Wedding season is in full-swing in Indian households, which means there are a lot of dulhans and bridesmaids looking for clothing to wear to their big day. And sure, there are eco-friendly and ethical brands you can turn to for your bridal trousseau, like I shared. Or you can try and make your bid day even more earth-friendly by taking the no-buying new route.
Intrigued?
Yes, I can hear what you’ll say.
But Anjali, if we don’t buy new, how will we have anything to wear on our big days? Especially something unique that fits a bride and her girls?
Well, here are some options to dazzle on your wedding day, without having to buy new.
Wear Hand-me-downs and Heritage Clothing
There is nothing as sustainable as using what already is in your cupboard. Or you sister’s or bestie’s or nani’s. Girl, if Alia Bhatt can re-wear her mehendi lehenga alongside other actresses who are turning up in their mom’s sarees for their weddings, I am sure you can consider swapping a fit with your sister or bringing back to life something your grandma rocked.
But I understand if you can’t. Tradition, comfort, and many other reasons can stop us from reusing and while that makes it tougher, it doesn’t make it impossible for you to be an eco-girlie. Because, you can always…
Upcycle or Restyle Something Old or Swapped
This is how my mum managed to convince me to wear at least one new fit for my wedding. She got me something that was upcycled locally.
Upcycling is where you take scrap fabric or even old items and give them a new look. This supports tailors, reduces waste, and keeps items in circulation, while also giving you something new which bestie, is all win, win, win! Sure, I hesitate to do it to my grandma’s clothing because who knows when that could become heritage or vintage…but, scarps are always there.
P.S.- Gift Green India has the cutest upcycled blouses.
And honestly what better than to re-wear something that holds special memories or has been part of your closet or relationship? When the Haldi fit my sister insisted I wear didn’t fit, this is what came to my rescue. And the best part? My partner and I had thought, this dress- worn only once at a cousin’s sagai- would make a great DnD dress. This allowed us to bring our love for tabletop RPGs to our wedding, and the dress was Ereborian enough to fit my LoTR-Star Wars wedding theme.
And I would have loved to wear something given by a friend, because in that way I carry their love with me. What do you think? Let me know in the comments!
Still on the prowl for a new sustainable dress without exactly wanting to buy something newly produced?
Rent Your Shaadi Clothes
While I get emotionally attached to wedding items and wanted to own the clothes I wore, and rented decor, I can still acknowledge that unless you can buy something reusable, a heavy wedding lehenga is best rented. Easy on the pocket, clean, and low-impact, you can get the trending designs to slay in without extracting more resources from the planet for your dream fit. While my mum would veto this idea as something that takes away from the specialness of your big day, my partner’s mum loves it- showing that you can get parental approval for this one. If your culture allows, be like many eco-influencers and let your lehenga or saree be your something borrowed this wedding season. Sure, vasstu doesn’t allow pre-loved, and that is why sustainable brands exist, but Megha Ahuja sums the pros of rented wedding fits best.
Thrift Stores, and Local Boutiques
Supporting local boutiques, especially if you have thrifted the fabric and are just getting them to cut and design it, is a great way to get a new design while reducing resource consumption. And if you go to a fair-trade boutique or give fair wages to a local tailor, you are also supporting better labour laws. Or you can thrift from either store like Swap Fashions or FreeUp, like I did for my Padme-inspired engagement dress, but if you want to go the extra mile, you can also consider looking at ReLove which carries mostly fair-trade factory discards and thrifted items.
Just beware of those local tailors which ruin your design. Trust me, I have been burned one too many times, but there are some good ones out there. Like the one I worked with to design the gown I reused for my mehendi, sangeet, and aiburobhat. It was a Belle inspired piece that I looked horrid in when I got it for a cancelled high-school prom, allowing me to get my school-girl memories and my partner and I’s shared love for classic animated movies to our wedding. Best part? After I wore it to my sister’s engagement, I had a true glow up in the gown, which helped me realise a very important lesson…
Still on the prowl for a lehenga or saree or anarkali? Maybe, you can consider a middle-path of buying new without adding to consumption by buying factory discards.
Factory Discards
A factory discard is an item that was produced but had minor defects, mostly invisible to the naked eye, and can’t be sold. Unless a sustainable store, that thanks to the systems we live in needs to produce before an order is placed, decides to sell them to conscious consumers. Because why should new clothes get all the glam?
Is it exactly no-buy? No. some might even say this is buying new….but as Obi-Wan Kenobi would say, from a certain point-of-view..
Now, fashion isn’t the only way I made my wedding sustainable-friendly, and if you can do more too, that’s more power to you. Whether you are supporting sustainable bridal fashion brands or having an eco-friendly celebration, remember to enjoy your big day and give yourself grace for the inevitable mistakes. You got this. Happy wedding, bestie, and welcome to the Musings community. Don’t forget to let me know which option you went for your dress in the comments!
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Updated- 09/12/2024
keep going!! 🙌
Thank you!