Expert Tips for Buying Your Dream Wedding Dress If You Plan to Resell After Your Big Day - Fashionista

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• Expert Tips for Buying Your Dream Wedding Dress If You Plan to Resell After Your Big Day - Fashionista
• First Look: Online 'bride box' retailer opens first store - Chain Store Age
• Meet China's fabulous cross-dressing computer coders - TODAYonline
• Appleton students create dresses out of paper for a unique fashion show - Fox11online.com

Expert Tips for Buying Your Dream Wedding Dress If You Plan to Resell After Your Big Day - Fashionista Posted: 30 Apr 2019 05:00 AM PDT Get that ROI — and spread the joy to another bride. In addition to the price point, trending styles and possibly location or theme, one more factor could play into your decision-making process when buying your dream wedding dress: the resale potential.  If you're making the financial, time and emotional investment, you may want to consider the ROI beyond all the Instagram moments and memories. Because the demand is there. In its 2019 Wedding Report, global fashion search platform Lyst found a 93% increase in views of pre-owned wedding dresses, along with a 42% combined increase for related searches using terms, like "vintage" and "second hand." The growing millennial and Gen Z dedication to sustainability is contributing to the interest in buying pre-owned (and renting) clothing in general, pushing the overall concept of  "value" to today's wedding consumer. ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! "Value is mainly about not wanting to be wasteful because it's just one day," says Jackie Courtney, Founder & CEO of e-commerce site Nearly Newlywed, which buys and sells pre-owned (or sample) bridal gowns. "Reselling is one way to either pay it forward or save money to invest in something that's more experiential, or to put it back into their relationship. It's about sustainability and the waste factor."  ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Related Articles: The Meghan Markle Effect is Still Going Strong on the Spring 2020 Runways 7 Easy and Oh-So-Pretty (and Surprisingly Fast) Ways to Customize Your Wedding Dress  How to Shop For — and Find — Your Dream Vintage Wedding Dress Plus, space — especially in cities filled with apartment dwellers — is precious commodity. (As Courtney points out, most brides' wedding dresses are probably sitting in their parents' spacious basements or garages. Guilty over here.) Not to mention, if you already have the 'gram — forever searchable by your clever hashtag — is there a need to actually keep the dress?  "Weddings today have become such an Instagrammable moment; everyone has these amazing photos from their wedding day and that's really enough," says Sasha Skoda, Category Director of Women's of luxury resale site The RealReal, which now offers expanding categories of wedding-related items, from dresses to accessories to rings.  If the lucrative world of bridal resale is of interest to you and your spouse, here are some expert tips on making the most of your wedding dress — or bridal wardrobe — investment, starting from the shopping stage. A look from the Mira Zwillinger Spring 2020 bridal collection. Photo: Courtesy of Mira Zwillinger Keep the designer in mind Some brides looking for a pre-worn wedding dress already have their hearts set on specific designer/s. According to trends data provider SEMrush, these are the top 10 brand searches for pre-owned wedding dresses (and related terms, in order): BHLDN, Vera Wang, Hayley Paige, Pronovias, Pnina Tornai, Maggie Sottero, Jenny Packham, Anna Campbell, Lazaro and Monique Lhuillier.  Interestingly, on Nearly Newlywed, interest in more old guard, mainstay designers has decreased — Vera Wang's traffic fell 3.1% to 1.5%, year on year — while searches for buzzier indie or international designers, like Alexandra Grecco, Lihi Hod, Rue de Siene, Berta, Inbal Dror, Grace Loves Lace, Lihi Hod and Rime Arodaky have grown "exponentially." Courtney notes that the smaller designers, especially harder-to-find ones, will sell at a lower discount, meaning the seller makes more money back. Plus, "they fly off the site," while traditional brands take longer to find a buyer and tend to require a "heavier" discount. Unsurprisingly, celebrity weddings also influence demand. The RealReal notes that after Meghan Markle's Royal Wedding and Hollywood aristocrat Gwyneth Paltrow's nuptials, searches for "Givenchy dress" and "Valentino dress" spiked, respectively. Pay attention to the style, too "It's definitely more designer agnostic for the majority of [our customers]," says Jacquelyn Ward, co-founder of New York-based luxury resale boutique, Our Story Bridal. Her clients ask for specific styles and trends in mind, regardless of label. As of late, A-line silhouettes, v-necks, sleeves and 3D floral appliqués are top requests. (She does say that Our Story's hot ticket labels tend to be Israeli brands, like, Berta, Inbal Dror and Mira Zwillinger and the classics: Oscar de la Renta, Vera Wang, and Monique Lhuillier.) Across the board, data shows that interest in lace, long sleeves, slip dresses, 3D florals and overall Meghan Markle minimalism remain strong — at least for now. (Another reason to study the roundups that come out of each bridal season.) Thankfully, wedding style trends don't typically change as quickly as the ones from the fashion runways. The Our Story Bridal boutique in New York. Photo: Coni Tarallo/Courtesy of Our Story Bridal Do the math beforehand "We get an increasing amount of women requesting to know if a dress has good resale value," says Courtney, about inquiries from brides doing their due diligence before buying a new dress. "Does this dress resell well? What could I make? Is it worth it to spend more on this one versus another?"  