Running of the Brides

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Since 1947, Filene's Basement in downtown Boston has held a one-day sale of wedding gowns that has become a local tradition, garnering local media attention because of the sight of hundreds of brides-to-be scrambling for bargains.

The store stocks thousands of gowns for that day, and marks them down drastically. Prospective brides, and their hovering mothers, have been known to line up as early as 6 the morning of the sale. In the first few minutes, most of the dresses are taken off the racks by the patrons, some of whom try them on in the aisles. Bartering is not uncommon. The gowns are not returnable. "The whole scene will smack of viciousness and greed," as an Associated Content writer put it.