Here comes the bride, all dressed in … toilet paper?

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The wedding dresses have it all — long trains, full layered skirts, floral appliqués, ruffles and sparkling bodices. Their detailing is the kind you see on designer gowns made of silk and lace. But they’re not. They’re all made out of toilet paper.

The gowns were showcased at the finale of the annual Cheap Chic Weddings Toilet Paper Wedding Dress Contest in New York on Wednesday. Ten designers vying for a $10,000 prize painstakingly putting them together from the most basic materials.

The rules were simple, contest co-creator Laura Gawne told Reuters. “They have to use Charmin toilet paper, any kind of tape, any kind of glue and they can use needle and thread,” she said.

“No closures, no Velcro, nothing. No attachment of fabric, nothing,” said her co-creator, Susan Bain.

The sisters Bain and Gawne began the competition to promote their wedding site. The contest, now in its 11th edition, is held in conjunction with toilet paper brand Charmin.

This year, it was held at bridal store Kleinfeld, which will turn the winning dress into a ready-to-wear gown.

Before the show began, designers applied the final touches as models held onto toilet rolls needed for the add-ons.

“We have 4,585 petals that were all hand-cut and traced,” Carol Touchstone, who came in third place, said of her floral dress. “We used tape, glue and Charmin.”

The winner was a tuxedo-style halterneck dress with a removable jacket, accessorized with a top hat and bow tie, by Donna Pope Vincler. She said it took her about three months, 22 rolls and lots of tape and glue to make.

“It’s amazing how strong glue and toilet paper can be. After I made it I was hitting on it like a drum … it’s very sturdy,” she said. “I don’t even know how many layers (there are)- I just did it until I thought it would stay together.”

(Reporting By Alicia Powell and Reuters Television in New York; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian in London; Editing by Larry King)