Woman Obsessed With $20 thrifted Gown After Finding Out Who It Belonged to

These days the saying, "out with the old and in with the new" doesn't ring true when it comes to shopping, as thrifting is one of the latest movements in fashion.

It's amazing to see what bargains you can find when shopping second-hand and sometimes the items are much more than just a garment. Some like a gown purchased by Molly Katherine, 29, have an incredible story.

The content creator, who previously worked in a vintage clothing store, managed to bag a 1950s formal dress fit for a princess for just $20.

She posted a video of herself spinning in the gown that has racked up 5.3 million views on Instagram. The footage also shows newspaper clippings that detail the history of the dress, which it turns out belonged to a woman who won a prestigious beauty title wearing the gown.

"Wearing a historical piece is very sentimental," Katherine told Newsweek. "I wear a lot of vintage but I generally don't have much background on its previous owners, and for this one to have documented wear, and that it was the dress that Betsy won in, is very special!"

The "Betsy" Katherine referred to is Betsy Tant, who was crowned Miss Atlanta in 1957.

Katherine purchased the dress in 2019 while on a buying trip with her store manager, where they visited people's houses or storage facilities and looked through old clothes to purchase for the store in Nashville, Tennessee.

This is when she spotted the tulle dress, which has a hoop skirt underneath to create its "cupcake" shape. She instantly fell in love with the unique dress and the seller informed her about who it belonged to. She was also given cuttings from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution magazine that show photos of Tant wearing it having been crowned Miss Atlanta.

According to The Georgia Guardsman [Vol. 7, no. 6 (Nov., Dec. 1957)], Tant presented a trophy to nine Georgia Military college cadets who won the Army-Air National Guard football game.

"The team captain also received a bonus - a victory kiss from the beautiful brunette" states the publication.

The footage telling the story of the dress, shared to @scarlett.o.hair, has amassed over 181,000 likes, along with plenty of comments, one of which has more than 10,000 likes.

"Please god, don't be one of THOSE people and destroy this dress under the guise of 'making it better,'" it reads.

Katherine told Newsweek: "I likely won't alter it, and as for preservation the best thing you can do is keep it away from direct sunlight and in a temperature controlled space."

"What a great story and gorgeous dress," another Instagram user said.

A third comment reads: "Ahhhh I love that. I worked in vintage retail, too. I have so much but nothing with that kind of story. How wonderful!"

"20 dollars. I thought you were going to say 200," said a fourth.

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