A Vintage Wedding Dress on a World Tour: 25 Brides, One Gown
A vintage wedding dress is being shared among 25 brides across the globe as part of a project organized by Tara Rowe, a vintage dress collector from South Australia. The dress, a 1990s bias-cut slip dress with 3D floral appliqué and beading estimated to be worth between $1,000 and $1,500, is passed from bride to bride after each wedding, with each bride hand-washing it before sending it to the next destination.
The project began late last year and includes weddings in locations such as St Kilda, Centennial Park, rural Victoria, Iceland, and Chicago. Future stops include Michigan, Bali, Ontario, New York, Whistler, and Spain. Over 200 women applied to participate, despite the risk that the dress might arrive only a few days before the wedding or might not fit. Participants are required to share wedding photos and video content and complete a post-wedding interview.
"Participants were aware of potential risks," said Tara Rowe.
The project faced a significant setback when the dress was lost in the US postal system for six weeks, causing one bride to use a backup dress for her wedding day. She later took post-wedding photos in the dress before shipping it to the next bride.