# Second hand Communion dresses



## liaconn (11 Feb 2010)

Just out of curiosity, how many of you would buy your daughter a second hand Communion dress? I was walking past a charity shop in Rathmines yesterday and they had beautiful, pristine clean dresses hanging in the window. I just thought if I had a child making Communion and was on a tight budget I would be very tempted to get one of those instead of spending a fortune on a new dress.


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## truthseeker (11 Feb 2010)

I dont have children but if I did I would have no problems buying a second hand dress. Its only worn for one day.

I feel the same way about wedding dresses - I didnt have a white wedding myself, but if I had, I would have looked into second hand dresses.

As it was my non traditional wedding dress cost me 200 euro and I would definitely be able to wear it again to an event.


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## liaconn (11 Feb 2010)

My nephew is making his Communion in May and several friends have offered my sister in law their kids' secondhand, only worn once outfits for him. So far she has refused because they all have younger brothers coming up behind them and she is terrified her son will spill stuff on the outfit or tear it, rendering them unwearable for anyone else. She said if someone without younger children offers her one she will seriously consider taking it.


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## Purple (11 Feb 2010)

I wouldn't make my son wear a second hand first communion dress...


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## liaconn (11 Feb 2010)

Times are hard Purple.


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## Purple (11 Feb 2010)

liaconn said:


> Times are hard Purple.



... and maybe that's the sort of thing he'll be into when he's older, ya never know!


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## liaconn (11 Feb 2010)

Well, considering he won't even come upstairs with me in Hamley's because it's all 'Girls stuff' I doubt it.


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## Vanilla (11 Feb 2010)

I would say about 80% of my childrens clothes are secondhand. I have a big family who regularly send clothes their children have grown out of. So I already have a communion dress stored for my two girls for when they make their communion. I don't see any issue with it.


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## Graham_07 (11 Feb 2010)

Vanilla might say this is the accountant in me coming out  but my OH's wedding dress got 4 outings :-
- wedding
- taken down ( but left with long end so could be made up again ) & made in to christening robe , used for both kids
- taken back up and used as communion dress for our daughter. 
Was quite a talking point at the time among family / friends who all thought it great idea and our daughter enjoyed wearing her Mum's wedding dress on her communion.


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## liaconn (11 Feb 2010)

Will you be able to patch it all back together again when one of your daughters gets married?


Actually, I think it was a lovely way to use the dress.


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## Vanilla (11 Feb 2010)

Graham_07 said:


> Vanilla might say this is the accountant in me coming out  but my OH's wedding dress got 4 outings :-
> - wedding
> - taken down ( but left with long end so could be made up again ) & made in to christening robe , used for both kids
> - taken back up and used as communion dress for our daughter.
> Was quite a talking point at the time among family / friends who all thought it great idea and our daughter enjoyed wearing her Mum's wedding dress on her communion.


 
Lovely idea. I would probably do the same if I needed to. As it was we were given the loan of one christening gown from a friend and the other was from my husbands family- a very old one. And the communion dress is all sorted. So I have my wedding dress in storage in case it might be needed...


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## Purple (11 Feb 2010)

liaconn said:


> Well, considering he won't even come upstairs with me in Hamley's because it's all 'Girls stuff' I doubt it.



I was talking about my son(s)


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## Purple (11 Feb 2010)

Vanilla said:


> So I have my wedding dress in storage in case it might be needed...


 Hey hey! There's hope for us yet!!


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## Caveat (11 Feb 2010)

Vanilla said:


> I would say about 80% of my childrens clothes are secondhand. I have a big family who regularly send clothes their children have grown out of. So I already have a communion dress stored for my two girls for when they make their communion. I don't see any issue with it.


 
Good for you.

When I was growing up (80s) I regularly got second hand clothes and regularly provided them throughout our extended family. 

As far as I can see these days you are in the minority Vanilla - many people wouldn't dream of this any more. Labels, competition, slagging etc, sad but a fact a lot of the time.


