She said 'no' to the dress because of 'mom guilt.' But the internet said 'yes.'
When an Illinois mother passed on a gorgeous green dress because of "mom guilt" and the gown's hefty price tag, TikTok showed up to get it for her. Now, she is paying it forward.
It all started on Feb. 8 when Chicago-area TikToker Kari Felkamp documented a trip to Macy’s to find an outfit for her husband’s work banquet in Mexico.
Her top choice was a long metallic halter-style dress that had pockets and fit her just the way she liked, only there was no price tag. When she went to ask a Macy’s employee how much it cost, she was disappointed to learn the dress cost a whopping $269.
“I’m not going to spend that much on myself for one event,” said Felkamp, who has an 8-year-old son.
“I have no problem spending all this money on my son if he wanted to play football and it was 500 some dollars or whatever, but to spend that much on myself, you just feel bad about it,” she said.
She eventually went with her second choice, a fitted black and white dress that was on sale for $75 and looked good, but didn’t quite suit her like the green one did.
Within 48 hours, her video had amassed 4 million views and comments from all over the world. That green dress with the pockets was perfect and the internet wanted her to have it.
Social media users offered to send her money to buy the dress. At one point, someone asked if everyone could just send her $1 so she could buy the dress, Felkamp told Paste BN.
“People just assumed that I just couldn't afford it,” she said. “It was never about that. It was more about the mom guilt.”
A dress that brought the world together
After the outcry for her to get the dress, Felkamp had an idea.
She’s part of the TikTok Creator Fund, where content creators get paid based on video views. She posted a new video and asked that people watch it so she could get paid through TikTok and use the money to buy the green dress.
Felkamp’s follow-up video raised a good deal of money, she said. But she wouldn't need it.
New York-based dress designer Betsy & Adam, the maker of the green dress with pockets, saw her TikTok and offered to give her not only the green dress she fell in love with, but two others from their collection.
She received the green dress and two others on Feb. 12.
Felkamp found herself with extra money from her TikTok campaign that she no longer needed, so she decided to pass it on the others who did.
As she brainstormed ways to pay it forward, social media users shared their own stories about how tough it has been for them to afford dresses for special occasions.
Someone in the comments suggested a raffle, so Felkamp put the plan into action. People also offered to donate money via Venmo, allowing Felkamp to gather a little over $1,000 and select four winners.
Participants submitted their names to a drawing and shared stories about special occasions they’d like to attend, including family reunions, meeting a long-distance boyfriend for the first time and helping girls who can’t afford prom dresses.
She selected four winners Friday who will each receive $250, a $100 gift card for Macy’s, as well as a discount code from New York-based designer Betsy & Adam.
One winner, Patricia, entered to get extra cash to buy her daughter a prom dress. When she won Friday, she asked to split her winnings with a mother who has Stage 4 cancer and needs a dress for her daughter, as well as a girl who is attending prom with her brother, who has special needs.
"I work with special needs adults, so I understand," Patricia said Friday. "I just want to pay it forward ... as much as I can help."
Another raffle winner plans to help students who can’t afford prom dresses, and what started as four winners has now increased to at least six, and possibly more, Felkamp told Paste BN Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s kind of a ripple effect,” Felkamp said.
Husband’s ‘jaw dropped’ when he saw her in the green dress
While reflecting on the dress that started it all, Felkamp said it fit her perfectly and hid the things women tend to feel self-conscious about.
“I knew that I wanted something that would kind of hug my waist,” she said. “I wanted something that was going to kind of accentuate the things that I like about myself and hide some of my insecurities, and the dresses do that so well.”
She previously had weight loss surgery and lost about 160 pounds. In November 2024, she had plastic surgery to remove excess skin, she said.
Felkamp, who used to wear a size 24, now has the dress in a size 8, she said.
She remembers how her husband looked at her when he first saw her in the green dress at Macy’s.
“My husband's jaw dropped,” she said. “Clearly, he could tell that I loved it and felt confident in it too.”
Jen Brown, vice president of content at Macy’s, said in a statement to Paste BN that the company wanted to celebrate Felkamp once they heard her story.
“We hope this experience creates an unforgettable memory for Kari that she will cherish forever,” Brown said.
Macy’s also set her up with a shopping spree on Sunday, March 2. Felkamp will be paired with a Macy's stylist and she'll have an entire spread of clothing and accessories to choose from. It'll be a nice change and allow her to branch out and try something new, she said.
"I feel like a lot of women do that," she said. "We don't try things that would push us out of our comfort zone. For me, being in literally a brand new body after having almost 10 pounds of skin removed, I don't know what's going to look best on my body."
The TikTok saga has earned Felkamp a new name that she wears proudly: Green Dress Girl.
Seeing how her initial post has led to so much kindness has touched her, and the experience is a good reminder that it’s OK to do things for yourself as well, she said.
“You shouldn't feel guilty,” she said. “You are worthy of these things just as much as everybody else is that you're doing things for.”
Felkamp won't don the green dress to the corporate event until the end of March, but she plans to host more raffles and help those in need. Those who want to donate or keep up with her can do so at www.account.venmo.com/u/KKamptt and www.tiktok.com/@kkamp.
Saleen Martin is a reporter on Paste BN's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.