At Happy Isles, a popular vintage bridal boutique with locations in New York and Los Angeles, brides-to-be have the choice between two dress try-on appointments.
The standard option, which costs $185 to book, gives brides the opportunity to try on a variety of vintage gowns priced under $9,000. Or, the premium “Archival Collection” option, which, with a hefty price tag of $500, allows them access to the store’s collection of rare ‘90s Valentino gowns and actual runway pieces like a corset set from Dior’s spring 2004 collection.
To many brides, the opportunity to try on a piece of fashion history is often worth the price in itself, though the $500 could also go toward a same-day purchase. In an average week, 20 percent of all visitors choose the premium option, according to Lily Kaizer, Happy Isles’ founder.
“The brides that are booking archival are just looking for a special experience and looking to try on special pieces,” she said.
The salon, which opened in 2016, has seen a surge in volume, with inventory turnover quadrupling since opening in New York in 2023, and plans to open a third boutique in Dallas, Texas in autumn 2026. And it’s not alone. As vintage fashion has broadly become mainstream, so has vintage bridalwear. Creators like Allie Reeves, the founder of fashion rental platform Baro, for instance, routinely share on social media lengthy lists of vintage bridal salons and brands to search for alongside styles by era.
While sustainability, quality and price all play an important role in the rise of vintage bridal gowns, so does a collective cultural desire today to stand out on social media. No longer solely the domain of “real fashion [people],” said Kaizer, the desire for a truly unique piece has now become widespread.
Nostalgia for 1990s aesthetics is another contributing factor, driving a renaissance of interest in gowns from designers of the era like Vera Wang and Oscar de la Renta. Pinterest’s 2025 wedding report showed a 138 percent year-on-year lift in searches for “1990s wedding dress,” as well as a surge for nostalgic styles like drop-waist gowns, which saw a 2,395 percent increase.
Even the old guard of the industry are participating in the trend. In November, David’s Bridal re-issued a collection of archival “White by Vera Wang” pieces from the designer’s 2011 line, alongside five bridesmaid dresses from the era. The capsule featured five of Wang’s most iconic styles from the time, such as the organza skirts and draped bodices she is known for, and will be releasing up to 30 dresses per style, all custom made in a wide range of sizes.
For David’s Bridal, the collection — which kicks off a longer-term partnership with Vera Wang — is one way to cater to brides’ nostalgia, especially in such a digital world, said chief executive Kelly Cook at the collection preview in New York City.
“This day is all about meaning,” said Cook. “That’s why they crave that from a nostalgia perspective.”
Celebrity participation has also fuelled the trend. Alex Cooper of podcast “Call Her Daddy” fame wore a 2011 Donna Karan Collection dress to her rehearsal dinner last year and a 2003 Alexander McQueen dress to her wedding reception, sparking rave reactions online and a flood of brides hunting for similar looks.
The Curse of Social Media
Unlike a previous generation of brides, today’s women are cursed with hyper-visible content as multi-day weddings (and the variety of outfits that go along with them) have increasingly become fodder for social media. With influencers and celebrities posting more and more wedding content — which then tends to be re-shared by bridal-focused publications like Vogue Weddings and “Over the Moon” — brides want to steer clear of a twinning moment, even if it’s with a stranger on the internet.
“You can have the most special and amazing dress that makes you feel like a million dollars … and two weeks before your wedding, a huge influencer might wear your dress,” said Monet Brewerton-Palmer, the founder of Atlanta-based vintage bridal boutique Vionnette.
A vintage or archival piece is the perfect solution and also a way to flex fashion swagger — an “if you know you know” moment for the connoisseur and the TikTok scroller alike.
Sentimental Storytelling
At Vionnette, many brides go the extra mile in customising their dresses to incorporate an heirloom, such as turning part of their mother’s dress into a train or using part of a damaged vintage Vera Wang dress — the retailer’s top-requested designer — as the lining for their gown.
The trend of repurposing “something old” is especially pronounced among Gen Z consumers.
“Millennials kind of didn’t want to look like what their moms looked like on their wedding days, but Gen Z is trying to emulate that iconic ‘90s bridal vibe that their moms were wearing,” said Kaizer. “There’s this big shift in nostalgia for what classic bridal means.”
And vintage bridal shopping can stretch far beyond the current prevailing ’90s aesthetic. At Happy Isles, a bride tried on a 1950s Priscilla of Boston dress in November, and learned that her mother, who was with her, had also worn a dress from the designer on her own wedding day.
“It was a beautiful moment of sharing and meaning making,” said Kaizer.
