# 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:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![wolf-alice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9e8a1a/32.png) [@wolf-alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf-alice)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/41 "2010-10-09T22:07:20Z")
My wedding dress was £230, I think, so $370-ish. It wasn’t even designed as a wedding dress - it’s All Saints off the peg. I did get a lot of gathered parachute silk and pewter beading for that much, though. ---
**Author:** ![Zjestika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/8edcca/32.png) [@Zjestika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zjestika)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/42 "2010-10-09T22:48:13Z")
I am such a bargain shopper, the most I have spent on a dress is probably $30. My wedding dress was $150, though, so I counted that even though my mom bought it for me. I love to buy dresses, that’s pretty much all I wear. Yesterday I got a dress at Target for $6 and today I got a silk Bebe dress at a thrift store for $10. Both are super cute and fit great. My usual upper limit for dressses is $20- something has to be fanfreakingtastic to spend more than that. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/43 "2010-10-09T23:25:57Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > > [@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. It involved a remortgage (not just for the dress, obviously, but for the whole wedding.) ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/44 "2010-10-09T23:52:09Z")
I included my wedding dress ($400) in the poll. Other than that, I don’t wear dresses so my answer would have to be $0.00. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/45 "2010-10-10T02:24:25Z")
I think I paid $300 for a brides maid dress (definitely between $100 and $499). But I ended up being able to wear it to a ball, so I got two nights out of it. Yay! I usually buy a new dress every time I go to a wedding, and I go to a lot of weddings, but I’ve never paid over $100 for one. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/46 "2010-10-19T07:03:17Z")
> [@](#): > > Or men if you bought it for your wife or signficant other? Or yourself? Well actually I did buy one for myself, a $200 emerald green gown with rhinestone adorned spaghetti straps and a plunging back. Every other dress I’ve bought was under $50. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/47 "2010-10-19T08:28:23Z")
I think the most expensive dress I have was bought for me by my boyfriend - either that or the dress I bought for my graduation party for grad school. Both were somewhere around $300 I think. ---
**Author:** ![SecondJudith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@SecondJudith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecondJudith)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/48 "2010-10-19T10:02:40Z")
My wedding dress was £120 from Debenhams, although it wasn’t a white traditional one, but a nice green formal dress. ---
**Author:** ![MickNickMaggies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/59ef9b/32.png) [@MickNickMaggies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MickNickMaggies)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/49 "2010-10-19T17:39:03Z")
£235 for a Vivienne Westwood dress. I say I look hot in it, so…I feel it’s worth it to have one thing I really feel sexy in. Hello up there- my wedding dress was also £120, from Debenhams! ---
**Author:** ![Kayeby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de0a6/32.png) [@Kayeby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kayeby)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/50 "2010-10-19T22:07:10Z")
Somewhere around $750 for a dress by Willow, which was a new Australian label at the time. I fell in love with it in the store, but when I got home I quickly realised that the dress was too distinctive to get much wear out of. Fortunately it was the signature piece from a pretty sought-after collection, and I was able to sell it for a small profit. Nowadays I’m much more sensible - I splurge on basic items, and spend much less on special occasion clothing. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/51 "2010-10-20T00:04:28Z")
My wedding dress was several hundred dollars (it was a bridesmaid-style dress - I didn’t go for the whole “look like a wedding cake” look), and that was the most expensive dress I’ve ever bought. I don’t wear dresses (slacks or skirts with tops is my look). When I had to buy a rehearsal dinner dress and a sister-of-the-bride dress for my brother’s wedding earlier this year, neither of those topped $75. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/52 "2010-10-20T06:55:17Z")
I counted my wedding dress, but it was several times more expensive than the next runner-up. ---
**Author:** ![Rahne\_McCloud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@Rahne\_McCloud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rahne_McCloud)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/53 "2010-10-20T07:27:21Z")
Brought a Gunne Sax dress in 1974 at Lord and Taylors and paid $125 for it. My parents nearly had a cow when I told them how much it cost, I was only supposed to spend no more than $75 on my “graduation/ prom dress” so my 2 older sisters gave me rest of the money to pay for the dress as a gift. Wore it for several years to weddings and special occasions. ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/54 "2010-10-20T07:54:55Z")
I honestly haven’t a clue what my most expensive dress was, but I know it was less than $100. I always buy my formal wear on clearance or at Marshall’s or Ross, and I normally try to keep purchases under $30 each. I got lucky, though: I was going to buy an expensive prom dress for senior year, but a friend’s mother found me a gorgeous homemade raw silk bodice and silk combo at the Value Village for significantly less than the price of the fabric. ---
**Author:** ![Minnie\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Minnie\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Minnie_Luna)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/55 "2010-10-20T15:13:53Z")
I bought my wedding dress at Nicole Miller when she was designing more simple wedding dresses. Paid just under $500 for it. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/56 "2010-10-20T16:28:49Z")
$250, IIRC. It was in the 200’s. Retailed at $700. Had a lot of hand beading. It was beautiful. Wore it to my senior formal in high school in 2004. I assume my wedding dress will be 1k or 2k. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/57 "2010-10-20T19:05:07Z")
My wedding dress cost about $150 because my mother made it for me. Even then, I didn’t buy it; she did. Other than that, I don’t think I’ve ever spent more than $60 on a dress. I owned two formals in high school that were less than $50 to make and I haven’t spent much on dresses since then. I have several and wear them often. I just don’t spend enough. I wear skirts more often. The most expensive one of those was the navy wool that I made as a copy of an Ann Taylor skirt from about five years ago. That cost me more than $50 after fabric, pattern and notions. I love it though and it looks great. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514/58 "2010-10-21T09:10:34Z")
I pretty much can’t wear dresses due to sizing, the only one I remember buying since I started paying for my own clothes was an $11 sundress. If you’ll accept “the most expensive ensemble (underwear and jewelry excluded)” instead, the suit and blouse I wore to my graduation dinner in 1993 cost about $250 - they were from a seamstress. One advantage of the inability to get dresses that fit is that I rarely buy a complete outfit for an occasion; it’s a new blouse for a suit I already had, or a fancy jacket for a pre-existing skirt and blouse… but very rarely a whole new outfit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-most-you-ever-paid-for-a-single-dress/556514.md?page=2)