Written by Jackie Martin

Did you know that it takes about 2,400 gallons of water to make one wedding dress? With the vital move towards a more sustainable future, brides have an impactful way in which they can play a part in the movement—they can consign their wedding dress or buy pre-loved pieces. Beyond the essential advantage of reducing your dress’s environmental impact, consignment also allows you to declutter, gives your dress a second-life, and puts the funds from your sale towards another important purchase.

Of course, this can be a bit tricky as many brides naturally become attached to their gown. Yet Aly Faucett, founder of Rebridal notes, “By consigning your dress, you’re challenging the notion that wedding dresses are single-use and saving yours from back-of-closet-purgatory.” Further, consigning allows you to be behind the rich storytelling of a piece of clothing. To this point, Lauren Wilson, founder of luxury consignment fashion platform Dora Maar shares, “Being able to consign a piece that held such special meaning for one bride, to a new home where a new bride can add to the history of that dress, is what fashion magic is made of.”

Whether you’re looking to consign or buy pre-loved, here at Over The Moon, we’ve outlined four chic platforms to guide you through. Between Dora Maar, Happy Isles, Vestiaire Collective, and Rebridal, we’ve got sustainable fashion magic covered.

Dora Maar

“We’re reimagining our relationship to pre-owned luxury fashion by leveraging the story behind each item.”

—Founder, Lauren Wilson.

Whether you’re looking to consign a piece from your wedding or searching for a playful bridal shower dress, Dora Maar is a pre-loved fashion haven filled with Chanel and Saint Laurent. Named after the French surrealist artist, Dora Maar (who was also one of Pablo Piccaso’s muses), this platform merges a curated selection of pre-owned luxury fashion with rich storytelling. Each consignor (at Dora Maar they’re called Muses) has a dedicated closet page, where their story and personality comes alive with the pieces that meant so much to them. The founder, Lauren Wilson who previously worked at Moda Operandi, launched Dora Maar with the intention of showcasing the provenance behind each and every piece. This is crucial to both its value and authenticity. “It’s important to preserve that history for the person who owns the piece in its next life,” she says. 

Dora Maar has seen several of their Muses consign pieces that were a part of their wedding. For example, Muse @brooklynandboy consigned her Cynthia Rowley white mini dress, which she had worn for her engagement photos in the Jardin des Tuileries in Paris. Lauren Levison, a devoted fashion collector, just debuted as Dora Maar’s latest Muse. Her coveted closet is filled with “fashion girl” bridal pieces from Christopher Kane, Huishan Zhang, and Simone Rocha. 100% of Lauren’s proceeds from her closet will be donated to the Present/Levison Advanced Fellowship in Inflammatory Bowel Disease at the Mount Sinai Hospital. The best part? As a high-touch consignment service, Dora Maar will take all of the selling and shipping logistics in-house (a.k.a no more self-photographing your piece or running to and from UPS to ship)!

Happy Isles

“As vintage becomes more visible in the fashion world, we have more and more brides that are really excited by the idea of buying pre-loved for their wedding day and Happy Isles is a wonderful option.”

—Founder, Lily Kaizer

Vintage bridal salon and destination, Happy Isles is different from any other contemporary resale platform. Located in the heart of Los Angeles, the bridal salon only sells vintage, with a dazzling collection spanning one-of-a-kind pieces from the 1930s to the early 2000s. As a plus, Happy Isles offers brides the option of consigning the dress they bought back with the bridal salon. If the dress is in the same condition as when it was originally purchased, the price will remain the same and the profit will be split. This option makes the pieces that much more accessible and affordable. 

Those not in L.A., fear not. Over The Moon sells a selection of favorites from Happy Isles! Happy Isles also offers virtual appointments, sells via IG DM, and is planning a pop-up in NYC from September 28 – 30, 2021.

Vestiaire Collective

“We’ve seen increased interest in choosing resale for your big day. For the modern bride, it’s a way to wear something unique, iconic and sustainable. Choosing pre-owned is also more affordable.”

—Co-Founder and Fashion Director, Sophie Hersan

Vestiaire Collective is a luxury peer to peer resale platform. With designer dresses from brands like Vera Wang, Zuhair Murad, and Oscar de la Renta at an accessible price point, this is another great option to buy pre-owned or sell your dress. Co-founder Sophie Hersan notes, “In terms of trends, vintage is an increasingly popular choice. Styles from the 1950s and 1960s have been trending since Princess Beatrice chose a dress worn by her grandmother, the Queen, designed by Norman Hartnell and originally worn to the premiere of Lawrence of Arabia in 1962.” Vestiaire is also seeing brides moving toward more simple and modern designs like suit ensembles as the pandemic has caused many to have smaller, more intimate ceremonies.

If interested in selling, simply download the app and easily list out your items from your phone! Vestiaire makes it as simple as possible by detailing all of the photos, information, and measurements potential buyers might need. Once your dress is sold, you will ship it to Vestiaire using a prepaid label, they then carefully examine the item for any potential issues and send it to your buyer.

Rebridal

“With the environmental impact of single-use fashion, choosing a secondhand dress or consigning your preloved dress is good for both the planet and your wallet.”

—Founder, Aly Faucett

As buying second hand dresses gains more traction, a new wedding wear company called Rebridal is a viable option. The purpose behind Rebridal is twofold: honoring Mother Earth and giving brides more options. Rebridal is different from other consignment platforms because there are no advertising fees. You also don’t have to have back-and-forths with potential buyers or deal with monitoring your listing. Instead, Rebridal will make you an offer on your dress, and then they’ll take over from there. Other online wedding dress marketplaces operate directly from seller to buyer, which can feel risky, especially when it comes to such an expensive item that carries so much meaning and emotion. For brides shopping with Rebridal, the company strives to offer a meaningful bridal experience from the moment you visit the website to when you open the package and beyond by offering at home try-ons and returns if the dress doesn’t work out. 

If interested in selling, fill out the form on the Rebridal website to share more about your dress. If they’d like to consign it, they’ll get back to you within five business days with an offer stating how much they’d like to list your dress for. Then, ship your dress, and they’ll complete a quality inspection and reimburse you for shipping costs. When the dress sells, you will receive up to 60% of the final purchase price.

Have any tips and tricks for consigning or buying consignment wedding dresses? DM us at @overthemoon!