In times gone by, the wedding dress that we’d poured over for months and enjoyed the best day of our lives in would be professionally cleaned before being wrapped in acid-free paper and stowed away in a sturdy box. While we’d take it out for the odd look every now and again, brides who kept their wedding dresses tended to leave their gowns for the long haul, never to be worn again. However, times are changing…
Brides are wearing ‘the One’ again and again
More and more brides are choosing to rewear their wedding gowns to make sure they get even more bang for their buck. You do after all spend a whole lot of money on your wedding gown, so why shouldn’t it be worn more than once?
Rewearing a wedding dress across several occasions is however no new thing. In fact, as well as being the trendsetter who made the white wedding dress popular, Queen Victoria was well known for wearing her wedding gown again and again.
Wearing your wedding gown after your big day is a great way to be more sustainable and reduce your wedding’s overall carbon footprint.
Choosing the perfect rewearable wedding gown
Rewearing your wedding dress may be the new normal but not every bridalwear design is destined to be repurposed.
When choosing a wedding dress that you can wear again, go timeless with your selection. Don’t base your decision on the latest trends. Instead, buy for you, to enjoy a minimalist look that you’ll love for so much longer.
Layered wedding looks are particularly versatile, with designs featuring detachable trains, overskirts, collars, capes and other bridal coverups or separates helping brides to mix up their look after their wedding day has been and gone. Coloured bridal designs are also well worth considering.
By steering clear of wedding day white, you’ll be able to rock a design you can rewear with ease as an evening gown or occasion dress.
Adapting your wedding dress for other occasions
Didn’t follow our rules for picking the perfect rewearable wedding dress above? Don’t panic, you could still rewear your wedding dress with the right alterations. Here British bridalwear designer Andrea Hawkes shares her tips for repurposing your bridal outfit:
“One of the easiest ways to make your wedding dress more wearable after your wedding is to shorten your design. You can keep it floor length and remove just the train or shorten to ankle, midi or mini length. By doing this you take away that ‘Bridal’ element that may make you hesitant to wear your dress again. There are so many ways to style up a shortened dress by layering roll necks underneath to adding a jumper, jacket or blazer on top.”
Andrea also recommends altering specific features of your dress (such as its neckline) or converting your gown into separates to get the extended wear you desire and enjoy a stylish, signature look.
Remember, you don’t have to alter your wedding dress to make it more wearable. Keeping your stunning dress just the way it is and accessorising accordingly can guarantee a beautiful ensemble for more formal occasions.
