for (David’s Bridal offers free appointments and are available across the U.S., Canada, and the UK.) If you want to skip the bridal store, going to a thrift store or department store just to try on a variety of fits of dresses can be helpful.
3. Don't underestimate the power of alterations
Many dresses can be radically transformed in the alterations process. If you find a dress you like but the fit is off or you wish some details were different, a great seamstress can help edit the dress to fit your vision. Most dresses, new or used, will need some kind of alteration. Be mindful of that in your dress budget. The more customization you want, the pricier it could get. However, collaborating with a bridal seamstress when shopping secondhand or vintage can be a great way to create a dress you love using what already exists!
4. Ask questions!
Shopping secondhand often means that you may be shopping on peer-to-peer marketplaces or with small businesses. Both of these avenues allow you to get more personal customer service to be able to ask questions about dresses you are interested in and even request more pictures. Since many secondhand options may not allow returns, don’t be afraid to seek out the information you need to be confident in your purchase!
Now that we’ve established the benefits and some tips, let’s explore some of the amazing second hand wedding dress shops to find your dream dress.! This list has a great mixture of used second hand wedding dresses and vintage specific wedding dress shops for our 1900-1980’s wedding dress lovers. Now, let’s get to the list of the amazing second hand wedding dress shops to help you find your perfect pre-loved wedding dress!
20+ Places To Find Your Perfect Second Hand Wedding Dress
Still White is a peer-to-peer bridal dress marketplace that offers the widest variety of used designer dresses and gorgeous second hand wedding dresses. With over 62,000 dresses on the site, you’ll have lots to choose from. Thankfully, the site has great filtering options that allow you to shop by country, designer, silhouette, fabric, size, price, and more.
High requested dresses found here: secondhand Grace Loves Lace dresses, secondhand Made With Love dresses, and secondhand Pronovias wedding dresses!
Nearly Newlywed offers an expansive collection of second hand designer dresses up to 90% off the retail price. One perk of shopping Nearly Newlywed is that they do allow returns within 5 days to remove some of the pressure that shopping online for a bridal dress can come with!
High requested second hand wedding dresses found here: second hand Monique Lhuillier wedding dresses, second hand Essence of Australia wedding dresses, and secondhand BHLDN wedding dresses!
La Laurel is a bridal consignment shop that offers a curated selection of contemporary designers like Monique Lhuillier and Truvelle. The small selection of second hand wedding dresses features a variety of styles from clean and modern to lacey and feminine.
High requested second hand wedding dresses found here: secondhand Truvelle dresses, secondhand Paloma Blanca dresses, and secondhand Laudae dresses!
Madly Vintage offers curated bridal pieces perfect for a laidback, beach vibe. The collection includes second hand dressing gowns to short courthouse-ready, party dresses to silky full-length slip dresses.
High requested second hand wedding dresses found here: 1940’s secondhand wedding dresses, 1960’s secondhand wedding dresses, and 1970’s secondhand wedding dresses.
Maison Sully reimagines vintage in a modern way. Pieces are aged from the 30s on with a focus on the 60s and 70s. They also offer reworking services and virtual shopping appointments to help you find exactly what you like.
A few beloved vintage wedding dresses found here: 1960’s secondhand wedding dresses, 1970’s secondhand wedding dresses, and Bridgerton secondhand wedding dresses.
Gossamer’s ethereal vintage wedding dress collection is perfect for the romantic bride. With stunning fabrics and flowing silhouettes, you’re sure to find a beautiful dress that appeals to your feminine side. You can shop by era and Gossamer even has a selection of antique Victorian and Edwardian styles.
A few beloved second hand wedding dresses found here: Edwardian second hand wedding dresses, 1920’s vintage wedding dresses, and 1930’s second hand wedding dresses.
Narrations LDN has a small but unique collection of pre-loved wedding dresses and slip dresses. The selection features classic silhouettes with distinctive details and textures.
A few beloved vintage wedding dresses found here: Rare Vintage second hand wedding dresses, 1930’s second hand wedding dresses, and Vintage Floral second hand wedding dresses.
Eveliina’s vintage dresses are laidback and simple with beautiful details. Many of their pieces are slip dresses with silk and delicate laces.
A few beloved secondhand wedding dresses found here: Vintage Silk wedding dresses, Vintage Puff Sleeved wedding dresses, and 1930’s vintage wedding dresses.
Devore offers delicate, feminine vintage dresses. While they don’t have a specific focus on bridal, they carry many early 20th century dresses in whites, ivorys, and soft pastels. Devore is a great option if you want something storied and unique.
A few beloved secondhand wedding dresses found here: 1930’s Silk second hand dresses, Edwardian second hand dresses, and gorgeous vintage silk slips.
Thrilling is a marketplace of vintage from across the United States. Thrilling partners with boutiques to help their vintage pieces reach a wider audience. Thrilling allows you to find and shop from vintage boutiques that you may not have been able to find otherwise!
A few beloved secondhand wedding dresses found here: 1950’s second hand wedding dresses, 1970’s second hand dresses, and affordable vintage wedding dresses.
Etsy is a marketplace for all things vintage and handmade. With a variety of sellers all over the world, there’s a large selection of stunning vintage dresses. You could spend hours scrolling, so be sure to use search filters to narrow in on what you want!
Suggested Etsy Shops for a second hand wedding dress:
11. Luxury Retail Sites
Luxury resale can be a great way to get a unique second hand wedding dress at a fraction of its original cost. When shopping from these sites, I’d recommend searching beyond just “wedding dresses.” I’d also look at evening gowns or run searches for “white dress.” This will give you more options of great dresses that you may have missed just because it wasn’t classified as a wedding dress. And don’t be deterred by the term luxury– these sites have options under $200.
12. Popular Secondhand Marketplaces
Traditional secondhand marketplaces offer a wide variety at an accessible price point. Even though they aren’t focused on bridal, many still have a large selection of wedding dresses available for sale. These marketplaces can be especially helpful if you’ve narrowed down a designer you want and can search specifically. Another benefit is that you typically get to see what the dresses look like on real people, not just models.
Suggested Marketplaces:
13. Facebook Groups
Beyond Marketplace, Facebook also has specific groups just focused on users reselling wedding dresses. Once you find these groups, you can post what you are looking for and have people respond with what they are selling that aligns. Or you can browse the dresses people have already posted. These groups can be pretty big and active, so you’ll have no shortage of options. Just be sure to read the group rules and take precautions not to engage with scammy offers.
Suggested Facebook Groups for Secondhand Wedding Dresses:
And that's our roundup of best secondhand wedding dress shops!
Shopping for a used wedding dresses is a great way to incorporate sustainability and story into your wedding day. Not only would a secondhand or vintage dress save you money, it will add a specialness to the dress because of the history behind it. You’ll be proud to be wearing a garment that fits your unique style, helps reduce fashion waste, and gets a second life!
Looking for more sustainable support?
Sources (linked above):
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