How many wedding dressings does the average wardrobe contain?
One, two, maybe more if you’re Elizabeth Taylor, but in the case of Norwich’s Maddermarket theatre the wardrobes are bursting at the seams with more than 30 dresses.
So, in a bid to clear some space and raise funds for the theatre, the city centre venue is putting some of its gowns up for sale.
Amanda Greenway, head of wardrobe at the Maddermarket Theatre, said the clear out to “slim down the wardrobe” was started before the theatre was forced to close during lockdown.
She said among the 30 dresses the wardrobe department was hoping to sell were items from almost every decade going back to the 1930s as well as modern dresses.
She said many of the gowns had come from wedding dress shops: “When shops are having a clear out they give [the dresses] to us and then we realise how many we’ve got.
“We’re never going to need this many wedding dresses, so why not see who wants to buy them and raise funds for the theatre,” she said.
Ms Greenway said she was planning to sell the items via the wardrobe department’s Facebook page.
She said: “We’re hoping to sell to people who might want to use them for various projects, weddings, costumes or just as clothes.”
Initially putting a post on social media to say she was going to be selling items, Ms Greenway said she had been surprised by the reaction.
She said: “I was surprised at quite how many people were interested but it’s great, I’ve even got one of my volunteers to model them and measure the dresses up so we can provide as much information as possible,” she said.
Ms Greenway said she some of the dresses would sell for between £50-£150 while others would fetch closer to £200.
She said of the dresses going on sale her favourite was one form the 1950s: “It didn’t look like much on the hanger but on it just looked absolutely stunning, it’s beautiful,” she said,
Photographs of the dresses along with measurements will be posted on the Maddermarket Theatre Wardrobe Facebook page within the week.
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