Thrifty for a Winter Wedding

The theme for this month’s Thrifty Six collaboration is winter weddings. I’ve never been to a winter wedding before, so I had fun imagining what I might wear! Something about a wedding in the wintertime feels more luxe to me, like you should be wearing all the rich, expensive fabrics you wouldn’t style during the summer (I’m thinking velvet, fur, silk, etc.). Shelbee commented on last month’s absurdity post saying that my monochrome teal ensemble would have been perfect for this month’s theme—I hadn’t thought about that but completely agree! I love the idea of rocking a velvet jumpsuit at the reception.

I considered wearing this red bow dress for the theme, but one of the other bridesmaids at my brother’s wedding said that you should never wear red to a wedding… I’d never heard that before—can anyone confirm? I suppose it makes enough sense, since red is such an eye-catching color and you don’t want to distract from the bride. Plus, red is a very bridal color in some cultures. Either way, I realized I kept interchanging “winter wedding” with “holiday party” in my head, so I wanted to steer away from an outfit that seemed too Christmas-y.

I thrifted this dress during the Great Thrift of 2020—where I found six occasion dresses, just in my size, for $1 each. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to recreate that amazing thrifting excursion, but I go back to that secondhand store every time I’m in Vegas to try.

I actually still haven’t worn this dress out. It was a top contender for my boyfriend’s company Christmas party last year, but I decided on a sparkly dark red sheath instead. I love how classy and unique this black dress is—it kind of makes me feel like an old-fashioned Barbie. The bodice is velvet with a rosette and crystal lining. SO cute!

I paired it with hand-me-down snowflake earrings, a (fake) diamond pendant necklace, a pearl bracelet, and a pearl clutch that belonged to my grandma. I added shoe clips to my black heels for a little extra sparkle. My only complaint is that you can kind of see the waistband of my stockings underneath the dress…

I took these photos over the weekend on an unseasonably warm winter day, hence the lack of jacket. I have a very nice camel coat with a dark brown fur collar that I would have paired with this dress if I had to, but I think a red coat or some sort of white shawl/stole would be so much cuter.

Be sure to check out my thrifty friends’ winter wedding outfits at the links below. We each styled very different looks, which I love!

Jane of Preloved Vintage Handmade:

“What to wear for a Winter Wedding?… There’s loads to consider, you need to look on point, feel comfortable, be able to throw a few shapes on the dance floor… and in December, you need to be warm! I took this 1970s duck-egg suit, raised the hemline by about ten inches and zhuzhed it with some ‘Chanel’ style buttons… A designer silk blouse plus black and gold accessories ‘winterise’ the pretty pale blue colour and give the outfit some ‘edge’.”

Nancy of Nancy’s Fashion Style:

“I saw this Maison Scotch skirt on Vinted months ago and immediately fell in love with it. But if you know me, you know that I left it for too long and it was sold before I knew it. I searched and searched, and weeks later saw the skirt twice on Vinted. Once with a matching top! It was a bit on the pricey side, but the saleswoman had only worn it once. So I wanted to haggle because that’s just what I do. But she didn’t want to reduce the price. So I left it like that for a while. And then Jane came up with the theme, what do you wear to a winter wedding. And that was exactly the push I needed to complete the purchase. I’m not the type who attends a wedding in a super chic way, I never have those kinds of weddings either. (If I had I would.) But because of the lurex, this set is of course super festive! And those colours!”

Jodie of Jodie’s Touch of Style:

“Cowboy boots are all the rage right now, and I figured I could dress these up to answer the question of can you wear boots to a wedding. I decided to go with a neutral outfit and then add interest with the boots and other accessories in green. The only thing that isn’t thrifted are my glasses and ring. This outfit is one of my all-time favorites, and I even came up with a hack to shorten my sweater that will be on Instagram soon.”

Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge:

“For this winter wedding challenge, I wore a long sleeve lace bodycon dress by Bisou Bisou with peep toe heels by Nine West. Both were purchased at local thrift stores years ago. My preloved vintage fur coat and thrifted gold sequin clutch complete my wedding guest attire. My scarf was made by Anne of SpyGirl from upcycled fabrics so it fits perfectly into this thrifty theme. The only things not preloved are my earrings and headband but both have been around for a long time in my formal wardrobe. I will never find it necessary to spend hundreds of dollars on special occasion clothing when I can find beautiful preloved things for a fraction of the price!”

Emma of  Style Splash:

“A luxe trouser suit is a great alternative to a dress for a winter wedding. I’d been dreaming of getting my hands on this one from the Iris Apfel x H&M collection  ever since I missed out when everything sold out in a matter of minutes. Refusing to pay silly prices on eBay, I played the waiting game – for a very long time – and managed to buy the trousers first, then the jacket, and finally the shoes most recently on Vinted. I found the Zara green frilly blouse in an Oxfam shop in Nottingham – new with tags. My bag is also from Zara, bought on a trip to Madeira.”

. . . . .

What would you wear to a winter wedding? I have a few other top contenders in my closet (some thrifted, some not), but I think this black chiffon and velvet dress takes the cake.

Miles of smiles,
Grace

Dress: Thrifted, $1, last seen here | Black Heels: DSW, $40 ($2.50 per wear), last worn here | Tights: Primark, $5 ($0.83 per wear), last worn here | Pearl Purse: Hand-me-down, last worn here