# Ladies What's The Most You Ever Paid For A Single Dress? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 8, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514 "2010-10-08T16:49:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/21 "2010-10-08T19:41:51Z")
My wedding dress was about $200 and my usual dresses/outfits are in the $200 and under category. I did buy a dress to wear to a friends wedding that was closer to $350, but I made the mistake of falling in love with it before I checked the price. Lesson learned 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/22 "2010-10-08T20:28:38Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > Well, my wife’s wedding dress was £4000, soI guess I had to select “over $5000”. > > Regular dresses I have no idea how much she spends! Knowing her, more than she should. Holy. Shit. For that price I’d make my wife wear it every time we re-enacted our wedding night. ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/23 "2010-10-08T20:41:04Z")
My wedding dress was $580. As for standard dresses I think the most I’ve ever paid was $80 or $90. I’m having my wedding dress turned into a quilt to get as much use out of it as possible because at that price I can’t justify leaving it in the closet for 40 years! ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/24 "2010-10-08T20:53:40Z")
I’ve paid about $400 for a ballgown. It fits beautifully and I still have it some 10 years later! ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/25 "2010-10-08T21:01:28Z")
The most I ever paid was about $120 for a really beautiful dress that I still wear. It was my birthday present. My wedding dress didn’t cost that much, but my mom sewed it so the yardage was the only cost. ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/26 "2010-10-08T21:18:44Z")
I also haven’t included my wedding dress, (around £1200, IIRC), so went for the $100-$499 option, though after voting realise converting to sterling I should have gone for the next bracket up. Twice a year I treat myself to a shopping ship in the Selfridges sale, and thanks to that have got myself a little collection of Diane Von Furstenburg dresses, and also a beautiful Pucci dress. All cost between £300-£400, but are classic designs in beautiful fabrics that I’ll wear for years. I have to admit though, my favourite one is the DVF dress I found in an Oxfam shop for the bargain price of £3.99! ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/27 "2010-10-08T23:41:13Z")
It was much, much closer to $100 than $499.99. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/28 "2010-10-08T23:49:03Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Or men if you bought it for your wife or signficant other? Or yourself 🙂 > > I was watching _I Love Lucy_ and Lucy buys a Don Loper dress and doesn’t get the price and it turns out to be $500.00 (I wonder what that is in today’s money). > > Lucy also did the same thing when she went to France. And of course Marge on _the Simpsons_ spent like $3,000 on a Chanel dress. > > So my question is what’s the most you ever spent on ONE single dress. And if you care to explain the type or label or designer. [This website](http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl)calculates the inflation and lets you compare money amounts from different years. It’s handy for old movies and TV shows. And Mad Men. I’m not sure when that episode of I Love Lucy would have been, so I put in 1955, and it calculates that $500 in 1955 would have the buying power of $4,072.99 in 2010. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/29 "2010-10-08T23:56:03Z")
My wedding dress was in the neighborhood of $1300 plus fabric, custom-made by a local seamstress. And the fabric wasn’t exactly cheap, either (it was a rather ornate silk sari with silver embroidery). I was in shock that I actually ended up spending that much, but I was so exasperated after trying on piles of off-the-rack dresses, none of which I liked and all of which would have required hundreds of dollars in alterations to fit properly, and nearly all of which were strapless (I need infrastructure, dammit!) that I finally gave in and just had something made that I actually liked. I figured what the hell, most of my clothes are from various discount outlets, and for once, I want what I want. Other than that, I’ve spent maybe $150 on a dress a couple of times, but it’s almost always under $100, even for a formal dress. Oh, except for a couple of hideous bridesmaid dresses I was forced to buy. Those may have been in the $200 range. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/30 "2010-10-09T00:05:36Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > Holy. Shit. My reaction, as well. I’m in the first category. Even my wedding dress, circa 2001, was only $75 (it was a clearance bridesmaid dress, and perfect for our super-cheap Jamaican beach wedding). ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/31 "2010-10-09T00:12:05Z")
Prom dress, a blue crepe and chiffon sheath, $79 (I wonder whatever happened to it?) My hair (I had the works, highlights and upswept curls) cost $50 alone, and purse, wrap, and shoes another $40…Several bridesmaid’s dresses, between $100 - $150… I haven’t had occasion to wear a dressy-dress in decades, though I have a couple classic little black numbers, just in case, one new for $30, one from a thrift store for $14… When I was younger, I would buy the occasional work dress from mid-level department stores, Casual Corner, occasionally Macy’s or Bloomingdale’s when I was in NYC, but nothing over $100. ---
**Author:** ![cherry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cherry)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/32 "2010-10-09T00:26:33Z")
I have several bollywood style dresses in the $400-800 range that I’ve worn to various weddings. I’ve been only been able to wear each once though. I just bought two more in September, one for $300 and the other was $400 for a family members wedding. Caucausian dresses I have spent about $200 for one at BCBG that was on sale during boxing day. I have not worn it yet. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/33 "2010-10-09T13:40:49Z")
Bah, I forgot about my prom dress. It cost about $300, but I wore it to three proms, so it still evens out. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/34 "2010-10-09T14:03:01Z")
My wedding dress was about $650. The next most expensive dress I ever bought was under $200. I really don’t buy many dresses. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/35 "2010-10-09T14:10:32Z")
$160 for a Jones New York dress to wear to my cousin’s black-tie wedding. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/36 "2010-10-09T14:20:24Z")
My wedding dress was just over 500.00. I loved it and glad I spent the money. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/37 "2010-10-09T16:20:44Z")
From the film _Working Girl_, as Joan Cusak’s character holds up a dress: Six thousand dollars? It’s not even _leather_! ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/38 "2010-10-09T16:29:24Z")
The most I ever spent on any article of clothing was $30. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/39 "2010-10-09T16:53:31Z")
I have a couple dresses I paid $100-$130 for back years ago that get trotted out once a year or so on the rare occasions I need to look dressy. Since I didn’t really have a wedding, my “wedding dress” was a sun dress pulled out of the closet for a day at the beach. I think it cost $25-$30 ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/40 "2010-10-09T19:32:51Z")
About $300 all told for a bridesmaid dress including shoes, hair, bustier, and alterations. Otherwise, I have a couple sundresses I bought for about $30. I don’t wear dresses all that often as it’s hard to find something that works for me (tall, curvy, combined with wide shoulders and big boobs makes it hard to find a dress that doesn’t end up way too high on the thigh for propriety…). If I ever need a nice dress I’ll go back to where we got the bridesmaid dress, they had some real nice evening dresses that were less than the bridesmaid one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514.md?page=3)