Buying Second Hand

I've always known that if we ever got married, it would have to be on the cheap. I couldn't afford to have a champagne taste on a Budweiser budget. I also knew that if I ever got married, I would be wearing an Anne Namba gown.

I love the fact that the gowns are created from vintage kimono, so the dress has history. I also love that it acts as a nod to my formative years growing up overseas.

Unfortunately a gown like that can cost upwards to $3,000.

Enter Craigslist!

Some people might think that wearing a secondhand gown is a definite no-go for the most important day of my life, but I don't think that my wedding day is the most important day of my life. I think that it is one special day of a multitude of many important days. Also, I have other things to blow my savings on, like a foundation for our new house, or that amazing three-piece sectional I saw at Costco.

Needless to say, my gown is important to me, but not $3,000 important. Luckily I found a Namba on Craigslist. This is next to impossible! I found one on Oahu for $500. I flew up and checked out the gown. 

I'm not going to lie, it was a piece of work. It was too wide, a little too short, had a neckline I wasn't in love with, and was kept in a damp place so had mold growing on it. But a dream is a dream so I tried to make it work. 

The first step was to take it to get alterations, to bring it in a LOT. Also, I had the neckline altered from straight across to a sweetheart. Next, I took it to the cleaners, who spot cleaned every single minuscule spot of mildew on the dress. The dress came back 100000% better, but there is some damage that no amount of cleaning can ever erase. Fortunately, that damage is not very visible to anyone but me. Now, I'm dealing with the length of the gown. I have a seamstress making an undergown to attach to the dress to make sure it goes down to the floor in the front.

Here is a picture of the back as it currently looks (I made the bow myself, obi-ish style!):

It's definitely a work in progress. I want someone to make the back part at the top to come down in a small V to loosen up the top so I have a little less skin folding over the dress. Am I in love with it? Mostly... Some days I wish I had just bought a brand new dress because I've sunk almost $1,400 into this gown total after cleanings and alterations, but at the same time I know it's a one of a kind that you can't just buy from a bridal boutique and I got it for about half off what it would normally cost.

We'll see.