Can I dye my wedding dress another colour? (Pic included)

[LavenderHills]

I recently got married in the dress of my dreams. It's made of antique French cotton lace, fits me perfectly, and is just the most beautiful thing I've ever worn. I can't possibly part with it. Unfortunately, although it's a fairly casual wedding dress, it's still too obviously a bride's dress to wear to other social occasions.

I thought maybe I could have it dyed another colour? I'm a redhead, so perhaps a dark blue. Has anyone done this?
I'm loathe to ruin the dress, and I also don't want to have dye rubbing off on my skin, so any advice about where/how to get it dyed would be much appreciated!
(Ps. The photo is not of me, it's from the bridal shop website but my dress is almost identical.)

That's a fabulous idea Alanna get the lining changed! Such a beautiful dress.

I'd only shorten it.

If you cannot dye it there may be a number of different ways to de-weddify it. You could add coloured buttons down the back. You could trim it with coloured ribbons. You could embroider it. You could put a coloured sash around the waist. You could remove the lining and replace it with a coloured lining so that the colour shows through the lace. Or you hold onto it for family members.

Some brilliant ideas here! It hadn't even occurred to me to change the colour underneath, but that is actually very clever and could transform the whole look of the dress. As it happens, the dress isn't lined at all. I wore it with a silk slip underneath, so it would be very easy to change colour.

I've added a few more pictures of the actual dress, so you can see the type of lace I'm talking about.

I also think it's a great idea to go back to the original dressmaker and ask if she can shorten it for me and save the lace at the bottom for something else. Perhaps a christening dress? (Thinking a little ahead here! )

Pic 1.

Pic 2.

That's so beautiful,I think it would be such a shame to dye it. I think putting a different colour underneath is a fantastic idea.

There are some dyes that will dye polyester or polycotton thread.
Here is a blue dye that covers a wide range of fabric. An American site but it shows what is available.
Dying fabric is a great way to get use out of clothing.

Oh gosh don't risk dye. It's too lovely!. I agree with the contrasting colour underneath, a ribbon/sash/brown leather belt, and shortening it from the top (so the contrasting hem is left intact)

It's beautiful!

I definitely think get it modified to be a short summer dress. There are always tonnes of lace dresses about in summer, not too weddings at all ( though perhaps still not suitable as a guest dress). Any excess fabric could be made into dress up clothes for future kids, or saved for a further daughters veil, or put to some craft project - framed along with a wedding photo?

I’d defo shorten rather than dye. It’s still quite hard to get an occasion where a floor-length lace dress will be wearable- the boho vibe makes it not quite formal enough to wear to flash wanky dinner events, but the two layers will make it quite hot to wear in summer/on holiday. If you shorten it, you can keep the off cuts (cushion cover? bunting? christening dress? dress up veil for same children?) and it’ll be a great little summery dress you can get a lot of wear and pleasure out of without worrying about the dye process. Keep that stress for if you ever spill anything down it or you want to switch it up again.