The coat closet in our front hallway doesn’t have any room in it for guest coats. But we live in San Diego, and our guests rarely wear coats. What it does contain, however, is three pink bridesmaid dresses that represent the weddings of all my siblings and siblings-in-law. At my age, it is unlikely that anyone will ever ask me to wear a pink bridesmaid dress again. And after looking at the dresses, I doubt that my daughter will ever actually want to wear the dresses either. (If you are one of my siblings… I didn’t mean that as a insult….they were perfectly lovely at the time … I’m sure.)
Yesterday I had to empty all the long-hanging things out of the closet (for the carpet installers) and now these three pink dresses are lying on a dining room chair. You’d think it would be a perfect time to just donate them to the Goodwill. But I won’t. I can’t. I need to keep those dresses in my coat closet. At least for now.
If you can part with them, the drama departments at your local high schools and community colleges will likely more than appreciate them to keep in their closet for use in their productions. I have donated several formal dresses that I will never wear again to the very thankful staff at the local college. Their seamstresses can do wonders with them to modify them for the own purposes.
hey i love some of these dresses… some on the other hand…….. hideous…..
some just crack me up i am going to be a jr brides maid in a wedding next year!!!!!!!
so i need help findind the right dress*****
>>>>>>>
HELP………………
Help!!!
We are doing a play called The Cemetery Club and are looking for 3 bridesmaids dresses that look alike…they can be for an “older woman”. Free would be good…we’d pay for shipping.
Any ideas?
You need pictures!!!!!!!!And lots of them!!!
O.K.?!?!?!?!?!?!?
L.O.L.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have my wedding dress still tore it on my wedding night. which i am told that it will not be worn again. i am merried for life and this i believe. it is oright to keep them. they have sentilmental value as mine does jean
I understand completely. I don’t have any such dresses myself, but I discovered that my oldest daughter has my wedding dress – the one I wore 40 + years ago when I married her father. The marriage didn’t last, but for some reason she couldn’t let the dress go. Our emotional attachments are funny sometimes, aren’t they?
It’s time to minimize and recycle what you are obviously not using. There are plenty of good homes for those dresses – just make a decision and follow through. “IF” it is absolutely not possible to let go of them, find some of those bags that suck out the air with your vacuum cleaner and they dresses will take up a fraction of the space elsewhere in your home — that should free your closet to be used for its intended purpose.
I had an esp. heinous one from my brothers wedding(layers upon layers of raspberry chiffon w/ a huge ruffle that was “off the shoulders”). I gave them to my secretary who loves to sew doll clothes. She made dozens of (and this IS appropriate) Barbi doll dresses…evening gowns, minis, stolls etc. Lots of happy little girls and no guilt unloading it.
Take a photo of the dresses hanging, on manaquins, or on yourself ( if they still fit.) Then donate them to a goodwill store around Jr. Prom time. Some child may find them a bit retro buy just divine.
The dress-up idea is great! We actually deconstructed an especially lovely salmon (orange!) colored bridesmaid dress I wore in a cousin’s wedding. It was made of a satin type material, the an over layer of gauzy fabric.
My mother is a great seamstress so she used the material to make an incredible princess Halloween costume for my daughter. Big poofy skirt from the “satin” then layered with the filmy gauze, and all topped off with a tall pointy hat covered with the fabric and trailing a gauze scarf!! It was a huge hit, and she had a ball flipping the skirt around!
They always say they pick one you can wear again. Yeah, okay! :o)
Mine have been donated to go to girls who could not afford a dress for the prom, though I have one sitting in my closet right now asking to become part of my braided rug. Now what do I do with those nasty matchable shoes?
Another idea is throw a formal party, a reason to wear one. A friend of ours does that every year. Women come in evening gowns and men decked out in suits and tuxes. It is fun to dress up!
Have a beautiful day and help me thank my nasty purple dress for making my rug look so elegant.
I cut them off for my children to play dress up in! The boys love them as much as the girls! Those dresses with some mardi gras beads make a fantastic get-up!
As you probably have noticed, with the current fashion trends, what once was in style is coming back. She may want to actually wear one to a prom or other formal dance. A halloween party. They can also be altered and the lines redesigned to be updated. Just adding some sequins or pearl to the bodice can change it’s appearance. A lot cheaper than buying a new dress.
My sister saved all her bridesmaid’s dresses and when her daughter was big enough to fit in them, she had her put them on and took pictures. They had a great time comparing pictures. Finding how much they actually looked alike and it made a great reminder for the bride when the two pictures were sent to her.
Just a thought.
Oh and to get them out of the closet, if you take them to a drycleaner, they will press them and wrap them for safe keeping. keeps them from fading and keeps white from yellowing with age. they put the dresses in a dress box which fits easily under the bed or a shelf in the closet.
There is reportedly a “Bridesmaid Bowling League” where participants show up for competition in their best and brightest. And I’ll bet most of those dresses look no worse with bowling shoes than with the little pumps they were supposed to be worn with. Here’s a suggestion for those involved with non-profits: Why not have a Bridesmaid’s Ball as a fundraiser. People would get a discount if they showed up in an old bridesmaid’s dress, with prizes for various categories of style. You could even (if you wanted to get very active) run it like an Ugly Bartender contest, where the “Debs” would collect pledges in a good-natured competition.
C’mon…either give them back to the sibling that had the wedding, donate them to the needy or a theater group. I helped my sister move one time and found her bridesmaid dress from my wedding wadded up in the bottom box…that hurt. I would much rather she had given it away or back to me. Rita