Dressing Up: Part I

I think it’s fair to say most girls dream about their wedding day, and what they will look like in their wedding dress. It’s the one day you want to look as good as possible – ‘like a fairy princess’ as my youngest niece-to-be described a bride at a recent wedding. I am no exception to this. But how was I going to ensure I stuck to my principles of a low environmental impact, high social impact wedding? What were the options. So many!

I could have chosen to have my dress bespoke made by a local seamstress, using fair trade or local materials (or even recycled ones!). This would have been unique and exciting, but quite costly. I understand why such a dress costs so much, but for something I was only planning on wearing once, it wasn’t really what I thought was the best use of money.

I could have bought a dress second hand from numerous sites – Ebay; Gumtree; Preloved or a local vintage shop. Re-using is a perfect way to reduce the environmental impact of the dress, so certainly a good option. Many of my clothes are second hand and this is very close to the option I chose!

But my second hand clothes come from a very specific second hand place: charity shops. And I was sure that here I could find the answer to my wedding dress conundrum. This way, as well as being green, I could ensure other people benefited from my choice through a donation to charity! Those who know me well will know a charity close to my heart is Oxfam. Back in 1985 Oxfam’s Green Granny (and one of my heroines) Barbara Warmsley innovatively started Oxfam Bridal – a way for brides to donate their dresses and raise money for a great cause. A roaring success, there are now a number of charity bridal stores across the UK, including an Oxfam one just down the road from me in Chippenham. This was where my journey would begin…..