Vintage Vera Wang

Vera Wang launched her eponymous bridal line in the early 1990s after a long career in the world of fashion magazines.

 

As a teenager, Wang was a competitive figure skater, and when her figure skating career came to an end, she turned to fashion. After graduating from Sarah Lawrence College, she began working forVogue  magazine in 1972. In 1973, the magazine promoted her to fashion editor, making her one of the youngest people in the history of Vogue to ever hold that title. She was only 23 years old. She occupied her position for the next 15 years, specializing in accessories and photo shoots.

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In 1987, she left Vogue for Ralph Lauren, where she pursued her dream of becoming a designer instead of an editor. During her tenure, Wang got engaged to longtime boyfriend Arthur Becker.

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She was in her late 30s by then, and she was horrified by the state of bridal fashion in the late 1980s. (She wasn’t wrong: the late ‘80s were a low point.)​ Dodie Kazanjian, who interviewed Wang for the December 1990 issue of Vogue, reported that Wang “felt incredibly insecure about what [wedding dress] to wear,” and “ended up buying three bridal dresses as her wedding scenario went from simple to elaborate and then to even more elaborate.”

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Following her wedding, Wang saw an opportunity to bring her modern, fashion-forward eye to bridal, and she decided to open her own boutique. She rented a showroom in the luxurious Carlyle Hotel on Madison Avenue in March 1990 and set about renovating and redecorating. She rented an additional space across the street to use as a workroom, where she employed two designers, an assistant, and six seamstresses.

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The Vera Wang Bridal House Ltd. opened its doors in September 1990. Vogue celebrated the occasion by dedicating a 6-page spread to the boutique in its December issue. Vogue referred to Vera Wang as “the Martha [Stewart] of weddings," in part because of Wang's focus on curating each bride's full bridal look, not just the wedding dress. This fashion-oriented approach was a departure from the way that brides had traditionally shopped for their wedding attire. (And this is why our Vera Wang dresses often come with the original veil and other accessories.) 

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Initially, Wang's boutique sold primarily wedding dresses by other designers, including Christian Dior and Carolina Herrera. But Wang was also designing and selling her own creations in those early days. 

 

The first ads showcasing Vera Wang’s own bridal line began appearing in about 1993.​ Her wedding dresses found a wide audience and enthusiastic reception, and it wasn’t long before she phased out the sales of other designers’ gowns, removed “Bridal House Ltd” from her boutique’s name, and began focusing exclusively on her own designs.

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It’s not difficult to see why Wang’s pared-back, elegant, and quietly dramatic designs resonated so strongly with brides when they hit the market. 

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One of Wang’s most enduring contributions to bridal fashion was the use of color in wedding dresses. While colorful wedding dresses are very popular today, that simply wasn't true when Wang introduced her designs in the early 1990s. This afforded brides a greater degree of personal expression. While the use of color in bridal has ebbed and flowed over the years — sometimes it’s trendy, sometimes it’s not — it has been a constant in the Vera Wang bridal line.

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Vera Wang is an icon, and so are her designs. Even 30 years later, they are fresh, wearable, and instantly recognizable as her creations. There is a reason we have prioritized her wedding dresses when curating our collection: the quality is superb, and the designs are ageless and enduring. We are proud to showcase so many vintage Vera Wang wedding dresses in our Atlanta bridal shop.