My Daughter’s Twenty-Five Dollar Wedding Dress

My fifteen-year-old daughter Kathy was exuberant. She had spent Sunday afternoon with her friend Jimmy, who walked her home in time for supper. I wondered what was inside the black plastic garbage bag she carried.

“We went to see the nicest old lady, Mom! She’s a friend of Jimmy’s family and she used to be a seamstress for a bridal shop during the ‘40s,” she began. “And guess what? She gave me a wedding dress. It was one the models wore and when the shop closed they gave it to her. I’m going to save it for my wedding.”

With that she opened the bag and removed the dress – a bundle of ivory satin with long sleeves, many smudges and rips in the hem from the models’ high heels. It had been lovely in its day, but I felt it was more appropriate for a dress-up box for children. I was confident she would change her mind before the day she was ready to say her wedding vows, but went along with her plan to store it.

A wedding dress is not selected casually. Some brides anticipate walking down the aisle in the dress worn by their mothers or grandmothers, enacting a family tradition. Some attend bridal fairs with their anxious mothers, shopping for just the right dress, noting the neckline, the lace, the beading — all the little details that lend fairy tale quality to this focal point of the wedding.  Yes, when the time came for choosing a wedding dress, Kathy would be older and wiser. I was certain she would not opt for the ballerina length white organdy I wore when I said my vows in 1956. I  foresaw hours of shopping — and tremendous price tags. So I thought.

Eight years passed quickly. Kathy had almost completed work for her MBA and became engaged to an outstanding young man, whom we were delighted to welcome into our family.  I was astounded when she called and asked me to have her dress cleaned — and would I try to mend the horsehair braid that was ripped at the hemline?

I could not believe she was actually planning to wear that dress! I voiced my concerns, but she was adamant. She said she knew the minute she saw that dress it was the one she wanted for her wedding.

I retrieved it from the attic and spread it out on the carpet. I was not confident of my skill repairing it, but with a little practice I managed to restore the hem – yards and yards of it!

The cleaner did an excellent job for the sum of $25.00. All the smudges were removed and the luster of the satin was indeed stunning. When she came home and tried it on it fit perfectly.  As she marched down the aisle on her father’s arm, I could see that this was indeed the perfect dress for her. The sweetheart neckline, the long sleeves with wide tapered cuffs, the full skirt spread wide with the help of the horsehair braid and the lustrous ivory satin – all were perfect.

After the wedding Kathy had her vintage wedding dress cleaned and stored it carefully in a large box. That box occupied an entire shelf in my closet. I was instructed to keep it there, not in the attic, because the dry heat would not be beneficial. Eventually she and her husband built a large home with plenty of storage space and the dress vacated my closet. Perhaps one of her daughters will wear it someday.

I checked out vintage clothing shops on the internet and was astonished to see how much we saved by keeping the dress as she requested. Not only was our daughter stunning in her salvaged dress, but our only expense ($25 for dry cleaning) wouldn’t have even covered the shipping on a “new” one!

Daughters are so smart . . . even if they don’t always listen to their Mom!