Woman Can’t Believe Her Luck at Thrift Store Day Before Attending Wedding

A woman’s last-minute quest to find a dress for a wedding the next day has racked up 3.6 million views on TikTok.

“I like the adventure of finding a dress the day before an event,” Nelly, from Colorado, told Newsweek. “It’s like a little treasure hunt.”

During the clip, the systems engineer can be seen sifting through the rails and speaking to the camera. She explains that the wedding is at a golf course and the dress code is formal. She was met with disappointment in the first thrift store but it wasn’t long until she managed to find the “prettiest” dress and even some heels to match from Goodwill.

“This might be the best thrift find I’ve ever had,” she wrote in the caption and it seems many agree as the clip has amassed 289,000 likes, along with 3.5 million views, at the time of writing.

In total, the savvy shopper spent $24 on both items, but since her mom gave her $20, she effectively spent less than $5. Many Americans cannot say the same about their wedding guest budget, which averaged $580 in 2023, according to The Knot. The wedding planner website surveyed 1,000 people who had attended a wedding in 2023 and found that finding an outfit was one of the top challenges, with economic pressures affecting how much people are willing to spend on their attire.

Buying secondhand is becoming increasingly popular among those born during the late 1990s and early 2000, according to global market research firm Statista. In contrast, less than 20 percent of surveyed Boomers reported participating in secondhand shopping. Some teens have even been known to thrift vintage wedding dresses.

While everyone has been impressed with Nelly’s ability to find a dress on such short notice, some users were concerned about its cleanliness.

One comment said: “I couldn’t do this [because] the germaphobe in my would need to get it dry cleaned first.”

She told Newsweek: “I tried to wash this piece the best I could but shopping the day before an event does make the cleaning aspect a little harder!!”

Despite this, TikTok users could still see the beauty in the full-length navy blue dress with a halter neck. Some women even recognize the style from their proms back in the early 2000s.

One user said: “Great find and you can’t beat the price.”

“There’s nothing like going thrifting for something specific and finding exactly that,” praised another.

“People are so nice,” Nelly told Newsweek. “At the wedding, I got more compliments from older women because I think the recognized the style from the 90s!”

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