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The Lifting Of My Wedding Dress

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 5, 2008

Many women enjoy shopping. I must have missing chromosomes, as I don't like to shop. If you want to torture me, ask me to go shopping with you. And as a senior, I need to be fairly frugal. Going to Brandon is a no-no on several counts - gas usage, shopping temptations and time spent.

What's my shopping alternative? I go to the Nearly New Shop here in Sun City Center. What a great idea! I get there in my golf cart, get a bargain, and if I shove hard enough, I get in and out fairly quickly. Just kidding about shoving, but sometimes it's a little crowded because other smart residents know about the Nearly New Shop, too.

A big bonus to shopping at Nearly New is that I help a charity when I buy. All the money they earn from sales goes to the Interfaith Council, made up of representatives of all churches in the area, who hand out money to worthy causes. They gave out $90,000 worth of scholarships in 2008, have donated to the Security Patrol to help buy a new car, donate to several organizations which help children, and have donated $100,000 to Lifepath Hospice in the last two years. They won't reveal the exact amount they give, but I have it on good report that it's well within the six-figure range annually. Wow! All from a bunch of donated goods.

"Donated," though, doesn't imply cheaply made, overly used, or, sometimes, even used at all. Some of my Nearly New bargains include a new Kathy Van Zeeland handbag for $15 while QVC was still selling the same bag for $110, and several new Chico necklaces I bought for a fraction of their original cost.

The shop has overhead expense of rent and utilities, but all workers, except the manager, are volunteers. And their merchandise is donated by the good people of Greater Sun City Center. Nearly New isn't a consignment shop. Based on my experience, that's a good thing. I'm sure most consignment shops are run in an ethical way, but I had a very different experience in Indianapolis, my hometown.

A Different Experience

One morning my husband asked me what I was reading. "I'm looking in the classifieds for anyone who wants to buy my wedding dress. I'm tired of storing it." He seemed surprised by my lack of sentimentality for the dress. It was pretty, with its long train and lace sleeves, but I was much too practical to keep it around. I reminded him we were married in mid-life, so we wouldn't make it to our 50th wedding anniversary, which is the only time I would consider wearing it.

I contacted a "Mrs. Godfrey" who took dresses on consignment. She was very helpful, fully explaining her operation. She had turned her large dining room into a wedding dress showroom and placed ads in local papers, telling of the dresses for sale. Brides-to-be would shop in her dining room. When she sold a dress, she kept a small commission, and the dress owner got the remainder.

I asked Mrs. Godfrey if I could drop by. "Oh my, no; I always work on an appointment basis. What time would you like to come?"

The appointment set, I took my dress to her. A friendly, well-dressed, attractive lady in her seventies, Mrs. Godfrey had carefully applied makeup and black hair swept up in a chignon. She expressed pride that she had sold furs in an exclusive store for many years. The arrangement was just as she said - a dining room showroom with many racks of wedding dresses. She gave me a proper receipt for mine.

Thirty days passed quickly, and I called Mrs. Godfrey to see if my dress had sold. No answer. I left a voicemail message. I tried several more times during the day, and still no Mrs. Godfrey. I couldn't get anyone to answer, and Mrs. Godfrey never returned my calls. Maybe she's on vacation, I thought.

Sixty days passed. The same thing happened. No callbacks. No Mrs. Godfrey.

"I'm going to her house without an appointment and see what's going on," I told my husband.

There was no activity as I pulled into her driveway. I knocked on the door and could hear dogs barking, but no Mrs. Godfrey. I knocked and knocked, calling her name. I glanced in her garage windows and saw two cars inside. Thinking she must be home, I knocked some more. Foolishly, I decided to walk around the house and look in all her windows. I knocked on each window, which sent the dogs into a frenzy. I even thought she might be dead inside the house. I said, "She's a sweet old lady, so there must be a simple explanation."

Dress For Her Success

One morning, a little later, my husband handed me the newspaper, chuckled, and said, "Here, I think you need to read this." There, in the paper, was an article, "Elderly Woman Caught in Wedding Dress Scam."

"Oh no, it can't be," I said as I hastily read the article. My husband tried not to laugh, seeing how upset I was. The article explained how the scam worked. Mrs. Godfrey would get dresses from ladies, telling all of us that she was going to sell them on consignment. Instead, she would rent the dresses, over and over. When the consignee called, she would say the dress hadn't sold yet. Thus, she got an inventory of dresses to rent without investing any money.

Mrs. Godfrey holed herself up in her house and refused to open the door, so police went through a window, handcuffed Mrs. Godfrey, and took her to jail. The policewoman working the case said she doubted I would ever get my dress back. And sure enough, I never did. Well, at least I got rid of the dress and didn't have to store it anymore.

Rosie Clifton is the author of "Kissing Lots of Frogs, a Long Journey to Love." Visit her Web site at rosieclifton.com.

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