Last fall, Emmali Osterhoudt was at a Goodwill store in Birmingham, Ala., when she stumbled upon a Galia Lahav wedding gown. Though she was not yet engaged, Ms. Osterhoudt, 21, couldn’t pass up the opportunity to purchase the find: The gown was priced at $25.
Her thrifting success went viral on TikTok, and brides chimed in with stories of how they thrifted their own wedding looks. Now set to wed her fiancé, Nicolas Gould, 23, who proposed in December, Ms. Osterhoudt, a nursing student, plans to wear the gown and thrift décor for her wedding.
Ms. Osterhoudt’s shopping decisions reflect the growing movement toward circular fashion, the idea of recycling and reusing clothes. Thrifting is on track to become a $700 billion market by 2030, making it 23 percent of the fashion industry, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a British nonprofit organization that promotes a circular economy.
At Awoke Vintage in Brooklyn, N.Y., “We noticed an uptick about five years ago of people coming in and asking for wedding dresses, especially in the spring and summer,” said Rachel Despeaux, an owner of the store. “People are more interested in having their big day be defined by wearing vintage,” she said.
Awoke Vintage, which is known for its denim, typically skews toward casual clothing at its three stores in Brooklyn, but Ms. Despeaux says she now also stocks white and ivory dresses and suits to keep up with customer demand. She looks for ’60s, ’70s and ’80s outfits, and keeps an eye out for bridesmaid and maid of honor dresses.
While white can be a tricky color for vintage — it yellows over time — Ms. Despeaux explained that the growing consumer interest in circular fashion has led her wholesalers, who specialize in vintage and thrift products sourced globally, to curate wedding collections for clients like her.
