The designer dress,
at a fraction of the price.
A designer sample wedding dress is a brand new designer dress made for the showroom or catwalk, tried on but never worn for a wedding. We sell it off the rail in Wanstead, at a fraction of the original price, for you to take home the same day.
What is a designer sample wedding dress?
A designer sample wedding dress is a finished, high end designer dress that was made for a boutique showroom, a lookbook or a catwalk, and tried on by brides, but never worn for a wedding. It is not second-hand. Every dress at Bo & Co is sourced directly from the designer or from another boutique's sample stock, sold at a fraction of its original price, and you buy the exact dress you try on and take it home the same day.
That is the whole of it. I opened Bo & Co in Wanstead in 2020, two years after my own wedding, because I wanted to offer luxury bridal wear at a price that does not literally cost the earth. Sample dresses let me do exactly that.
Shop the rail by style
Every dress is a designer sample you can try and take home. Start with a silhouette.
Dresses for your kind of day
The shapes and fabrics that suit your venue, with the dresses to try, each guide written from the boutique.
A few of them, in the flesh.
WN1106D
UK 10 · A-line
WN1109D
UK 10 · Jumpsuit
WN1105D
UK 10 · A-line
WN1110D
UK 10 · Fit & Flare
Plenty more, across every style and size, roughly UK 8 to 18.
Browse the full railSample, second-hand or new?
| Designer sample | Second-hand | Brand new made-to-order | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worn at a wedding before? | Never | Yes, by a previous bride | No |
| Condition | New, showroom-tried | Previously owned and worn | New, unworn |
| Price vs RRP | A fraction of RRP | Varies, usually reduced | Full retail price |
| How soon you get it | Take it home the same day | Usually quick | Typically 4 to 9 months |
| Best for | Shorter timelines, designer dress on a budget | Bargain hunters comfortable with a worn dress | Plenty of time and an exact size required |
A second-hand dress has been worn by a bride at her own wedding. A sample has only been tried on or photographed, never worn down the aisle. When you choose a sample, you are the first bride to wear it for the day it was made for.
Try it, buy it, take it home.
The appointment
A free two hour private appointment, the room to yourself, up to two guests. One bride at a time. Bottled water and full attention, rather than performance.
The dress
You try the actual dresses on the rail. When one is the one, it is yours. No order to place, no months to wait. You pay for it on the day.
Home the same day
You take the dress with you the same day. If it needs alterations, a seamstress usually wants a few weeks, not months.
I had the whole room to myself and never felt rushed. I walked in unsure, and walked out carrying the dress. I still cannot believe what I paid.
Guides to help you choose
Honest notes from the boutique on shapes, venues, timing and budget, each one written by Debbie.
From the journal
Are sample wedding dresses worth it? An honest look at what you get
A sample is a finished designer dress, tried on but never worn for a wedding. Here is what you actually get, in plain terms, from someone who sells them.
From the journal
Designer wedding dresses under £1,500 in East London
Real designer dresses under £1,500 in East London. Samples, never worn down the aisle, and you take yours home the same day.
From the journal
Getting married soon? How to find the dress when you have months, not a year
A calm, practical guide for brides with months instead of a year, and the one approach that makes a fast timeline easy.
Each dress that finds its bride is another one saved. The practical choice and the sustainable one turn out to be the same dress.Debbie, Bo & Co
The questions brides ask
It is a finished, high end designer dress made for a showroom, lookbook or catwalk and tried on by brides, but never worn for a wedding. At Bo & Co most are pieces from the designers' own collections, sold at a fraction of retail, and you buy the exact dress you try and take it home the same day.
No. A second-hand dress was bought and worn at a wedding by a previous bride, then resold. A designer sample has never belonged to a bride and has never been worn down the aisle. Every dress at Bo & Co is a sample, not a used dress, which is the key difference.
Because the dress already exists and has finished its life on the showroom floor, so the designer releases it at a large reduction rather than storing it. You pay for the dress itself, not for a made-to-order atelier slot or the long lead time, so the saving is genuine and significant.
For many brides, yes, especially with a shorter timeline. You skip the nine to twelve month wait and take a designer dress home the same day at a fraction of the price. A sample may occasionally need a small clean or minor repair, which is always pointed out, and most dresses go to a seamstress for fitting alterations.
Yes. You buy the exact dress you try on and, in most cases, take it home the same day. You pay for the dress on the day and it is yours. This is why sample dresses suit brides with shorter engagements who do not have time for a traditional made-to-order timeline.
By appointment, seven days a week, on Wellington Road in Wanstead. The visit is free, and the room is yours.