Women are massively overpaying for a common purchase

Retailers are making bank on the wedding industrial complex.

image:Bridesmaid Dresses Australia

Research company Edited recently released a report that pointed out that retailers will charge about 3.9 times more for a white bridal dress than a white dress that's similar (just not a "wedding" dress, per se).

But is it just a white dress? Or is it something else?

"It's not just a white dress," wedding dress designer Anne Barge said to NPR. "It's the fabric, and it's the workmanship, and it's the lining, and it's the fit." (Arguably, a higher price tag may or may not indicate a better quality dress, and there's also the argument that if you wear it on your wedding day...it's a wedding dress.)

"It's the dress of your life, and if there is ever one picture your [descendants] have of you it's the one in your wedding dress," Barge explained.

But what if it's a bridesmaid dress, and the construction is flimsier than a bridal gown?

The industrial complex extends to there, too. Edited found that the word 'bridesmaid' had a similar effect; bridesmaids dresses cost 1.8 times more than dresses that were the same.

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