February 14–21, 2002

naked city|vows

Something Old…

CP’s guide to a vintage wedding.

by Debra Auspitz

Not all of us are programmed to love the wedding dress. You know the one — white, poofy, down to the floor with a train and veil. Not all of us can afford the wedding dress, either, at least until Vera Wang decides to team up with Target for a discount line. And for a lot us, the problem with the wedding dress is that it is the wedding dress, a cookie-cutter version of what a bride should be.

One way to rebel against the wedding dress of today is by wearing the wedding dress of another era. A vintage gown, or even just vintage accessories, can help create a range of looks, from traditional to cocktail cool, and uniqueness is virtually guaranteed. Going vintage also brings up a lot of difficulties and involves a lot more leg- (or finger-) work than grabbing an off-the-rack gown. But if you’re in for an adventure, here are some different approaches to planning a vintage wedding.

	Christine wears a yellow and gold dress with matching bolero jacket from Bill Goldberg, with pearls from Barbara Blau at Antiquarian’s Delight.

A lot of the vintage wedding-dress trade is based online, so head to the Web for an overview of what’s out there around the country. Start up an e-mail correspondence with the site operators — all of the dealers we wrote to responded quite quickly and were eager to give their advice. Terri Travers, who runs www.avintagewedding.com, says her gowns range on average between $150 and $200 (most sites range from $50 to $1,000 per gown). She says that brides are attracted to vintage wedding gowns because "as the cliche goes, with fashion, what is old is always new again. Beautiful ‘old’ things will never go out of style and will always be sought after." Carla Michaels, who operates Carla’s Vintage Wedding Gowns (hometown.aol.com/gowns4you), also notes that with a vintage dress, "you have a one-of-a-kind gown that has styling that current designers are inspired from, without the designer price tag."

Christine completes the look with gloves from Maryann Aristeo and a gold mesh handbag from Barbara Blau of Antiquarian’s Delight.

So a vintage gown can be unique and fashionable at the same time. Travers extols the virtues of vintage clothing, saying that "the quality of a vast majority of these vintage gowns far surpasses what is available today," and she notes that "certain vintage fabrics, like 1940s slipper satin, are no longer available or manufactured."

A vintage dress can also add a sense of history to your wedding. Travers says that most women "wish to know if the original owner’s marriage was a long and happy one." Michaels loves tracing the stories of the pieces in her collection. "I once had a couture gown from an estate of a famous ’40s actress," she says. "But I think gowns from regular women can be very intriguing also. I really enjoy acquiring gowns with previous bridal pictures and including them with the gown." Michaels also offers a word to the wise for those choosing vintage dresses: "Don’t expect perfection in the gowns! They are lovely pieces of history that had a life before you owned it. Accept them as they are and create a little history of your own."

	Julian is wearing vintage lingerie from Maryann Aristeo of Lucy’s Hats at Antiquarian’s Delight.

Another option is to work with a vintage wedding pattern to have a gown made. Michelle Lee sells vintage patterns over the Net (www.oldpatterns.com, $3-$40), but says that wedding-specific patterns are rare. She also notes that pattern companies like Vogue, Butterick and Simplicity are now reprinting some of their older patterns, so "you can find some great retro patterns in a variety of sizes right in your local sewing store with up-to-date sewing instructions. The vintage patterns assume a different level of sewing skills and terminology." Lee’s advice to a bride considering this route is to "try to be flexible. You might find the pattern you like — but it will be in the wrong size. Then you will need to find a good seamstress who can adapt the pattern — or try a different pattern."

In a recent search, we found eBay auctions lacking. While a search for vintage gowns brought up about 30 options, and many of the prices were in the $20-$50 range, it was clear that many of the sellers were not very knowledgeable about the origins of their gowns and the quality was unclear. (One seller claimed that her gown was either Victorian or from the Renaissance!)

Julian tries on a vintage veil among Maryann Aristeo’s hat collection at Antiquarian’s Delight.

Greg West, owner of local vintage store Ballyhoo, has a few wedding dresses in his collection, including one from a "Main Line blueblood, a descendant of Benjamin Rush, John Cadwalader and others. She fell in love with this Russian count, and, when the revolution broke out, he was imprisoned by one of the factions — I think it was the Bolsheviks. She petitioned them, went over there and begged them to release him to her; she was young and very in love. They released him, they came back together, there were stories in the press… a fairy tale."

But West says he gets few requests for wedding dresses, sometimes only once a year, and he’s glad for it. "The gowns are usually not perfect," he explains, "and the pressure of everything being just right is not something I like to experience often."

	Laura models a lavish gown and pearl choker courtesy of Maryann Aristeo.

Perfection is the biggest drawback to shopping for a vintage wedding gown. Time damages these delicate pieces, though a lot of these gowns were only worn once, reducing some wear and tear. Another drawback in vintage is size. The further back you go, the younger the women were when they married, and therefore the smaller they were at their weddings. It is nearly impossible, most of the dealers said, to get a large-sized vintage gown, though newer vintage (’70s and ’80s) is easier to work with size-wise.

