Recycle your dress

Nicole Kulp sits peacefully in the top of an old barn, sunlight beaming in on a warm fall afternoon. It's the perfect space to get work done and do what you love, in Nicole's case, that's recycling dresses. Seems like an easy enough concept, but Nicole spends a countless number of hours revamping dresses in addition to her full time career as an office manager. Sewing has been a passion of Nicole's since the age of ten, when her mother and grandmother began teaching her how to work a needle while growing up in Bedminster.

The idea of recycling dresses came about after her closet was full of unused bridesmaids dresses. Why not redo the design and turn them into something more useful? Before she knew it, Nicole was gaining clients left and right. Initially she was recycling dresses as a hobby but it quickly grew into a business in 2006, when it officially became Recycle My Dress. Nicole has many local clients as well as clients from California and Texas! Many people send dresses to Nicole from all over because of her talent and ability to really change the design of a dress.

Nicole's favorite dresses to recycle are antique and vintage, which she tends to find herself rummaging through her mother's and friends mother's closets to find them. Besides finding some vintage dresses at thrift stores, Nicole has revamped prom gowns and even wedding dresses! Some of the dresses you would not even recognize after seeing them in their original form. You can look through her photos to see all the transformations.

Original dress

Recycled dress

Luckily for me, I had the opportunity to get a dress recycled of my own! Choosing which dress I wanted to recycle was the hard part, I have so many that I wish I could still wear. I barely had the dress out of the car and I could already see the wheels spinning in Nicole's head. I really wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the dress, but Nicole had an abundance of great ideas. She told me that typically she looks at the dress like a bunch of puzzle pieces and figures out ways to put it together. Moving seams, taking out layers, changing zippers and even dying come to mind when she recycles a dress. As soon as I had the dress zipped, Nicole went to town putting in pins everywhere so I could see what it would looked like in many variations. I wanted the dress turned into something I could wear for any semi-formal occasion and that's exactly what I got!

Besides her love for sewing, Nicole loved the idea of revamping dresses since she calls herself a “mad recycler.” It is simply a great way to reuse a perfectly good piece of clothing. As Nicole puts it, “do your part to save the environment, one dress at a time.” Nicole tends to make a lot of her clothes as well and redesigns old pieces of clothing. She had a number of great pieces in her studio for sale. Some clients opt to keep their dresses after being recycled and some choose to sell their dresses on etsy.com. You can also buy recycled dresses at events Nicole attends.

The studio is a space of art in itself. It is a bi-fictional since she uses it for her sewing room and also a private yoga studio. The space brings an earthy, relaxed environment which is perfect for both activities. Everything is perfectly organized in their respective places for easy access. Nicole tends to find herself in the studio late at night sewing away and not even realizing the time going by. It is easily a better work space than a commercial office building.

I would highly recommend anyone to get a dress recycled with Nicole. Pricing is reasonable and differs depending on the dresses. Generally, the turnover rate is about a week, an easy wait for a recycled dress! If you are interested in recycling your dress or dresses, contact Nicole at recyclemydress@hotmail.com.

Also, look for Nicole on ABC with Karen Rogers airing October 6th in the morning! My dress will make its television debut!