20 dresses donated to '46 Dresses 

Women happy with a new dress for the holidays! 

On 19 December, with a big bag full of dresses, I went to visit 46 Dresses in Utrecht. 46 Dresses is a foundation whose mission is to dress every woman in the Netherlands for what she is worth: like a queen. They do this by giving a new dress (or several dresses), new shoes and a care package to women who fall under the growing group of 'new poor'; a group that is invisible to institutions in the Netherlands. 

Showroom 46 Dresses

Talita from Soul Stores, a platform with information about sustainable shopping and a sustainable lifestyle, put me in touch with Margo, the founder of 46 Dresses. She told me about the origin of her foundation:

At a birthday party, she spoke to a woman who proudly told of the second-hand leather bag she had received. Margo was touched by the gratitude the woman felt for receiving this item. The woman told that she had been struggling with money problems for years and was therefore not able to buy anything for herself. That evening Margo opened her wardrobe and looked at all her dresses: 50 in total! She picked out a light blue dress that she had never worn before and thought, 'this is for her'. When she gave the dress to the woman, she said that she had not felt so feminine and appreciated in years. Margo realised that if one dress could make someone feel so seen and empowered, she would not stop at this one dress. She thought that if she could rent out her own dresses, she could use the proceeds to buy new dresses for many more women. 

Margo, founder of 46 Dresses 

The women who receive a new dress through 46 Dresses are nominated by schools, associations, churches or via-via. Apart from giving them a dress, 46 Dresses also opens up its network to offer them new opportunities when needed. We believe that help should be relational, otherwise it is not sustainable. The effect this has on self-esteem and future opportunities is significant. Our support for them may seem 'short-term', but the effect it has on self-esteem lasts much longer than receiving a one-off gift. 

Ninthe (30) about 46 Dresses 

Back to my bag of Sophie Stone dresses. When I heard about the wonderful work of 46 Dresses I was immediately excited. What a beautiful mission and what a clever idea! Because renting, instead of buying, a dress for, say, a wedding, is also a wonderful sustainable solution. Especially dresses for such a special occasion are often worn only once, so how nice if, in addition to a unique dress for your party, you can help another woman! Besides, I still had a few dresses in stock that I wanted to make someone else happy... 

Loaner dresses 

Because not every dress I buy turns out to be a success. This often has to do with the online image of a particular dress. There are dresses in the Sophie Stone collection that are beautiful, but the photography or styling doesn't do them justice when you view them from your computer screen. For example, because the model looks angry, the fabric or colour of your dress is not showing, or because it is a dress that needs someone to convince you to try it on before you see how beautiful it really is. Dresses for 46 Dresses! 

46 Dresses in magazines

From my collection, I selected 25 dresses to take to Utrecht (where their showroom is). Together we looked at the dresses and selected the ones that fit well with the women 46 Dresses caters to. The ladies at 46 Dresses were immediately enthusiastic about the quality and fit of my dresses. It was so nice to hear that they thought my 'stragglers' would be well liked by the women who would visit them for a new dress before Christmas. 

The donated Sophie Stone dresses 

After browsing through the 'rental' dresses (and seeing some beautiful ones that I would love to rent for my next wedding), I went home feeling happy and with a much lighter bag. 

Dresses for rent at 46 Dresses 

Daisy from 46 Dresses apprised me that same afternoon that already 5 of the donated dresses had found a new owner who would be gorgeous in a new Sophie Stone dress during the holidays: fantastic to hear!  

Would you like to know more about 46 Dresses or make an appointment in the showroom to hire a dress? Please visit: http://www.46dresses.com/