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Copyright © 2024 CGTN. 京ICP备20000184号
Disinformation report hotline: 010-85061466
A growing number of brides are choosing to wear pre-owned wedding dresses to save money. In Austria, the number of second-hand bridal dresses being listed online is exploding.
The number of brides-to-be searching for pre-owned wedding gowns online has risen five-fold in the past five years, according to Austria's largest online marketplace 'willhaben'.
"I want to keep my husband and not the dress," says Marlene who - just one month after saying yes - decided to list her wedding gown online hoping to get back half of what she paid.
Pre-owned bridal dresses can not only be found online. In some Austrian bridal shops, up to two thirds of the dresses sold are second-hand. While sustainability is one part of the equation, the rising cost of living seems to be the more dominant factor. In Austria, prices for rent and groceries have risen by more than 11 percent in 2022 as well as in 2023.
The number of brides-to-be searching for pre-owned wedding gowns online has risen five-fold in the past five years, according to Austria's largest online marketplace 'willhaben'. /CGTN Europe
"More and more brides decide for a second-hand dress because the new dresses are way more expensive than the last years," says Julia König who runs a bridal shop in Vienna's 9th district.
Pre-owned wedding dresses are offered on 'willhaben' for an average of 415 dollars, evening/ball gowns and men's suits for 71 dollars. Matching shoes, veils, jewellery and decorations can also be found.
Instead, new wedding dresses start at a thousand dollars and usually have to be altered to fit the bride - meaning hundreds of dollars on top.
Despite the cost, many women still prefer to be the only one to ever wear their wedding gown. "I would like to buy a new one, not second-hand," a Viennese woman told CGTN. "Maybe, if I can try the second-hand dress on, then yes I would consider it," another person adds.
And it's not only dresses that are being re-sold. This year, Austrian goldsmiths are seeing a new trend towards recycled rings, with customers bringing in old jewellery to be made into wedding bands...putting brides well on the way to fulfilling the tradition to wear something 'old, new, borrowed and blue'.
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