Gowns/clothes on very special occasions --- do you buy, rent or borrow?
@moneymakingtoday (4061)
Philippines
February 7, 2010 6:01pm CST
There are special occasions that need one to wear gowns or special clothes. Students are sometimes required to be in gowns, suits in acquaintance parties, ring hops, graduation balls and other school activities. There are also occasions where some people are made to stand as wedding sponsors or very formal school activities of their children.
You know these gowns and special clothes are only worn occasionally and never used frequently, if at all. Do you buy gowns or special clothes just for one-time use or do you rent from shops or borrow from friends or do you have one made specially for you by the seamstress? What is your take on this?
16 responses
@moneymakingtoday (4061)
• Philippines
8 Feb 10
Hi Rumshie,
That is a good idea. If there is a future need for gowns and you really want to have one as your own, it is always good to buy. We can be sure we are the first user of the gown because they are new while on display in stores. If we are tight on the budget, we can always find other ways as borrowing from friends and renting one. Thanks for sharing.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
10 Feb 10
I will typically buy them for myself and have the dresses altered to fit my needs. Then after the occasion is passed I will decide if there is a reason that I need to hang on to the dress or I will sell it through cheap cycle. I find that if I try to rent a dress or borrow one from a friend I am never able to find a size that is appropriate to me or a style that I really like. This way I am able to get something that I like and more than likely I'll get to give someone else a good deal as well.
@moneymakingtoday (4061)
• Philippines
10 Feb 10
Hi Dorannmwin,
Good idea. I think it is better to sell it through cheap cycle than the dress getting dusty and, maybe, stained due to long years of keeping. That reminds me of the wedding dress I wore years ago. I think it still is in the closet in the upper rooms of the house. In the past, I thought that I would sell it to dress shops so they can have it rented out. Thanks for this and the reminder! Have a nice day.
@cutepenguin (6431)
• Canada
8 Feb 10
I just buy dresses. Sometimes I might borrow a dress from a friend. Or I might wear a dress that I bought previously.
My husband has a suit that he wears for interviews or formal occasions.
@moneymakingtoday (4061)
• Philippines
9 Feb 10
Hi Cutepenguin,
It is good to be practical and save more. Our friends may have gowns to lend to us and it is practical to borrow than buy. There might be instances that we opt to buy and want to own the dress (when money is not tight). As suits are not what is usually worn, we don't have any of it in my son's wardrobe. We always rented when he
had school acivitieis.
@eurekafemme (5877)
• Philippines
8 Feb 10
I have never been able to rent a gown or buy one for a particular occasion. I just borrow one from a relative or a friend. It is unwise to buy since you will only get to wear it once or for not so often and it may already be outdated the next time you'd use it.Besides, gowns can be truly expensive.:-)
@moneymakingtoday (4061)
• Philippines
9 Feb 10
Hi Eurekafemme,
That is true. It is always practical to borrow from relatives and friends. It would not be worth our money having to buy a gown which we only get to use once. You are right. It would be unwise to buy and keep it. It may not be suitable the next time you need it as it would become outdated and out of fashion.
@moneymakingtoday (4061)
• Philippines
8 Feb 10
Hi Caecal07,
Sometimes, it takes industry and effort to "ransack" our closets. I am sure there are lots of clothes that we can always improve and wear as new. Sometimes, it just makes one feel good by having to wear something new, lol (I am guilty of this).
There is no problem with going to second hand stores. It only takes one's innovativeness to create new things from old ones. We should be practical especially during these hard times.
@chandush (25)
• India
8 Feb 10
Hi moneymakingtoday
As far as I am concerned I can say that I don't buy any kind of dress which I have to wear only once. About my children I can say that I have to buy dresses for them
in the school for school function which cannot be avoided. We don't get dresses for
rent and I can borrow from friends but I never borrow because I did not get such situation still now. Have a nice day.
@moneymakingtoday (4061)
• Philippines
9 Feb 10
Hi Chandush,
You may call me MMT, for brevity.
It surely would hesitate me too, to buy a dress that I will only be wearing once. If i buy a dress, I make sure that I get my money's worth. I should be able to re-use it.
We can re-use old dresses in our closet. We can always accessorize or create a new item to be added on the dress to make it look new.
@daliaj (5674)
• India
8 Feb 10
I borrowed my wedding gown from a friend. It saved me a lot of moeny because wedding gowns are very expensive in my place. I don't buy a special dress like wedding gown by paying a lot of money if I won't be able to use it again in my life. But, I buy a special dress, like an expensive dress for a party if I can reuse for other parties.
@moneymakingtoday (4061)
• Philippines
8 Feb 10
Hi Daliaj,
That is very practical and wise for you to have borrowed from a friend. I know that you saved a lot from it. Then, the money that could have been used for the wedding gown was made available for other wedding expenses. That was really wise.
Yes, I do that, too! I buy a beautiful dress for parties because it gives me more confidence. We are able to make use of its worth because we can still use them for other parties or special occasions.
@john_ronald (383)
• Hong Kong
8 Feb 10
i buy sometimes rent, then if i bought it i will just keep in safe place to be use to another location or occasion.
@moneymakingtoday (4061)
• Philippines
8 Feb 10
Hi John_Ronald,
That works for me, too. Sometimes, I rent when I am tight on my budget but sometimes, I splurge on things, lol. It is good to pamper ourselves once in a while. Yes, we value all things that we buy and own. They should be placed in a safe place. It would be very good if we get them out of the closet again for use on some occasions in the future.