Pre-owned dresses tend to sell at a discount between 40% and 60% off the original retail price; on Nearly Newlywed, the aforementioned hotter brands often sell at a 20% to 30% discount. Assess your bottom line by factoring in the retailer's commission fee. For instance, Our Bridal takes 35%, while Nearly Newlywed takes 40%. (Although with the latter, you do have the option to re-sell your pre-owned wedding dress back to recoup 40% to 60% of the price you paid.) Breaking it down into dollar amounts, Maes says that the "sweet spot" price tag for her clients sits "between $1,500 and $5,000," while gowns over $5,000 tend to take longer to unload.  Decide where to sell it "Find somebody that you trust," advises Ward. She and fellow Co-Founder Ana Maes opened Our Bridal as a luxury boutique experience after their own less than ideal ordeals trying to offload their dresses online.  Make some recon visits to local boutiques to see what matches your aesthetic (i.e. where your gown would most likely sell) and research online options, too. According to SEMRush, the top five most visited sites for preowned wedding dresses are, in order, weddingbee.com, preownedweddingdresses.com, stillwhite.com, oncewed.com and nearlynewlywed.com. Also, assess the time and effort you want to put in versus the help you want from the resell retailer. For instance, Our Bridal offers complimentary pickups and will coordinate cleaning and restoration. Plan to sell it ASAP "One [piece of] advice to brides: Try and sell your dress as soon as you get married because you're going to have a higher chance of selling it [quickly] and pricing it higher," says Maes, as Ward suggests having the dress cleaned immediately after the wedding. "Don't put it at end of the your to-do list, or two years later you're still trying to get to it," she adds. Rule of thumb: The older the dress, the less money you'll earn back. Our Story Bridal, for example, only takes dresses from within the past three years. Some discerning brides-to-be will try a dress on at a salon or boutique and then look online to buy it at a discount, so if your gown is still in stores at full price, that means a quick sale and more cash back for you.  Consider selling your entire bridal wardrobe These days, tying the knot involves a series of looks — rehearsal dinner, reception, after-party, brunch, etc. — and those wedding-adjacent pieces are highly re-sellable, too. "That's where we're seeing more of a lift in the market," says Skoda, about alabaster suiting, jumpsuits, rompers, less formal dresses and separates. "Those are really holding resale value. I would say even more than just a traditional wedding gown." The RealReal's West Hollywood brick-and-mortar store even has a dedicated rack of wedding-appropriate all-white, but non-traditionally bridal, pieces. A look from the Oscar de la Renta Spring 2020 bridal collection. Photo: Courtesy of Oscar de la Renta Be very careful with alterations Rule number one: It's more difficult to sell a pre-owned dress if it's too short, so be conservative. Courtney advises trying to not cut the seams, so it can be taken out later, if necessary. Ward also smartly suggests saving any excess fabric, beading and/or embellishments, just in case the next owner can use for the second round of alterations. Also, investing in a high-end, luxury fabric, like heavyweight silk satin or a substantial lace may prove worthy. Quality textiles are not only more durable, but also can be nearly remade into a desired more current style. On the other hand, Courtney warns that heavy embellishments or very intricate detail on delicate fabrics, even if high-end, are more susceptible to damage during the post-wedding dry cleaning, so keep that in mind, too. Keep the receipts Like, literally, because you may need proof for retail price verification. Plus, don't remove the label, which is necessary for authentication. "Also, as you're buying your dress, document about all the beautiful details or interesting notes about it," says Maes. "For instance my dress had 'eight layers of hand-placed Chantilly lace.' You can write those details into the captions [of your resale listing] or pass onto us to help our stylists explain to a bride why your dress is so special." Make the most of your photographer "Since you're going to have the best photographer to take the best photos of your wedding, make sure you think proactively about what angles you want to feature of your dress, whether detail shots, back angle, side angle," says Maes.  Finally, spread the joy "People underestimate how special it is to have someone else wear your wedding dress," adds Maes, who adds that her sellers are not only excited to make money back from their wedding gown, but also that someone else is experiencing the piece on their big day. Our Bridal even documents these encounters on its "One Dress, Two Stories" feature on its blog. "People have been so excited to see pictures of the bride, how they styled and how they wore the dress. I underestimated the emotional part and a lot of sellers have, too." Top and homepage photo: Coni Tarallo/Courtesy of Our Story Bridal Never miss the latest fashion industry news. Sign up for the Fashionista daily newsletter.

