Wedding guest, secondhand — six looks under $300
From garden ceremony to black tie, all sourced in a single afternoon.
The economics of wedding guest dressing are absurd. A dress worn once, photographed from one angle, kept in a closet for a decade. The resale market is full of these — barely worn, often still tagged, priced at 30 to 50 percent of retail.
The brief: six looks for six dress codes, all under $300, all sourced in a single afternoon of browsing. Garden ceremony, cocktail, semi-formal, black tie, beach, and city hall.
Garden: a Ganni floral midi from Depop, $82. Cocktail: a Khaite slip dress in dusk, $185 on Vestiaire. Semi-formal: a Toteme silk shirt-dress in bone, $140. Black tie: a vintage Halston bias-cut gown, $260 on Etsy. Beach: a Faithfull the Brand sundress, $48 on Poshmark. City hall: a tailored Aritzia suit set, $115 across two listings.
Total damage: $830 for six complete looks. That's less than one new black-tie dress at most retailers, and every piece is genuinely re-wearable beyond the wedding it was bought for.
