Dress - What would you do?

Oh this is tough. It would be hard for me to keep something that didn't personally bring me joy, and I too would see the value in selling it and having someone else enjoy it. I bought my wedding dress pre-owned (I love StillWhite) so as a bride who bought another bride's dress, I can vouch for the fact that your dress can absolutely make another bride to be SUPER happy!

Some things to consider:

Does your dress still fit? If you can't even wear it, I'd be far more tempted to get rid of it.

How much room does it take up? If its a floofy ball gown that occupies prime space in your closet, I'd be more tempted to get rid of it.

How much is it financially worth to you? What would you need to sell it for to make it worth selling? Wedding dresses are like cars in that the second they leave the bridal shop they depreciate, a LOT. If you are thinking you can resell your dress for close to what you paid for it, you can't. At most, I'd expect maybe a 50% return on a worn dress, so if you spent $2k on a dress, that's just $1000, likely less. For reference I paid $400 for a dress that retailed for $2100-$2400 and saw other brides listing the same dress for around $700-$800.

Has your husband mentioned the dress other than when asked about it? If he occasionally references that he loved how you looked in your dress on your wedding day, I feel like that's a different attachment other than when saying "don't sell it" when asked specifically about it. If your dress is out of sight out of mind, that's a selling point, but if it's something your husband thinks about without prompting, then it has more sentimental value to him than he's letting on.

Can your dress be remade into something you like? If it fits and you like the fabric, etc would it be possible to have the dress remade in a style that is more you and could be reworn for date nights or your vow renewal? This could be a way to "keep" your dress but have it be something that you like and isn't just taking up space in storage. It won't help with funding a new dress (remaking it could be costly) but would help preserve your husband's attachment to it while possibly turning it into something you enjoy as well.

If I didn't like my own wedding dress, I'd probably sell it. I had planned to sell my dress all along to recoup the cost after, but since I spent so little on it and will be wearing it twice (for our elopement and then for our redo wedding next year, hopefully with coronavirus a non-issue), and I do LOVE it, I'm probably going to keep it now. One guy I know told me his wife puts on her dress every year for their anniversary (they've been married more than 20 years) and I thought that was super cute. I would love to do something similar (although I think it would be a miracle if my dress still fit every year for the next 20+ years) with my husband and dance to our first dance song!

I would keep it. If it's something he's sentimental about, that matters more.

If it means that much to him, then yes, I would keep it!

That is a tough situation. Personally, I would keep it. If you chose to have a vow renewal and you could afford another dress then I would buy another dress. Because your husband said he would be upset if you sold it, I would keep it. Even though it may not have been the dress of your dreams, it means a lot to your husband.