The greatest tragedy during my wedding planning was when someone else bought my wedding dress. Or, more specifically, when someone bought the Valentino dress I had been obsessively watching on vintage dealer ’s website and considered mine—even though my then-boyfriend Gustavo was months out from proposing. When I saw that the dress had sold, my heart broke into a million pieces.
So when Gustavo popped the question on a mountaintop in Mallorca some months later, I wasted no time setting alerts on eBay, Vestiaire Collective, and The RealReal for white dresses in my size. Two years prior, I read about and since then, I’ve followed a handful of vintage designer boutiques on Instagram, waiting for the moment when I got to hunt for a treasure of my own. Shortly into my vintage bridal search, I realized two things.
One: I needed to be realistic about what I liked and what looked good on me instead of only looking for certain brands. Even though I was drawn to silk slip dresses and body-hugging strapless gowns, what I really felt most comfortable in were higher necklines and A-line skirts. Second, while I loved looking at dresses online, in reality, I needed to try things on.
It was the latter insight that compelled me to book a vintage bridal appointment at , which had just opened an outpost in New York. On the night before the appointment, a wave of anxiety set in. I’ve swung out vintage shopping many times before.
With the ever-changing inventory, it can be completely hit .
