Image: Joe Photo/Thalles Gomes
Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, offered her wedding dress to a stranger a decade ago, and by February 2026, 13 brides had worn it without a single alteration. LeJeanne Thomas joined the chain in 2020, after the store where she had bought her wedding dress closed during the coronavirus pandemic.
Blakely then asked her team to post the idea on her Instagram account, starting what she calls the “sisterhood of the travelling wedding dress”. Blakely told the network that she did not know why she suggested Dawn wear her wedding dress, only that the words came out in that moment, according to CBS News. Dawn was unsure how to respond and said she planned to go dress shopping with her mother. Dawn told the network that as the gown was buttoned up at the back, she wondered how it could fit so perfectly. Blakely told CBS News that she loves the connection the three women share, and that she values being part of a story that lifts people and nudges them to honour their inner voice. She hopes it encourages other brides to consider paying it forward, and said that giving back can happen in small ways.
Blakely made the offer after striking up a conversation with Nataly Dawn, who was newly engaged, while out on a hike. Dawn eventually borrowed the dress for her own wedding, and it has since been cleaned, repaired and passed along from bride to bride. Image: Joe Photo A year went by before Dawn got back in touch. Her own dress had come back from alterations in a poor state, her wedding was only a few days away, and she asked whether the offer still stood. Blakely sent the dress to her overnight. A decade after the loan to Dawn, the pair met again, this time with Thomas. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.
