HIRED GOWNS FOR BRIDES

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25377, 27 December 1947, Page 2

HIRED GOWNS FOR BRIDES

HIGH COST OF MATERIAL IN AUSTRALIA (From Our Own Correspondent.)

SYDNEY, December 15. Many Sydney brides are being married in hired wedding gowns, partly because of the scarcity of appropriate materials, and partly because of the high cost of the materials when they can be obtained. Whereas a first-class wedding outfit could be bought before the war for £25. to-day the same clothes would cost £6O. Even if the bride makes the outfit herself she has to spend from £2O to £4O on it. The cheapest bridal satin costs 15s lid a yard. Ten to 14 yards are needed for a good dress. Then there are trimmings, accessories and the veil. Girls are no longer sentimental about their wedding gowns, and many sell their outfits within a few months of marriage. A young woman, Miss Elizabeth Hine, has built up a profitable business hiring out wedding frocks. She is offered from 30 to 40 wedding dresses and veils a week, and hires out 20 a week. She buys only gowns up to three months old, but is often offered some up to 10 years old. “I think the days of putting frocks in mothballs and fingering them lovingly now and again are gone. Women can’t afford to do it,” said Miss Hine.