Say yes to the second hand dress: Why I chose a pre-loved wedding dress

The wedding industry, especially in the UK, is surprisingly wasteful and the environmental impact of that one special day can be huge.

Nearly 38,000 tonnes of waste are generated annually from the UK wedding industry, much of it from single-use items, and the average UK wedding emits around 14.5 tonnes of CO₂, more than the average household’s annual footprint.

When planning my wedding, I knew I wanted it to incorporate sustainability wherever possible and this included choosing my wedding dress.

Wedding dresses, often made from synthetic fabrics, contribute to microplastic pollution and landfill waste. Even natural fabrics like cotton come with a heavy environmental toll due to water usage and pesticides.

Why I Went Second-Hand

I found my wedding dress at Le Dressing Club, a wedding dress outlet in Madeline, Paris. It sells second-hand wedding dresses and samples from French designers and shops, and resells at a discounted cost of up to 60% off the original selling price.

My fiancé and I were travelling to Paris with my parents to see Wild Rivers perform at La Maroquinerie (20th arrondissement) which was a trip we’d planned before we got engaged. 

A few weeks before travelling, I decided to do a quick search for wedding dress shops in Paris. Le Dressing Club was the first result that came up and they had availability, so I decided to book an appointment for the afternoon we arrived in Paris.

Once our Eurostar pulled into the Gare du Nord, we made our way to our hotel to drop off our bags and then hopped on the metro to Madeline. Le Dressing Club is tucked away from the busy main road and accessed via a typically Parisian wooden spiral staircase.

I had selected five dresses in advance to try on which the wonderful Leânaya was gathering from the dress racks when we arrived. Whilst doing this, a dress that I hadn't seen before caught my eye!

Trying on the dress for the first time

She left the room for a few moments and said I could pick out any other dresses that I would like to try on so I made a bee-line for that dress which my mum had also noticed.

Surprise, surprise...that ended up being my wedding dress! All of the dresses I tried on were beautiful - elegant, French chic - but the dress I chose had the most exquisite lace detailing, delicate cap sleeves, and a flattering silhouette. My perfect dress!

As well as being beautiful and unique, choosing second-hand meant I avoided the carbon footprint of a new wedding dress - estimated at 20–30 kg of CO₂ - and gave a gorgeous dress a second life.

Renting Bridesmaid Dresses

For my bridesmaids, I spent hours and hours trawling through countless websites trying to find stylish dresses that would suit all my bridesmaids and be produced sustainably. But dress after dress after dress was made of POLYESTER! Or, if it was sustainably made, it was out of my budget.

Finally, after losing many hours of my life to this seemingly impossible task, I discovered that Nobody's Child have the option to rent dresses and they had the perfect soft pink bridesmaid dresses. This meant my bridesmaids didn't have to worry about long-term storage or waste, and it also saved money. It was around £27 to rent for 4 days.

© Our Beautiful Adventure

Other platforms such as By Rotation and HURR are similarly helping to shift bridal fashion towards sustainability, allowing dresses to be worn multiple times and reducing their environmental impact.

Making sustainable choices for your wedding doesn’t mean compromising on style. In fact, it can make the day even more meaningful. By choosing second-hand and rental options, you’re not just saving money, you’re helping protect the planet.

By Eveline Vouillemin ©

In the UK, my final wedding dress alterations were done by Alterations & Tailoring | Chelsea 

Photographer: Our Beautiful Adventure