First Look: Online 'bride box' retailer opens first store - Chain Store Age Posted: 29 Apr 2019 12:37 PM PDT STORE SPACES Get all the latest industry news in your inbox. A direct-to-consumer, made-to-order luxury bridal brand is looking to upend the legacy bridal industry. Floravere has opened its first permanent physical location, in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan. The brand's collection of gowns and separates anchor the space, which has a modern feminine look and contemporary sensibility. The store is designed to provide personalization at every touchpoint of the customer experience. Customers can make private appointments with a stylist on the brand's website, through Instagram direct message, and via text. The customer can go online and pre-select gowns to try on, with the dresses (styled with accessories) waiting for her in one of three private bridal suites when she arrives at the store. The suites, which have a dressing room and separate seating area for the bride's friends and family, contain such personalized details as a digital wedding "mood board" (curated by the stylist) and custom playlist. The brand uses data gathered through a digital questionnaire filled out by customers before their appointment to personalize the suite. The store also features a curated showroom that showcases fashions and accessories that a bride may need for other parts of her wedding experience, including the bachelorette party and honeymoon, as well as gifts for the bridal party are a variety of brands are featured. Upon entering Floravere, the customer walks into a gallery area that is furnished and styled to have a residential sensibility, complete with a wet bar, rounded velvet club chairs, vintage rugs, a Mid-century daybed and a white sculptural side table. A color palette of soft blues, whites and camels give a serene, calm feel to the space, which is accented with pops of color and weekly floral installations. "Every detail of the design — from the private bridal styling closet to the in-store retail technology — is guided by an understanding that today's millennial woman has done most of her research on us before she even steps through our doors," said Denise Jin, co-founder of Floravere, Denise Jin. "This offers us an unparalleled opportunity to craft a truly bespoke and memorable retail experience for each and every bride based on the rich data we have on her before she walks in the door." Floravere was launched online in 2016 by former Bain & Co. colleagues Jin and Molly Kang, both of whom grew frustrated when they went wedding dress shopping. Consumers can order three dresses online ($45 per dress, with the fee credited back to the final purchase) and have them sent to their homes in a fancy "bride box." Each box comes with the selected dresses for try on, along with dress clips, a measuring tape and some seasonal bridal-themed extras. Dresses are custom made, and crafted in four to six months once ordered. "With Floravere, we're creating a brand and a space that speaks to our core belief that there is no 'right' way to be a bride," said co-founder Molly Kang. "More than ever, she feels empowered to break the rules and do things her way when it comes to her wedding — from what she wears to how she approaches the entire day. And we felt that there wasn't a brand that spoke to this very modern sensibility. Everything we do and all our products are designed to reimagine what it means to be a bride today."

Meet China's fabulous cross-dressing computer coders - TODAYonline Posted: 30 Apr 2019 05:07 PM PDT [unable to retrieve full-text content]Meet China's fabulous cross-dressing computer coders  TODAYonline GUANGZHOU (China) — A small and growing community of Chinese programmers is pushing boundaries by coding while cross-dressing and cosplaying as ...

Appleton students create dresses out of paper for a unique fashion show - Fox11online.com Posted: 29 Apr 2019 04:26 AM PDT [unable to retrieve full-text content]Appleton students create dresses out of paper for a unique fashion show  Fox11online.com GREEN BAY (WLUK) -- A first of it's kind fashion show in the Fox Valley is a collaboration between students at Appleton West High School and The Salon ...

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