Old Wedding Dress... what to do?

[PrincessMommy]

I wore my mom's wedding dress when I got married and I still have it.  I found it yesterday lying in a heap at the bottom of the dress bag.  It's very wrinkled, yellowed, and has a few tears in it too.   None of my girls has expressed an interest in wearing it, which is fine.  But, it's a 60yrs old dress. I just can't keep it, but I can't image anyone would want it in that condition.   I don't think it's silk - maybe taffeta?  What did they use on wedding dresses in the 50s?  

 

I'm not particularly sentimental about it and my mom has died.

 

What would you do?

[marbel]

I would donate it or if it's completely unusable, throw it out.   

 

I donated my wedding dress when we moved 10 years ago.  It was in good shape (it was only 12 years old then) but I didn't want it and didn't want to move it.  So I donated it to an organization that provided wedding dressing for women with cancer.  

 

A thrift store or costume shop may be able to clean and fix it, or salvage some bits of it, maybe?  Do you know a seamstress who would like to take bits of lace, buttons, etc?  

 

There is a thrift store near me that sorts the clothing and other textiles donated. If they are unusable, they sell the stuff to a fabric recycler.  So I donate there without worrying if the stuff is usable or not. I don't know if the delicate fabric of a wedding gown would be useful in that way. 

[PrincessMommy]

I would donate it or if it's completely unusable, throw it out.   

 

I donated my wedding dress when we moved 10 years ago.  It was in good shape (it was only 12 years old then) but I didn't want it and didn't want to move it.  So I donated it to an organization that provided wedding dressing for women with cancer.  

 

A thrift store or costume shop may be able to clean and fix it, or salvage some bits of it, maybe?  Do you know a seamstress who would like to take bits of lace, buttons, etc?  

 

There is a thrift store near me that sorts the clothing and other textiles donated. If they are unusable, they sell the stuff to a fabric recycler.  So I donate there without worrying if the stuff is usable or not. I don't know if the delicate fabric of a wedding gown would be useful in that way. 

 

I do have a friend who is a seamstress and really into vintage clothing.  I wonder if she might be interested in it.  I'll have to ask her.

 

Thanks for that idea.  That gives me some leads.

[mytwomonkeys]

There are some neat idea of how to repurpose an old wedding dress & create keepsakes. I know you said there’s no sentimental attachment, but even having an ornament or necklace with a small piece of fabric, etc. might be kind of cool. There were some really great ideas just glancing over google images.

Edited September 23, 2017 by mytwomonkeys

[marbel]

I just remembered something else.  There are products that can remove yellowing.  I know that because of a weird conversation I was in once.  It was at a women's event at church where people brought in their bridal gowns for display.  The theme of the talk had to do with weddings.  An elderly lady said that she had gotten rid of her gown because it was so yellowed.  So someone decided to lecture her about products that can remove yellowing and how dumb she was not to have tried that first.   I mean, what was the point since the dress was gone and the woman obviously regretted it!  

 

Anyway, you could look into that too.  Or your friend who likes vintage clothing might know about it.

 

[TrulySusan]

There is a charity, I think it's called angel gowns, that accepts old wedding dresses and converts them into burial gowns for infants. The baby gowns are given to the families free of charge.

[Guest2]

I have heard of people making it into other things, like wedding handkerchiefs or baptism gowns.

[Hoggirl]

I have heard of people making it into other things, like wedding handkerchiefs or baptism gowns.

Or into pillows for ringer bearers to carry at your children's weddings.

[Renthead Mommy]

I cut mine up and made a christening outfit for my son.  

 

I had a friend who designed dresses and did a number of wedding gowns.  He said a lot of closing bridal  shops sell off their out of season/style stock and the parts are used for piecemeal work. 

[kroe1]

Take a photo and cut a piece of the fabric out for the scrapbook. Then, throw it in the garbage.

[Catwoman]

Are any of your kids or grandchildren sentimental? Would it mean something special to them if you gave one of them the dress, or if you had some kind of keepsakes made out of the fabric?

[J-rap]

Can you make it into a baptismal gown for your grandchildren?  I knew of someone who did that once.  My own children all wore my father's baptismal gown when they were baptized.  Not the same as made from an old wedding dress, but it was very special.