Cleaning out the basement and deciding I need to get rid of my old prom and homecoming dresses. Don't know why I still have them! They are all about 7-8 years old- I think still would be sort of fashionable but what do I know, ha! ny suggestions what to do with them? Thinking of selling on CraigsList but not sure if there are any other suggestions.....?
Ditto to grandmarocks. I know there is an organization out there for girls wanting to go to prom, but they don't have money to buy a dress. Look around for one, if not sell it on craigslist or take it to a thrift store.
http://www.donatemydress.org/
http://princessproject.org/
http://www.cinderellasclosetnky.org/
http://www.operationfairydust.org/donate.htm
a lot of high schools have a sale. you can donate them. Girls who can't afford to go and spend a couple hundred bucks are able to buy dresses for $10 or $20. In our area its called the Cinderella sale. I would call the local high school and check and see when it is. With this economy a lot of girls are not going because they can't afford the dress.
Check out high schools in your area. Many of them collect dresses for girls who cannot afford a dress. It's a win win!
I don't know if there is anyone in your area that does this, but in Minneapolis, there is a woman who takes old prom dresses and remakes them for girls who can't afford to buy a dress. I'm planning on giving her some bridesmaids dresses that I have from a recent wedding that were never worn.
See if you have any consignment shops.
Also, you can contact a local high school and ask them if they are familiar with anyone who organizes a clothing closet for girls who can't afford prom dresses.
We had a woman in our community who started a clothing exchange for girls. I thought it was such an amazing idea. She was financially fortunate and wanted other girls to have pretty dresses. Many people donated to her.
She even did alterations.
Just an idea.
Best wishes.
Call your local high school. Many schools accept donations for girls whose families cannot afford dresses for special dances. We have such a program through my local high school's counseling office. In my community, the program is called "Allie's Closet" after a teen who died in a drunk driving accident after prom. Perhaps your community has something similar.
I don't know the exact details (you could probably do a Google search) but you might be able to find somewhere to donate them, and then they are given to girls who might otherwise not be able to afford anything. I think it might be called the Cinderella Project or something like that.
you can take them to a consignment shop, donate them or sell them on craigslist or ebay.
it's close to homecoming time so the time is right!!
good luck!!
I love the other suggestions! However, do you have daughters or know someone with younger girls? Cut off the length, use some hemming tape (or sew the hem) and let them play dress up in them. Maybe some ribbon to tie around the bodice to keep them on or some other way to make them stay on.
Best of luck!
I currently use mine as dust collectors in my closet. Works great. ;)
Check in your community or surrounding area to see if there's an organization that collects them to help girls in need who might not be able to go to prom otherwise. There's some here in SoCal that collect the dresses and the girls get to come in and "shop" for dresses and accessories for their big night.
We have second hand formal wear shops here, if they have them there you could see about selling them
I'd dry clean them and wrap them and save them. I still have my prom dress my grandmother made for me. I figure one day my granddaghter might be able to use it as a nostalgic piece. I've been carrying it with me for 36 years now ;)
I think donating them to the Goodwill or Salvation Army. There are girls who do shop for their dresses at these kinds of stores.
I bought a black velvet long dress with a white satin off the shoulder wide collar. I bought it for $10 so I could cut it up and use the cancan under it for a daddy daughter dance. My girl needed something to make her dress fuller and the bridal store didn't even carry the under skirts in black and they only rented them, for a starting fee of $25...ummmm, no thank you, I can make one by buying fabric at Hobby Lobby for about half that.
But then I found this dress and the underskirt was perfect. I cut it off the turned the top down, hemmed it, ran elastic through the casing, and we had the perfect underskirt. The dress is still wearable too, just not as poufy.
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