It's a $1200 dress I'll only wear to this one black-tie event. Can I keep the tags on (inside) and return it afterward if it's in perfect condition?

No!

http://teens.lovetoknow.com/Formal_Dress_Rental if you’re a teen;

or

http://www.onenightaffair.com/ for adults and teens

This seems to be the more honest approach, and will spare you the embarrassment of explaining things like “pit stains” and other conspicuous signs of wear.

In a “former life” I worked in retail clothing, and trust me, salespeople can tell if you’ve worn something. I always got a “kick” out of people who tried to return “unworn” shoes.

No. It means you’re dishonest. Do you want to be dishonest?

Yea, just keep the tags on and return the day after the event, tell them that you got the wrong dress and need to return it. If it’s only one night how would anyone get pit stains? It’s better off to be ‘dishonest’ then making honesty cost you 1200$.

If you’ve worn it once, then it won’t be in perfect condition. Rent.

Unless you really want to impress them with the fact that you spent $1200 on a dress, in which case you should buy and wear it; since you admit you’ll still have the tags with you to prove it.

Tell me, though, what do you think is the right thing to do?

that’s tacky

But surely the dress won’t be destroyed.
Buy it, wear it, return it.

sick

No way, I work in retail and can’t stand when customers do this. A lady returned jeans and they reeked! I asked her if these were worn and she denied it. They smelled of bad laundry detergent. Its just really dishonest to do that.

@wizard; how do you know It won’t be destroyed? Accidents do happen, you know. And something I believe in called “karma”.

But if it’s just one one night I don’t see any harm done. Just keep it clean so you don’t have to wash it.

Ok my mom says no lol, she says its cheating because you have already worn it for the night and you can’t take it back to be someone elses seconds lol, she says save it you will have another event to wear it to eventually.

I however am a cheap ass lol, so I say go for it, one night isn’t going to hurt anything as long as you make one hundred percent sure that you keep it clean.

I’m just confused on why anyone would even think about buying a $1200 dress especially to wear for only a few hours one night. that’s crazy to me!

Yeah? But in one night I’ve ruined a Favorite dress of mine, and it was a complete accident.

Or just find a different dress that’s less expensive.

Reminds me of that sharp looking Tux I got to go to my friends wedding a few years ago…. I was told to buy it, even though I was only going to wear it once although it costs 799$ My mother-in-law said(Spanish accent)“oh yea, trust me you will need that Tuxedo in the future” It ended up sold on eBay after I out-grew it just a few weeks later.

lol so true that is quite much for a dress, you should go the the damn thrift store where someone else has payed 1200 dollars for a dress that they only wore once and got bitter after a couple of months of staring at it in the closet and donated it for better use

So you like to gamble huh?...that’s a pretty steep wager there- $1200.00

That’s a year’s salary ore more in some countries.

If you can’t afford to buy the $1,200 dress outright, you don’t deserve to wear it anyway.

Every girl deserves to look pretty =D

Deserves to? Ha! Yeah, right.
People who buy thousand dollar dresses and then have to plot and scheme not to pay for them are frauds. You are pretending to be something you aren’t (ie. someone who can afford thousand dollar dresses)

You can’t find anything less expensive to wear????

It is reprehensible behavior and will return to haunt you; you will look more beautiful if you are honest.

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”

Lao Tzu quotes (Chinese taoist Philosopher, founder of Taoism, wrote “The Book of the Way”). 600 BC-531 BC)

Ethically wrong. Morally wrong. And from a financial point you are betting nobody will mess your dress by spilling anything on it or yourself tear it in any of a million ways accidents like this happen which will leave you with an unreturnable piece of very expensive cloth in the worst case scenario. Not worth the risk.

Better way to about it: Buy a nice dress you can see yourself wearing again soon, then invest a few extra dollars in nice accessories, if you don’t have them already, and a cool hairdo & makeup + a nice perfume. All the little details added up will make everyone go gaga (not that you need anyone’s validation). And remember, attitude and demeanor is part of the whole package ;)

Most bridal shops have a no return policy!

As do most maternity clothing shops!

Try a rental place, or maybe vintage or a decent designer knockoff. Unless you’re leading a life that calls for a steady diet of $1200 dresses, you’d be smarter not to buy one.

That’s just ridiculous. Anyone with any amount of personal style can whip together something comfortable and trendy that fits their personality on much less than $1200.

Doesn’t anyone else read the Admire It-Acquire It section of SELF magazine? ;) It’s all about wanting to acheive a look that most people can’t afford by acquiring similar items at regular-people prices. Be savvy.

Are you serious? Why would you spend that much on a dress that you are only going to wear once?

What designer Is it?

How can it be in perfect condition if you’ve worn it for an evening?

The only dress that I’ve had TOTALLY ruined was at a wedding. Part of my degree was in textiles and if anyone can get a stain out, I can. Someone bumped into me, I didn’t notice it and they spilled champagne. It was a fabric that could go into a home washer and dryer. I dried it and heat sets any stain (that’s how they set dye). I didn’t notice it until I took it out of the dryer.

I’m going to a formal wedding this summer as well. My dress is beautiful and it was under $100. I’ve already worn it once and machine washed it. I now air dry everything like that.

Another thing to consider. How would you like to buy new clothes that had been worn and returned like you are suggesting?

IF the store does, by chance take it back, they can’t re-sell it. They take it as a loss. Losses are made up by higher prices (as are shoplifting costs). Basically what you are suggesting is theft that others may have to pay for.

Part two of my answer would be, how would you feel if the $1200 dress you were purchasing as new had been worn by another person for a night, tags in and all. Would that be okay with you or would you be a bit miffed?

Which is more criminal? Charging $1,200 for a dress or wearing it once and returning it? These days both seem like a bad idea to me.

You have a point there, Stevie.

@stevie. I agree (in theory), but the former is legal in a free market economy, the other is considered theft. Both could be taken as immoral.

Sure you can keep the tags on and return it, but ONLY if you decide to wear something else!

That’s terrible! If I was the next person coming to buy that dress and later find out that it had been worn and returned. You would want to stay away from me. Think about the next person going in to buy it.

Let’s say she’s getting engaged and wants to buy a really nice dress that nobody has ever seen and she sees the one you returned. She buys it, goes home tries it on for her sister and the sister notices a few stains in the back of the dress that only the right light can see. How do you think she feels? Would you like that to happen to you? Think about it. That’s just not fair for the next person.

If you can’t afford to keep the dress do yourself a favor and don’t buy it. I am sure you can find a nicer dress for a lot cheaper.