Have you been to a wedding lately? Or better yet been in a wedding? If you itemize your deductions and have gotten married or been part of a wedding party this deduction is for you!
That’s it. Because of the latter condition, most women probably have a section of the closet devoted to a pile of dresses. Only worn once, and usually in such a color that they can’t really be worn again, the bridesmaid dresses will likely never see the outside of the closet again.
Get Rich Slowly recently had a guest post Beating the High Cost of Weddings: How We Did It, and How You Can Too. It made me think about one of the costs that is hard to beat: being an attendant in a wedding. It’s a great honor, and I have truly enjoyed being in lots of weddings, but it is a cost that you cannot really control once you accept. Bridesmaid dresses have the hefty pricetag of a formal gown, but not much use besides the wedding itself.
Dress Donation
I wasn’t sure what to do with the dresses until I found Brides Against Breast Cancer. They accept donations of wedding gowns that they resell. The money raised is used to grant wishes for terminally ill breast cancer patients. The dresses (including shipping cost) are tax-deductible.
Last year I donated my wedding dress*. This year I’d like to box up the bridesmaid dresses and send those off too. In fact, I might just have all the women that attend our yearly holiday party bring their dresses and we’ll send them all off. Readers, I encourage you to send off your (or your wife’s) dresses too!
They currently accept the following:
- Contemporary wedding gowns (1995 to now)
- Bridesmaid, mother of the bride and flower girl dresses
- Wedding specific items such as veils, shoes, purses, slips, bras, etc….
Stop by when I raid the rest of my closet!
*Technically I kept the dress I wore on my wedding day as a keepsake. But I had two dresses due to a “bridezilla moment” two weeks before my wedding. I donated the one I didn’t wear.
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Wow! I did not know this. I just recently got married and my gown is never going to be worn again. I knew I shouldn’t have bought it, but I guess donating it is much better than selling it or just leaving it to rot.
the bagladyNovember 16th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
Update: Brides against Breast Cancer (also shown under makeingmemories.org) is requesting donations of specific wedding dresses (newer, not vintage, retro, etc.), though the above article says contempeporary 1995 or new…you might want to check with the donating organization. Mine is from 1985, clean and boxed by a wedding dress cleaner, but I think they have an oversupply of older dresses) and no room to accommodate the older dresses. Read the orgs statements under BABC or MM.org. Good luck! I guess I’ll just continue to store mine…
the other back ladyJuly 25th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
@ The other back lady: Thanks for the update on which dresses they will take!
September 2nd, 2008 at 10:05 am