Wedding Dresses
Buy and sell wedding dresses in Costa Rica.
A gown chosen for a long church aisle and one chosen for the sand at Playa Flamingo have very little in common, and both are worth passing on once the day is over. Most pre-owned bridal gowns were worn for a single afternoon, but some were never worn at all: a dress ordered online that arrived wrong, a boutique sample, a gown retired from a rental rail. Many come with the veil and the petticoat that held the skirt out. Ask the seller for the bust measurement and what the modista changed before you arrange to see one.
A church gown or a beach gown for Guanacaste:
the venue decides more than the silhouette. A church ceremony in the Central Valley calls for coverage and structure, with a boned bodice, satin or mikado, a chapel or cathedral train, and a petticoat underneath to hold the skirt out. A beach ceremony at Papagayo or Playa Hermosa wants the reverse. Chiffon, crepe and soft lace move in the wind and breathe in the heat, while a ball skirt sinks into dry sand and a long train comes back grey. Beach gowns are mostly A-line or sheath with a short sweep train or none. For a civil ceremony at home, a plain white midi from the general dresses section often does the job.
Boutique labels, modista-made gowns and online orders:
a known label such as Pronovias or Maggie Sottero holds its value, because a buyer can look the style up. A gown a modista made to measure can be beautifully finished, but it has no label and was cut for one body, so it sells on fabric and fit alone. Many unworn, tags-on gowns were ordered from overseas websites and passed on when the lace turned out printed rather than sewn, or the white closer to cream. Judge one by the seller’s own photos, never the website’s.
Fitting a wedding gown made for someone else:
start with the bust. A structured bodice is built around it, and it is the hardest thing for a modista to change, while a skirt full of tulle forgives a lot at the hips. Take the shoes you will wear to the fitting, because a gown hemmed for a barefoot bride on the beach sits short in heels. Add alterations and a professional clean to the price before you compare. A simple new gown with no designer label starts around ₡100,000, and most worn-once gowns change hands for ₡50,000 to ₡180,000. On a plain gown the gap is small, since a used one still needs fitting and cleaning before it can be worn again. On a labelled gown it is far wider, because the first bride paid far more.
A worn-once gown, an ex-rental gown and the marks each one carries:
a gown worn for one wedding shows it at the hem and the train: soil, grass, frayed tulle where it dragged, and bustle hooks or ribbons pulled loose during the dancing. Ex-rental gowns that boutiques sell off have been worn, cleaned and pressed several times and fitted to a different bride each time, so look along the bodice seams for rows of old needle holes and check that beading and appliqués have not been glued back on. Ivory and white satin yellow after years in a plastic bag, so see it in daylight next to something white. On a cheaper gown, lace that is printed or glued instead of stitched gives it away.
Passing on your wedding gown after the honeymoon:
have it professionally cleaned first, before makeup and soil set. In the listing give the label and size, the measurements as the gown is now after alterations, your height and the heel you wore, and say plainly whether it was a beach or a church wedding, because buyers search for one or the other. Say whether the veil and petticoat go with it. Photograph it hanging in daylight, front and back with the train spread out, then the label, the bodice detail and anything that needs repair. A photo from the day shows how it falls better than any hanger. Earrings and hair pieces can go in jewelry for women, and bridal sandals in women’s shoes. A buyer coming to see a wedding gown usually brings her mother or a sister and her own shoes, so meet somewhere with a long mirror and enough floor to lay out the train.