Where To Buy Second Hand Prom Dresses
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An end-of-year prom has become more and more commonplace in the last twenty or so years and with each passing year, they seem to become more extravagant.
However, you don’t need to spend a fortune for your school leaver to look awesome on their prom night and one of the ways to save money could be to purchase second hand prom dresses.
When searching for prom dresses, there are lots of reasons you might want to buy second-hand. Money is, of course, one of the biggest factors, but there are also environmental reasons too.
Many girls only end up wearing their prom dress once as it’s not really suitable for any other occasion so plenty spend a few years stuck at the back of the wardrobe usually until these young ladies leave home and it gets sold or donated.
Where To Buy Second-Hand Prom Dresses
There may also be other initiatives you could look into if you’d like to have a more sustainable and budget-friendly prom experience.
This week I wrote about a school in my hometown which is letting students borrow prom dresses and suits for free in an initiative called ‘Pre-loved Prom’.
The school is asking ex-students and members of the public to donate items for prom which would then be let out to students year on year.
My Second Hand Prom Dress
I actually wore a secondhand dress to my own Prom. In all honesty, while I enjoyed prom night, it wasn’t something I was overly fussed about and certainly not something I expected my parents to spend loads of money on.
I wore a dress that my Mum had worn as a bridesmaid at a wedding two years before. The dress had been handmade especially for my Mum so it was completely unique. As prom wasn’t quite such a big thing back then there were several girls all in the exact same dress from Debenhams – I was glad to be wearing something different, even it wasn’t brand new. I also wore shoes I already owned, borrow a wrap for over my arms and didn’t get my hair done. I did pay for a fancy car but this was split between six of us.
4 Reasons To Choose Second-Hand Prom Dress
- It’s good for the environment, especially as prom dresses are often worn for such a short period of time.
- Second-hand prom dresses are usually much cheaper meaning you’ll get more for your money or be able to buy dress you wouldn’t ordinarily have been able to afford.
- It could help your budget stretch further meaning there could be money left for hair and makeup, transportation and accessories.
- Pre-loved prom initiatives like the one mentioned above could mean your dress is completely free.
Buying Second Hand Prom Dresses From Charity Shops
This time of year, the charity shops will lots of prom dresses on display so there should be a good range of them for you to look through and try on.
Remember that most of these dresses will have only been once for a few hours, so are likely to be in immaculate condition.
You could also factor in the cost of having a dress dry cleaned into your overall budget – buying second-hand plus the dry cleaning costs may still be considerably less than buying new.
It may also be worth travelling to a more upmarket area to search the charity shops. While the dresses may be a little more expensive, you could also be more likely something designer. Living in Somerset, I always head to Wells or Bath if I’m looking for something extra nice.
There is then the option of visiting a specialist charity shop – Oxfam has several branches that specialize in wedding dresses, bridesmaids dresses and accessories some of which could be perfect for prom. Oxfam also have a large selection of prom dresses online and these can be returned if they don’t fit for a full refund.
Accessories can also be found fairly cheaply in most charity shops – everything from shoes to hair slides and wraps and handbags.
Buying Second-Hand Prom Dresses From eBay
There are definitely ups and downs with buying a second-hand prom dress on eBay. The first is not being able to try the dress on to make sure it fits – if you’re buying from a private seller and the dress doesn’t fit it’s likely you won’t be able to return it, although you could, of course, have adjustments to make it fit or sell it on again yourself.
If you buy from a business seller on eBay then you should be able to return anything that doesn’t fit. It’s worth being aware of people selling on cheap dresses from China which are poor quality and often look nothing like the pictures which are usually of the designer original and not the actual garment that you’ll be getting.
One of the good things about eBay is if an item arrives damaged or isn’t as the seller described it should be fairly easy to return the item and get your money back.
A way that eBay can really come into its own when buying a second-hand prom dress is if you’ve already found a style you like on the high street such as at somewhere like Debenhams or Quiz, tried it on so you know the fit is good and then you can look to see if anyone is selling it second hand. Overall I think this would be my preferred way of buying a secondhand prom dress from eBay as you know exactly what you’re getting in both style and fit.
Borrow From Friends and Family
If you have a big extended family it may be worth asking them if they have any dresses that you can borrow for this special occasion.
For example, when I got married, all four of my bridesmaids got the keep their dresses and I’m fairly certain only one of them has worn the dress since.
I’m sure the others would happily lend or even gift their dress to a friend or family member if they asked.
In the run-up to my prom, a lady I used to babysit for actually let me try on pretty much every dress she owned. None of them was suitable (they were all a bit sexy for 16-year-old, slightly goth, me) but I really appreciated the thought and had a really fun time dressing up in them. And of course, she was willing to let me borrow one had I needed it which was really kind.
Buying Second-Hand Prom Dresses From Facebook
Searching local Facebook selling groups is a great way to find a prom dress if you’re looking to buy second-hand.
Buying from someone local means you’ll save on postage costs and if you find someone nice, they may let you try on the dress before you buy – I’ve done this before when selling bits on Facebook so I would hope others would do the same.
The only downside with buying on Facebook is there is less protection then you would have buying on eBay. Everything is sold as seen so if there are any problems it’s unlikely you’d be able to get a refund.
