Wedding dresses are a big business today, but many people prefer the look of an antique wedding dress to the more modern gowns. Choosing a vintage dress is certainly one way to make your wedding unique, as it’s highly unlikely that any or your friends or peers will be getting married in the same or even remotely similar dress.

Why choose from a catalog or the racks of a bridal store when you can choose an antique wedding dress to help make your day special. The workmanship and details in an older dress can be amazing, while to get that level of detail today you’d spend hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars more for a dress. If you have an old-fashioned sensibility, an older dress can give your wedding a more vintage atmosphere and make you think of time past.

If you’re shopping for an antique wedding dress, a piece of good advice is not go too antique. While with most antiques, older is better, with wedding dresses or any kind of clothing, older dresses might be in a bad state of repair. Fabric does deteriorate and lose its shape over time, anything that might have been slightly stretchy before is probably only brittle now, thread will rot over the years, and sometimes older dresses can be on the verge of falling apart.

But an antique wedding dress, unlike simply an ordinary dress or pair of pants, has likely been worn little and handled far less than average clothing. The key is to be choosy, especially when dealing with very old dresses. If you’re looking at a dress made before 1900, you could be taking quite a bit of risk as it’s much more likely to be unable to hold up to wear. Silk chiffons from the 1920s are also, because of their style and fabrics, less likely to hold up over the years. If your heart is set on either of these, then simply be prepared that the cost to repair and restore them will be much higher than most other dresses.

Know how much you can spend on an antique wedding dress before you shop in vintage shops or online on eBay, and stick to your budget. Do figure in the cost of alterations and any restoration and repair that a seamstress might find necessary to keep the vintage dress together for you wedding. Cleaning should also be considered, as archival cleaning can sometimes cost more than you paid for the dress itself.

Don’t choose an antique wedding dress that’s in obvious visible need of repairs or has stains. While stain removal is much easier today, that stain has been on that fabric for decades making it much less likely it will come out completely, if at all.

And if you decide to purchase an antique wedding dress from an auction, measure yourself carefully to find the right dress. Sizes were different years ago than they are today, so the auction should give detailed measurements for the garment. If it doesn’t, ask for them before purchasing.

Originally posted 2008-11-01 05:00:13. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

• Vintage Wedding Dress Antiques -> Textiles, Linens -> Lace, Crochet, Doilies Many people today want to wear a vintage wedding dress when they get married. Vintage clothing in general has become hugely popular. You can purchase actually vintage clothing in various states of wear, vintage fabric which to make clothing from, or reproduction......
• Antique School Table Antiques -> Furniture -> Tables, Stands If you're looking for antique furniture like an antique school table or desk, one great place to find these items is estate auctions.  While you can find antique furniture in online auctions like eBay, you need to be very savvy about the purchases you......
• Antique Lighting Antiques -> Decorative Arts -> Lamps Whether you are trying to restore an older home and would like to keep it in the period style, or you just appreciate older light fixtures, antique lighting has much to offer. There are many different styles from Victorian, to Art Deco to Modern......
• Antique Dishes Dealers -> Glass -> Plates Collecting antique dishes can be a fun and rewarding hobby, but it’s probably not going to be an easy one! Because of the wide variety of dishes available from so many sources, you’ll probably have to brush up on your knowledge of dishes and dinnerware.......
• Sideboard Dealers -> Furniture -> Cabinets-Armoires-Cupboards A sideboard is a piece of furniture used to display China or to set food out while dining. The sideboards we’re familiar with first appeared in the 1700s, but became more popular in the 1800s when more people had dining rooms to eat in, and......

• A Beginner’s Guide to Home Inspections If you are considering buying an older property to renovate or repair, it is very important to make sure that you get an inspection done on the home before you complete the deal. Every year, homeowners end up with homes that are beyond repair, simply because they did not take......
• Our Honeymoon Savings The toughest part about our move across country 6 months ago is missing our friends and family. Energi Gal and I are so looking forward to our wedding in 4 months for a couple of reasons. First, we've been engaged now for 18 months, so at this point, we are......
• Cash Registers Collectibles -> Banks-Registers-and-Vending Some of us remember going into the local Mom & Pop shop and having our penny candy rang up on a tall brass cash register. Some of us have seen such registers in dime stores or in antique stores. There are many things to be appreciated about......
• Military Helmets Collectibles -> Militaria Collecting military helmets is an interesting hobby, and one usually enjoyed by military history or war history buffs. The huge variety of helmets available makes it a colorful hobby and one that’s difficult to get bored with. And the affordability of many antique military helmets makes it......
• Be A Good Human By Having A Green Wedding – 5 Green Wedding Tips. The following post was contributed by Heather Johnson, who writes on the subject of green shopping. She invites your feedback at heatherjohnson2323 at gmail dot com. Weddings are very special events that require a lot of time, planning, and money. Your special day can be even more unique if you......

• Wedding Ring Quilts Quilts, Bedspreads Textiles, Linens Antiques
• Clothing Patterns Patterns Doll Making Repair Dolls Dolls Bears
• Fabric Textiles, Linens Antiques
• Dress Womens Shoes