Sustainable Wedding Dress Shopping | Sample Bridal Gowns

Photography by Oli & Steph

So, it's time to start wedding dress shopping + you know you want to take an earth-friendly, sustainable approach to your big day, but you're not quite sure where to start! In our recent blog post about Why Should I Buy a Sample Wedding Dress, we chatted about how it is a more sustainable option for your wedding day look. For our brides who want to feel beautiful + confident on their big day without compromising their values, we're diving deeper into this topic! Read on to uncover more about how choosing a sample wedding dress is a more sustainable option, and to learn about a few designers who have eco-friendly practices in place during the design + production stages. 

The fashion industry is the second-highest polluting industry in the world. The production of a special order dress from a traditional boutique requires significant materials, and often results in unnecessary waste during the production process. In contrast, choosing a sample bridal gown gives new life to one that already exists. By choosing a sample dress, you're reducing the carbon footprint in the fashion industry by preventing the creation of an entirely new gown! Coming summer 2024 is another diffusion brand from the Luxe Brands Family - Ohio Bridal Outlet. The outlet was created to lengthen the lifespan of these sample gowns even further. With so many amazing designer dresses having to be moved out of inventory or donated, Ohio Bridal Outlet will get all of the gowns that have reached the end of their inventory cycle at Luxe Redux and give them new life. All gowns will be $999 or less, with a lot of styles priced below $500! Altogether, opting for a sample wedding dress is an excellent way to feel good about your buying choices, without having to sacrifice style + quality, at an amazing price! 

Photography by Alexa Frankovitch 

What exactly is a sample wedding dress? This is a gown that you would try on at a traditional, special order bridal boutique, before ordering your desired size, color, customizations, etc. Our curated collection of designer sample gowns comes from the top boutiques all around the country, available for you to shop off-the-rack for a fraction of the retail price.

Like we mentioned above, choosing any sample wedding gown is an eco-friendly option for our brides to be, and we've outlined a few designers that also put sustainability at the forefront of their businesses - double the sustainability for our Luxe Redux Brides! 

Kicking off our list of sustainable bridal designers is Catherine Deane. Made for the eco-conscious bride looking for beauty, affordability + comfort, the Catherine Deane brand pulls most of their inspiration from nature, and feels it is their duty to make a change in the fashion industry. They have reached their goal to be 40% eco-friendly, which means all of the linings on their bridal gowns are made from 60 - 100% recycled fabrics. Niki, their style pictured above, is a Gatsby-esque gown featuring iridescent scalloped layers of pearls! The high neckline + low back pair perfectly to add romantic details. 

Next up on our list of sustainable bridal designers is Leanne Marshall. Based in New York, their gowns are produced one-by-one from fairly-paid seamstresses with sustainable textiles + natural fibers. Additionally, all of their dead stock material [scraps that don't get used], are donated to FABSCRAP, a fashion organization that seeks to end commercial textile waste, as well as maximize the value of unused fabric. Their designs are dreamy, feminine, and timeless with a touch of unique details, as you can see from Leanne Marshall Raincloud Haze, pictured above! 

Pure Magnolia is next on the list of sustainable bridal designers! Based in Canada, Pure Magnolia focuses on timeless designs that are both comfortable + beautiful. They bring sustainability into the mix by getting their fabrics from eco-friendly sources. They focus on locally-made products, natural fabrics, avoiding synthetic fabrics [and using recycled synthetics when necessary], and also donating their fabric scraps to FABSCRAP. They also focus on paying their dressmakers a fair, living wage, to create sustainable + responsible relationships! Their design pictured above, Sofia, is a minimalistic a-line gown with a deep v-neckline + delicate straps, complemented by a flowing, feminine skirt, perfect for the modern bride with a passion for sustainability!

Rounding out our list of sustainable bridal designers is Scout Bridal. Also based in New York, Scout Bridal uses sustainable packaging when shipping to brides + boutiques. As a brand, they focus on simple, feel-good gowns that are 'a little cheeky and way chic'. You can see these beautiful elements in the gown pictured above, Scout Bridal Skyline. 

As a part of the bridal fashion industry,  we’re proud to offer earth-friendly wedding gowns that will make you look AND feel good on your big day. Our inventory is ever-changing, and each gown purchased from Luxe Redux Bridal is preventing another gown from going into production - you sustainable shopper, you!