Is it possible to source a stylish wedding dress for just £10? Mary Jane Baxter scours flea markets and charity shops - and even tries making her own
Just before Christmas, BBC Breakfast challenged me to make a wedding dress for a tenner. I nearly choked on my cereal! How on earth was I going to produce a stylish outfit for less than the cost of a slap-up brunch?
OK, I'm well used to sourcing bargains. Most of my wardrobe these days consists of stuff from second-hand stalls or charity shops, glammed up with homemade accessories. But a wedding dress? That's quite another matter.
Not being one to shrink from a challenge, however, and probably fuelled by an excess of festive spirit, I decided to up the ante, and came back with a challenge of my own. Not only would I do them one dress, I would bring in THREE different bridal outfits, all for no more than 10 quid each.
So, at the risk of giving away one of London's best-kept secrets, I took out some cash and headed south of the river to Deptford, where on certain days of the week you'll find the most brilliant flea market. There's a fantastic stall that's basically a mountain of secondhand clothes. Dressed like a Sherpa, you scale the staggering heights in search of textile treasure. I am very rarely disappointed. I've found fabulous things over the years, many for as little as two or three pounds.
This time, though, I was on the search for wedding attire and I wasn't sure how much they'd charge. I dived into the pile, surfacing a few minutes later clutching two suitably luxurious dresses, a couple of veils, a beautiful vintage tiara and a mother-of-the-bride hat. Nervously I enquired about the price. Much to my delight, I paid just £30 for the lot! Dress one sorted.
I'd decided to make the second dress from scratch, and that seemed to pose more of a problem. Not being a fashion designer, I needed to buy a dressmaking pattern, and unfortunately they're not cheap. In fact, the received wisdom these days is that sewing your own stuff is a lot more expensive than buying new. I really wanted to prove that this doesn't have to be the case, so I set out in search of a budget-friendly option and fortunately managed to track down a not-too-tricky-to-stitch pattern for £3.95.
Pattern purchased, I was left with about £6 for everything else - including the fabric. Tight to say the least … Although I succeeded in finding a stall (again in Deptford market) selling material for just £1 a metre, it wasn't exactly what I'd dreamed of for my imaginary bride. Surely she deserved a little more than that on her big day - especially as she was being so abstemious? I really didn't want her walking down the aisle in what amounted to a sheet.
My rescue came in the form of a pair of curtains – or to be more precise, curtain fabric from a friend who'd heard of my predicament. As luck would have it, she'd had some beautiful remnants stashed away for months after making snowy brocade drapes for her bedroom windows. This was more like it - a big step up from the plain white polycotton I'd almost been forced into buying to stay within budget. She very kindly donated her leftovers to me, along with some lovely pearl buttons cut from an old jumper.
Up in Scotland celebrating Christmas with my family, I borrowed my cousin's ancient sewing machine and got to work as soon as the turkey and trimmings had been tucked away for another year. I added the zip and did the hem on the train back down to London, and even managed to create a wrap with some leftover fabric of my own. Total cost of dress two: £7.95.
Two down, one to go. I turned to Sense, the charity for deafblind people, for Dress three. Sense, like many other charities nowadays, sells wedding dresses that are either secondhand or ex-designer. However, although they're very cheap in comparison to new, they were still way above my price range. Instead I plumped for a long white sundress with a silver thread running through it, a plain white round-necked T-shirt, and a sequined belt.
I cut up the T-shirt and turned it into a little vintage-style wraparound jacket, customised with 10 metres of lace trim. I then altered the belt to fit the waist rather than the hips. After a morning's work I'd succeeded in creating a boho-chic outfit, perfect for tying the knot on a sunkissed beach in the Maldives – or alternatively for a bride on a shoestring budget, somewhere a little closer to home. This dress came in at exactly £9.50.
Of course, we're still waiting to see who'll design the bridal gown for the forthcoming royal wedding. But Kate, if you're a bit short after splashing out in the January sales, I'm sure I can rustle something up with that spare tenner you've got tucked away.
• If you're organising a shoestring wedding this year, Mary Jane would like to hear your story. Contact her on mj@maryjanemillinery.co.uk. Watch BBC Breakfast tomorrow, Saturday 22 January, to see Mary Jane's wedding dress challenge.
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