If you’re intent on going vintage, West recommends taking the dress to a seamstress before committing to purchasing it, because it may need a lot of work, and he suggests dying or adding lace or flowers to a gown to hide some imperfections. Donna Barr, who operates www.victorianelegance.com and www.vintagewedding.com, adds that it is crucial to "purchase from a reputable dealer with a full refund policy. A wedding gown is one of the most important items you will ever purchase, so you want to be sure it is ‘vintage perfect.’" Barr also reminds potential buyers to be prepared to spend some cash on alterations and cleaning.

For a vintage look that’s still in style, West suggests "a ’30s tea dress for a daytime wedding and an early ’60s couture piece from someone like Bill Blass… [like] those very structured mini dresses with an empire bust. I would look for something clean and simple. It’s about the woman inside the dress. It’s her day, so I wouldn’t try for something freaky loud, unless, of course, that was who she was and it fit." West adds that "a swing wedding is embarrassing. Going whole hog for one era, I don’t like that. The clothes should not be a huge part of the wedding, it just doesn’t seem right to me. Have fun, but make it about the two of you."

Laura wears a 1970s Bonwit Teller gown.

Locally, a few shops get in vintage wedding dresses, but usually sporadically. Antiquarian’s Delight, at Sixth and Bainbridge, had several options for a wedding, but not all traditional gowns. Maryann Aristeo, a shop owner at the antiques market, had one stunning wedding dress from the early 1960s (clearly made with a "vintage look" back then), but it was very tiny. Another merchant, Bill Goldberg, had a yellow-and-gold sheath dress with a matching bolero jacket — not exactly a traditional wedding look, but lovely nonetheless (and a good idea if you are looking at vintage for bridesmaids or the mother of the bride). Aristeo also had a vintage nightgown. Old lingerie (slips, nightgowns) can make a fine wedding dress — but you should have a lining sewn into it or find a good slip, since it was underwear at one point and is usually quite delicate and sheer. (No need to flash your new in-laws on the way down the aisle.) Antiquarian’s is also a mecca of vintage accessories — hats, gloves, purses, jewelry, everything you might need to give a vintage flair.

If you are dying for a true period wedding, you might have to consider options other than an actual vintage dress. Pierre’s Costumes does a steady business renting out period costumes for weddings, for the bride and groom but also for entire wedding parties. An employee there says, "Everyone wants to look like Drew Barrymore in Ever After." She says that medieval, colonial or turn-of-the-20th-century looks are the most popular. A costume can range from $95 to $125, and Pierre’s also has vintage costumes. You could have a costume made by Pierre’s as well, starting at around $800.

Speaking of custom made, a good dressmaker can make you look like you just stepped out of any era you’d like. Salina Tsai, who runs Salina Bridal Salon on Fabric Row, says she can make a pattern for any dress in 35 minutes, fit you for it, make it in as little as a day (that’s usually reserved for dress emergencies, which she’s glad to take on) and have you out the door and on the way to the chapel in no time. "I treat this like art; it’s not a business," she says. "If you can draw it, I can make it." She says a Gone With the Wind style is the most commonly requested.

Tsai or another dressmaker can also help you work with a less-than-perfect vintage gown, or even help you work with a fabric or piece of a dress that you love. If you want to wear your mother’s gown but are a foot taller and 50 pounds heavier than Mom, you can get some help and pull a Molly Ringwald in Pretty in Pink— make a new dress from two older ones, or one older one and some supplemental fabric. The stores on Fabric Row have many different bridal fabrics, though most of the shop owners say vintage bridal fabrics are too hard to come by.

Tsai, who is also a painter, has been running her shop on Fabric Row since 1986, and she says she’d be willing to teach anyone to make a pattern and sew. So, if you’re really looking to save cash, stop in, take a lesson and make a gown yourself. You’ll be making your own piece of history, that some thrifty bride can covet 50 years from now.

Ballyhoo, 215-627-1700, www.ballyhoovintage.com; Antiquarian’s Delight, 615 S. Sixth St., 215-592-0256; Salina Bridal Salo , 750 S. Fourth St., 215-629-0200; Pierre’s Costumes , 211 N. Third St., 215-925-7121; Vintage sites: www.avintagewedding.com; www.davenportandco.com; www.fashiondig.com; hometown.aol.com/gowns4you; www.oldpatterns.com; www.paperbagp.com; www.vintagewedding.com; www.victorianelegance.com.

Photographs by Christina M. Felice. Hair by Marco and Jennifer of Salon South, 620 S. Fifth St. makeup by Sean Alex of Salon South. Locations: Lucy’s Hats and Mary Ann Berlangieri’s Antiques at Antiquarian’s Delight, 615 S. Sixth St.