@verabear (796)
• Philippines
8 Feb 10
I haven't had to rent or borrow, but I do reuse some of the gowns. I remember as a kid lending my gowns/dresses to other girls too. For my grandparents' golden wedding anniversary more than a decade ago, I used my prom dress. Hehe. I don't see anything wrong with borrowing or renting if that's an option.
@moneymakingtoday (4061)
• Philippines
8 Feb 10
Hi Verabear,
Oh, yes, that is a very good idea. I had done that, too. I usually stood as wedding sponsor in the past. And I thought it was costly to be buying or having the seamstress sew for me each time. What I did was to stick to one basic color of gown (dirty white color) and whenever, a friend requests me to be her wedding sponsor, I just had to buy a piece of cloth to highlight or to match the wedding motiff and wear some beautiful accessories. It always did the trick, lol. Depending on one's budget, we can always buy or if not, we can then rent.
@bingchen (1119)
• China
8 Feb 10
i like to rent this clothes.i find that what i do like this is cost-effective and save me lots of money.i could rent what i want throught rent company.if i buy this cloths.it is not only spending my more money and also spending my time to look for cloths and tired of do this thing.
@moneymakingtoday (4061)
• Philippines
8 Feb 10
Hi Bingchen,
For practical reasons, most people choose to rent. Still others who are very very practical, borrow from very close friends. There are always available dress shops that rent out garments. If you are lucky, you get garments which are new and you are the first user. They charge high for the newly made ones. With rent, you do not have to wait for days till you see what your gown looks like. And there is a wide array of choices, too.
@jaiho2009 (39142)
• Philippines
8 Feb 10
hello moneymaking,
I rent clothes for special occasion.
Like this coming second week of February..my daughter's school will held it's Junior-Senior's Prom night,so,everyone were advised to wear proper attire.
Gowns for girls,and formal dress for boys.
I guess it more practical to rent than to buy new one.
With rent clothes,we can choose lovely dresses as compared to the expense with buying a simple gown.
Well,anyone who can afford to buy an expensive gown will go for buying.
Actually,i am shopping to rental shops for my daughter's gown.
@moneymakingtoday (4061)
• Philippines
8 Feb 10
Hi Jaiho,
That is a wise and practical move. We can always make do with whatever budget we have. There are always beautiful gowns available in the dress shops for rent. There is a big disparity in renting and buying. All one needs to do is to look around and compare prices.
There are beautiful casual dresses that can pass as beautiful ones for formal occasions. Dresses can always be reused in the future.
@radiance27 (687)
•
8 Feb 10
For one time use, I usually borrow clothes. But my aunts usually buy me especially if it's soemthing very special. Maybe I am just lucky to have aunts. Sometimes, when I borrow their clothes, they usually give it to me after I use it. And then, I also let my sister borrow whatever clothes/gowns she needs.
@moneymakingtoday (4061)
• Philippines
8 Feb 10
Hi Radiance27,
That is so kind of your aunts to do that. You are lucky to have so many aunts who are kind and generous to "lend then give" garments to you. It is very practical to borrow clothes from very close friends and relatives. With the favor they give us, we also have the responsibility to take care of the things that we borrow and return them in the good condition that we borrowed them.
@moneymakingtoday (4061)
• Philippines
8 Feb 10
Hi Pipayst,
Thanks. I agree that these are really beautiful gowns. I had taken pictures from the mall. I know there are still more beautiful gowns in special boutiques but I didn't have the chance to visit all of them. I like looking around especially in the clothes section.
I rented my daughter's gown during one of her school activities. In her high school days, we were able to have some tailor-made for her --- she still had her father with us at that time and we can still afford to spend extra for that "luxury".
@moneymakingtoday (4061)
• Philippines
8 Feb 10
Hi Atv818,
Well, in buying gowns, we can have a lot of choices, too. We should be able to try and try on them until one fits us. We are sure that in buying our own gowns, nobody has worn it yet, because it is new. However, one should prepare for a bigger budget to buy a new gown than renting one.
@lelin1123 (15595)
• Puerto Rico
8 Feb 10
If I need a special dress, gown or outfit for a special occasion I always buy at the store. I would never think of renting for fear of something happening to the garment. Plus knowing someone else has wore it and not a family member would not sit well with me. I know that everything is dryed cleaned but that would not matter to me.
@moneymakingtoday (4061)
• Philippines
8 Feb 10
Hi Lelin,
You have good reasons for your choice. If would not be good with the thought of having someone or many others wore it before especially if it is really your choice not to rent. Yes, they are dry cleaned. With regard to your fear that you might damage the garment, the dress shops renting gowns here always ask for a monetary deposit and in case of damage, you need to pay an amount equivalent to the damage of the garment. You just need to be aware of the conditions of the dress shop with regard to rent.
@jugsjugs (12967)
•
8 Feb 10
Well i rented my wedding dress for my second marriage as that was alot cheaper than buying one as well as i would never wear it again and to me that would have been a waste of money.A friend of mines mum made the bridesmaids dresses for my wedding as a wedding present.I brought my daughters prom dress as that was just as cheap to buy one as to rent one.I work out what is the best value todo at the time as well as i always shop around.
@moneymakingtoday (4061)
• Philippines
8 Feb 10
Hi Jugsjugs,
That is happening here, too. We do what is the most practical thing to do. There are dress shops that rent out gowns, wedding dress and dress for the whole entourage and men's suit. It would be practical to rent because these are only worn once. There are others who prefer to have gowns and wedding dresses tailor-made for them. We went to a dress shop for the requirements of the whole entourage during our wedding. There were occasions that I rented suits during the graduation ball and other school activities of my son.
