Woman thrifts expensive designer gown for just $50 and decides to give it away to a lucky bride

Thrift shoppers always keep an eye out for hidden gems in stores so they can snag them at incredible rates. But how often do you expect to stumble upon dresses crafted by famous designers at antique stores or thrift shops? Surprisingly enough, online creator Ophelia Nichols found something that was worth more than the price mentioned on its tag. The 41-year-old influencer made a video on Instagram to share how she found a wedding gown for just $50 when its original market price was $4,819.

Nichols gave her viewers a proper view of the dress by putting it on display and explaining how significant her find was. The wedding gown had the designer's label on it and it was made by Lithuanian-Canadian designer, Romona Keveza. Keveza's bridal gown collections are extremely expensive as each gown starts at over $3000, per her website. When Nichols discovered the gown which was selling for dirt cheap, she let the store clerk know about it.

But she was lucky because the employee still let Nichols take it away at just $50. Since the creator is already married, she won't be needing this beautifully crafted wedding gown for herself. So, she decided to give it away to one of her followers who actually needed it. "I cried when I put this dress in my truck because I would have given anything to have this years ago when I got married," she explained in her video. "I know that it would mean something to one of you."

Nichols continued the video and admitted that she could have cleaned it and sold it on eBay for any price she liked but instead, she wanted some fortunate bride to have the experience of wearing this designer gown, which Nichols couldn't experience. Nichols also tried on the dress–a mermaid-style strapless gown–for the video and it looked extremely elegant.

"This is stunning. This would have been the dress I would have gotten married in. I'm speechless," she said in the video. Many followers of Nichols urged her to keep the dress for herself instead of giving it away. Some even suggested she wear it to renew her vows with her husband Derick. But Nichols replied to one of the commentators and said that she wanted someone else to enjoy this beautiful gown.

@stephaniehall_80, a commentator who calls Nichols Mama Tots just like her other followers, wrote: "Mama Tot, I’m not religious, but honey, you’re doing the lord’s work." @belle41636 commented: "Oh yes!!!!! My favorite wedding dress designer! I cannot believe you found one of her dresses in a thrift shop! I agree with others. Wear it yourself in a vow renewal and then give it away!" In another similar story, a TikTok creator named Sarah Dunk discovered a vintage Versace gown worth $9800 at a thrift store and showed the gorgeous black dress to her followers in a TikTok video as well.

Dunk had purchased the gown for just $12 and her viral clip amassed more than 15.4 million views. "There's been a lot of comments about how expensive this dress goes for, for resale, and I'm so grateful that you guys found it, because I have been scouring the internet, all the resale sites, 1stDibs, and I couldn't seem to find it until I put in some really specific keywords," she explained. This just might inspire fellow ladies to start thrifting in the hopes of finding something incredible amongst the antique items. 

Editor's note: This article was originally published on August 30, 2023. It has since been updated.