Wedding dresses usually have one day in the limelight, and then into the closet they go.
But one Richmond entrepreneur is hoping to send those dresses back down the aisle.
Gillian Woodward just launched I Feel Pretty Boutique, an online consignment shop that sells new and used designer bridal gowns and accessories.
Woodward plans to sell dresses online and through local wedding shows at 20 to 70 percent less than what the gowns cost new.
Woodward unveiled her dresses at the Richmond bridal showcase at Greater Richmond Convention Center on Sunday.
“It’s sort of like a trade show and trunk sale combined,” she said. “It’s a really neat idea to showcase the inventory we have and to pick up new consigners.”
Woodward said she got the idea after noticing a lack of local consignments stores that accept and sell bridal gowns.
“There’s no place in the area doing this,” Woodward said. “A lot of women aren’t buying $4,000 and $5,000 gowns anymore.”
Woodward will have her work cut out for her.
Kathy Cziglan, manager of Butterfly Consignment Boutique on Patterson Avenue and said she tried consigning bridal dresses but was unsuccessful.
“The gowns mostly were out of style,” she said. “Women want updated styles generally.”
But although consigned gowns didn’t do well in her shop, Cziglan said she thinks the concept could do well in the area.
“We get calls almost weekly from women looking for a place to consign their gowns,” she said. “I would think that the economy issues would open a large market for gently worn gowns.”
Woodward has about 25 consigners on board and about 50 gowns she’s purchased online and from local residents.
She has new and used gowns from designers such as Alfred Angelo and Michaelangelo as well as from David’s Bridal.
Dresses in her collection range from $700 to $3,000. The dresses are less than five years old.
“I’m trying to sell and consign affordable gowns,” she said. “If a dress retails for $1,000, we ask they sell it for $500.”
The average cost of a wedding dress is $1,289, according to a recent study by Brides Magazine.
David’s Bridal, a bridal chain, says on its site that bridal gowns range from $299 to $1,250. Bella Rosa on Deep Rock Road near Short Pump carries dresses from $700 to $6,000.
The study also said 45 percent of brides keep their dresses and another 10 percent will either sell it or give it to another bride.
Woodward said her consigners will get 70 percent and she’ll take the other 30.
Woodward said most of the women she has encountered are willing to part with the dress they only wore for one day.
“Some need to get money back for the money they’ve put out for a wedding, and some never made it down the aisle, so I’ve ended up with gowns that are brand new,” she said.
Woodward has been considering starting a business for the past three years but began planning her consignment boutique last year.
“I was laid off in 2010, and I was at a crossroads,” she said. “I thought, either I’ll do this now or it will never happen.”
Since 2001, Woodward has worked for the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, a Washington-based nonprofit. She’s also worked as an event planner for the last 13 years.
“I found this business allowed me to marry the two,” she said.
Woodward said this first showcase was to attract consigners and get the word out about her business. She will start selling her dresses at a wedding consignment show at Artworks Galleries & Studios on Hull Street Road on Sept. 11.
For now, she’s storing all of the dresses in her home and a storage unit, but a storefront is still in Woodward’s plans.
“Hopefully this will drum up enough interest to open a boutique,” she said. “I hope within the next few years get a physical location.”
Wedding dresses usually have one day in the limelight, and then into the closet they go.
But one Richmond entrepreneur is hoping to send those dresses back down the aisle.
Gillian Woodward just launched I Feel Pretty Boutique, an online consignment shop that sells new and used designer bridal gowns and accessories.
Woodward plans to sell dresses online and through local wedding shows at 20 to 70 percent less than what the gowns cost new.
Woodward unveiled her dresses at the Richmond bridal showcase at Greater Richmond Convention Center on Sunday.
“It’s sort of like a trade show and trunk sale combined,” she said. “It’s a really neat idea to showcase the inventory we have and to pick up new consigners.”
Woodward said she got the idea after noticing a lack of local consignments stores that accept and sell bridal gowns.
“There’s no place in the area doing this,” Woodward said. “A lot of women aren’t buying $4,000 and $5,000 gowns anymore.”
Woodward will have her work cut out for her.
Kathy Cziglan, manager of Butterfly Consignment Boutique on Patterson Avenue and said she tried consigning bridal dresses but was unsuccessful.
“The gowns mostly were out of style,” she said. “Women want updated styles generally.”
But although consigned gowns didn’t do well in her shop, Cziglan said she thinks the concept could do well in the area.
“We get calls almost weekly from women looking for a place to consign their gowns,” she said. “I would think that the economy issues would open a large market for gently worn gowns.”
Woodward has about 25 consigners on board and about 50 gowns she’s purchased online and from local residents.
She has new and used gowns from designers such as Alfred Angelo and Michaelangelo as well as from David’s Bridal.
Dresses in her collection range from $700 to $3,000. The dresses are less than five years old.
“I’m trying to sell and consign affordable gowns,” she said. “If a dress retails for $1,000, we ask they sell it for $500.”
The average cost of a wedding dress is $1,289, according to a recent study by Brides Magazine.
David’s Bridal, a bridal chain, says on its site that bridal gowns range from $299 to $1,250. Bella Rosa on Deep Rock Road near Short Pump carries dresses from $700 to $6,000.
The study also said 45 percent of brides keep their dresses and another 10 percent will either sell it or give it to another bride.
Woodward said her consigners will get 70 percent and she’ll take the other 30.
Woodward said most of the women she has encountered are willing to part with the dress they only wore for one day.
“Some need to get money back for the money they’ve put out for a wedding, and some never made it down the aisle, so I’ve ended up with gowns that are brand new,” she said.
Woodward has been considering starting a business for the past three years but began planning her consignment boutique last year.
“I was laid off in 2010, and I was at a crossroads,” she said. “I thought, either I’ll do this now or it will never happen.”
Since 2001, Woodward has worked for the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, a Washington-based nonprofit. She’s also worked as an event planner for the last 13 years.
“I found this business allowed me to marry the two,” she said.
Woodward said this first showcase was to attract consigners and get the word out about her business. She will start selling her dresses at a wedding consignment show at Artworks Galleries & Studios on Hull Street Road on Sept. 11.
For now, she’s storing all of the dresses in her home and a storage unit, but a storefront is still in Woodward’s plans.
“Hopefully this will drum up enough interest to open a boutique,” she said. “I hope within the next few years get a physical location.”
Hi Amy!
I saw your article on the consignment wedding gowns! I have a shop that consigns eveything from Antique Dining Tables, to collectable art Erte’s, and also Wedding Gowns! Brand New Wedding gowns that have never been worn!! If you are looking for a great story line, We have it at Cabell House!! We are located in Carytown at 3101 Ellwood Ave.. We hope you will stop in and see all of the glitz we have in our NEW STORE!!!
Thanks
Debbie Suter