Skip to main content

Post content has been hidden

To unblock this content, please click here

H

Buying ex sample and used wedding dresses

HappyIvoryConfetti13344, 11 February, 2018 at 23:01 Posted on Planning 0 11

Hi everyone, I'm considering opening my own bridal shop selling ex sample gowns and second hand wedding and prom dresses. Would this be something you would be interested in? I could also have a website so you could purchase the dresses online if you were not able to travel down to a store in the north East of england.all dresses would be clean and damage free with majority of the dresses only ever being tried on.i could store the dress until you were ready to take it away but would not be able to offer any tailoring services in the beginning.dresses would be up to 75% off original price, is this something any bride would be interested in?

11 replies

Latest activity by RomanticYellowConfetti495, 1 March, 2018 at 22:07
  • H
    Rockstar June 2020
    HappyBlueCars582 ·
    • Report
    • Hide content

    Absolutely! I don't see the point in spending thousands of pounds on a dress I'm only going to wear once! I'd happily wear a second hand or sample dress as long it was clean. And who needs to know it's second hand or a sample dress?

    • Reply
  • H
    HappyIvoryConfetti13344 ·
    • Report
    • Hide content

    I just thought it would be a good business venture and i would be able to offer great customer service at the shop and you would be able to bring family and friends and try multiple dresses on, drink bubbley and get the full experience just like any other bride. I was considering calling the shop 'vintage brides' as it sounds better than second hand bride haha but any suggestions welcome

    • Reply
  • H
    Rockstar June 2020
    HappyBlueCars582 ·
    • Report
    • Hide content

    It's a great idea! I remember a few years ago reading about charity shops that just sold wedding dresses but I'm not sure if they still exist.

    • Reply
  • R
    Beginner April 2018
    RomanticBlueCakes716 ·
    • Report
    • Hide content

    There is a shop like that near me and its a brilliant idea. I would make sure you distinguish between sample and second hand, some people will wear a sample but not a second hand dress. If it's displayed nicely, and you sell online as well, you could definitely be on to a winner.

    • Reply
  • H
    HappyIvoryConfetti13344 ·
    • Report
    • Hide content

    Yeah I would definitely make sure to keep the ex sample and second hand separate. The second hand ones would be definitely cheaper and i have so many ideas about layout of my shop.my only issue is that most sample gowns are a size 12 so only people of a size 8-14 would be able to make it work, any idea how to get around this issue?

    • Reply
  • H
    HappyIvoryConfetti13344 ·
    • Report
    • Hide content

    Yeah I would definitely make sure to keep the ex sample and second hand separate. The second hand ones would be definitely cheaper and i have so many ideas about layout of my shop.my only issue is that most sample gowns are a size 12 so only people of a size 8-14 would be able to make it work, any idea how to get around this issue?

    • Reply
  • V
    Beginner August 2020
    Vickmeister ·
    • Report
    • Hide content

    I definitely think there would be a huge market for this. It works on I Found the Gown!

    Just my personal opinion - I wouldn't go with Vintage as this implies a certain age/style.

    Maybe something along the lines of Preloved would be more suitable?

    • Reply
  • MetalBride
    Beginner April 2018
    MetalBride ·
    • Report
    • Hide content

    My wedding dress is a sample but I wouldn't have bought second hand due to my superstitious nature! However I would buy second hand wedding dresses for other occasions such as a ball. Just so long as you do as you said and keep them separate then it would be a great idea. A lot of ladies struggle to find coloured dresses for weddings too so if you had those kinds of things in store you'd make quite a large population of ladies very happy.

    • Reply
  • M
    Beginner July 2018
    MrsWtoB ·
    • Report
    • Hide content

    My wedding dress Is a sample dress.

    it's a really good idea, I think there's a lot of brides who go down the route of sample dresses.

    • Reply
  • H
    Rockstar June 2020
    HappyBlueCars582 ·
    • Report
    • Hide content

    Will you be selling accessories too that will be new? "Something old, something new" could be the name of it. Fits in with the wedding theme and true if you are selling new accessories.

    • Reply
  • S
    Beginner October 2018
    Susi-B ·
    • Report
    • Hide content

    @happybluescars - yes Oxfam sell wedding dresses (not very nice tho as most are old)

    id be more than happy to buy from you HappyIvoryConfetti13344 in fact i've also been considering buying from the warehouse outlets that are around the country, my closest would be leicester or birmingham

    • Reply
  • R
    Beginner May 2019
    RomanticYellowConfetti495 ·
    • Report
    • Hide content

    I would absolutely buy second hand, the issue I’m finding Is not being able to try on which obviously your shop would solve! I’m definitely buying second hand because lots of them you wouldn’t be able to tell and I could get a fantastic dress for bargain price.

    I think youre on to a winner!

    • Reply

You voted for . Add a comment 👇

×

Related articles

General groups

Hitched article topics