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## ney001 (11 Feb 2010)

I have a wedding dress that I want to get rid of - does anyway know of a charity shop that I can leave it in to - I know there was one in Dublin city but not sure if it's still around.


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## Vanilla (11 Feb 2010)

Purple said:


> Hey hey! There's hope for us yet!!


 
Thanks, flattery gratefully appreciated, but no way- once was enough!



Caveat said:


> Good for you.
> 
> When I was growing up (80s) I regularly got second hand clothes and regularly provided them throughout our extended family.


 
Me too ( except it was the 70s...).


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## Caveat (11 Feb 2010)

Vanilla said:


> Me too ( except it was the 70s...).


 
Wow - you reached full maturity and stopped growing up in 1979? That's amazing.

Personally, I still developed _just_ _a little_ through my tween and teen years in the 80s.


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## Purple (11 Feb 2010)

Vanilla said:


> Thanks, flattery gratefully appreciated, but no way- once was enough!


well you could have broken that to be a bit more gently.


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## Shawady (11 Feb 2010)

Graham_07 said:


> - taken down ( but left with long end so could be made up again ) & made in to christening robe , used for both kids


 
My wife did the same for our 2 children. She has kept the christening gown so that in 20 to 30 years it could be used for any grandchildren.
Talk about thinking ahead!


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## Vanilla (11 Feb 2010)

Caveat said:


> Wow - you reached full maturity and stopped growing up in 1979? That's amazing.
> 
> Personally, I still developed _just_ _a little_ through my tween and teen years in the 80s.


 

Oh yeah, forgot about that.  But the hand-me-downs were mainly confined to the 70s though, my parents could only get away with making me wear my older brothers clothes until I reached the tweenies, and then I was already taller than my big sister so they started actually having to buy me clothes around the start of the 80s anyway.


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## Vanilla (11 Feb 2010)

Purple said:


> well you could have broken that to be a bit more gently.


 
You DID know marriage isn't a prerequisite these days.


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## Purple (11 Feb 2010)

Vanilla said:


> You DID know marriage isn't a prerequisite these days.



Yes!!


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## MandaC (11 Feb 2010)

This is funny given that I had a conversation at lunch about it yesterday.  I made my communion in the late 70's and thirty later myself and my sister were reminiscing one night about making our communion, going to Bhs cafeteria and Hector Greys to buy rubbish, etc.  Her communion dress was bought in hamills, I think they were in Capel Street and I said mine was bought in the Communion dress shop on whatever street. That was not a communion dress shop, she said, it was a second hand shop.  All those years later and I had not got a clue.  

I told my mam I was going to be traumatised following the discovery.


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## Marion (11 Feb 2010)

MandaC said:
			
		

> I told my mam I was going to be traumatised following the discovery.



Post Traumatic Dress Disorder?

Marion


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## Graham_07 (12 Feb 2010)

marion said:


> post traumatic dress disorder?
> 
> marion


 
Good one


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## Caveat (12 Feb 2010)

Graham_07 said:


> Good one


 
Indeed


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## Vanilla (12 Feb 2010)

Marion said:


> Post Traumatic Dress Disorder?
> 
> Marion




Excellent.


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## sandrat (12 Feb 2010)

I made my communion in 1990 I wore the dress my sister wore and there wasn't a bother about that. The only thing was my stupid sister scuffed her lovely white communion shoes on the day of her communion so my mother insisted I got black ones. Christening gowns wise, my little girl was christened in the same gown as my granny, my mother my aunts and uncles, my cousins and me and my sisters.


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## Complainer (13 Feb 2010)

Shawady said:


> My wife did the same for our 2 children. She has kept the christening gown so that in 20 to 30 years it could be used for any grandchildren.


We have a family christening gown that has been used by four generations already.


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## homebird (15 Feb 2010)

Just to reply to earlier poster- Ney001 - Oxfam in South Great George's St take in wedding dresses to resell.


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