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« Previous Entry | Main | Next Entry » Why Do Brides Buy Dresses While Grooms Rent Tuxes?
Robert Frank: Jennifer Dulski had been married for six months when she enrolled in my introductory economics course in 1997, which may explain the topic she chose for one of her two economic naturalist papers: "Why," she asked, "do brides spend thousands of dollars on wedding dresses they'll never wear again, while grooms, who'll have many future opportunities to wear a tuxedo, usually end up renting a cheap one?" Ms. Dulski began with the assumption that women are more likely than men to want to make a fashion statement on big social occasions. It's a strong assumption. But it's also a plausible one. I've described this example in many different countries, and no one has yet objected. If we grant that assumption, one implication is that a rental company would have to carry a huge stock of distinctive gowns--perhaps forty or fifty in each size, to enable brides to achieve their goal. Because each garment would be rented only infrequently, perhaps just once every four or five years, the company would have to charge its rental customers more than the purchase price of the garment just to cover its costs. But if buying were cheaper than renting, why would anyone rent? Conditions are markedly different in a rental market for tuxedos. Because grooms are willing to settle for a standard style, a rental company can serve this market with an inventory of only a few tuxedos in each size. So each suit gets rented several times a year, which enables a rental company to cover its costs by charging only a small fraction of the tuxedo's purchase price. Robert Frank's latest book, The Economic Naturalist's Field Guide: Common Sense Principles for Troubled Times, was published last month. He is guest-blogging for the Business Desk for the next few weeks. -- Posted July 1, 2009 | Comments (7) | Permalink
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Brides buy their wedding dresses because bridal gowns are made of delicate fabrics and laces that will not hold up to multiple wearings. Grooms do not rent "cheap ones". Men's tuxedos are usually made of quality wool fabrics which will hold up to multiple wearings. I'm sorry that brides do not have a choice to rent your wedding gowns, just don't call your fiancee's tuxedo cheap just because it costs a whole lot less to rent. A man should buy a tuxedo if he plans on wearing it at least 3 times a year.
Many brides don't even know there are places that rent bridal gowns, like WeddingDressMarket.com Another alternative is for the bride to buy the dress she wants, the sell it on one of the resale sites or craigslist.com and get 75% to 100% of the value back. Almost as good as renting.
@Chris Brown
Chris, I think you miss the point. this column explains why brides gowns are not made out of more sturdy stuff.
We have an observed behavior that does not match our(my?) intuition of economics. It's an exercise to identify the predominating micro-econ factor, OR the behavioral irrationality at play.
Many brides get their gowns altered, which would be less acceptable if you were renting. Brides can certainly opt not to get alterations, but in my experience finding a dress that fits perfect off the rack is a lot harder than finding a tux that fits well on a guy (us women having hard to fit curves that guys don't).
And of course, there are many women who want to keep their dress as a memento or even dream of giving it to their future daughter for her wedding day -- though I wonder how often that truly works out.
American weddings are a big business focusing on the bride. You cannot expect a diva to wear a rented dress for what she has been brainwashed into believing is the most important, or at least, most expensive, day of her life. In my own family we generally pride ourselves on frugality and common sense, but we've noticed when it comes to weddings, the groom seems kind of beside the point.
Tuxes are classic and can be worn at a variety of functions. Bridal gowns change style from season to season, if not faster, and have only one purpose. Compare bridal dresses from the 20's, 50's, 80's and even 90's with today's BRIDE magazine photos; unless you're going for a "vintage" or "retro" (ie, Great Recession) look, you can't wear your mom's old dress. With obesity rates exploding, you probably couldn't alter it to fit, either. No offense.
But in addition to style changes and the delicacy of chiffons, beadwork and lace bodices, it'd be just too darn hard to keep all those shades of white properly CLEAN. Brides spill wine and smear greasy cake frosting, not to mention colorful finger foods, over swathes of white satin. Sorry to be indelicate, but they also sweat. They trip and rip and smudge the skirts while dancing and getting in and out of limos and fairy coaches. I've known ladies who gave their wedding dresses to goodwill and kids who bought used wedding dresses for costumes (Bride of Frankenstein), but bridal dresses are essentially a one-time wonder and after that, a joke (I mean, a lovely sentimental closet stuffer). There's no rental market for used handkerchiefs; the same goes for wedding gowns. But you never know, in this New Economy...
my mother made my wedding dress, she made her own 30 years prior.
old fashioned, tradition...and not a lot of money dictated these things for us
My mother was very worried for me in the wedding day. She prepared everything for both bridal and groom. Thanks mom.