David's Bridal

Business

Priscilla of Boston Reportedly Destroyed a Bunch of Unworn Expensive Wedding Gowns Because of 'Contractual Obligations'

Priscilla of Boston, the now-defunct bridal chain owned by David's Bridal, just defiled a bunch of expensive wedding gowns, including a $6,000 frock by Vera Wang. Employees of the chain, which went out of business over the holidays, were videotaped at a shop in Minnesota spray painting red X's on bridal gowns, some of which were in the $4,000 to $6,000 range. (Watch the TODAY show's report on the story here.) A lot of people are pissed off about it (see: the women in the TODAY show report who said it physically hurt her to see the wedding dresses marred) and David's Bridal has responded with conflicting rationales and apologies for its actions.

Style

Vera Wang Is Knocking Herself Off and Selling Kim Kardashian's Wedding Gowns at David's Bridal for $1,600

Kim Kardashian's wedding was one of--if not the--most over-the-top celebrity weddings of the century, costing the bride and her groom roughly $10 million. Her engagement ring alone cost close to $2 million, so we don't even want to guess how much the bride's three custom Vera Wang gowns set her back. Lucky for you though, come February 2012, you will be able to purchase two of the gowns--the ballgown and mermaid gown--for under $1,600 each at David's Bridal, thanks to a special collaboration between designer Vera Wang and the affordable retailer, reports E! News.

Style

The First Kate Middleton Knockoff Wedding Gowns and Accessories Hit Stores; Here Are the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Mere minutes after Kate Middleton’s now-famous Sarah Burton for McQueen wedding gown was revealed, wedding dress “designers” scurried to see who could copy be inspired by it the quickest. “Simple” is one of the words that has been used most frequently to describe the gown, and though that hardly applies to the construction of the gown--lace workers washed their hands every 30 minutes and replaced their needles every three hours to ensure that the lace remained pure white--bridal companies and dress makers have nevertheless run with it to knock off the dress and get into the market ASAP. Shala Moradi of Faviana, a bridal label frequently inspired by celebrities’ gowns, told E!, “It’s easier than what I was expecting, and we’re going to do it in a few days.” We’re sure Sarah Burton and her team of artisans would take some exception to that statement. Moradi told E! that a bride called before the royal wedding saying that no matter what the dress looked like, she wanted a copy. Everyone from David's Bridal to Nordstrom is planning to carry the look-alike gowns, and stores started placing orders the day of the wedding. Click through our biggest Adventures in Copyright to date to check out the items inspired by the royal wedding---from The Dress, to accessories, to Pippa’s gown.

Business

Vera Wang Adds Diamond Rings to Her Bridal Empire

While many designers have had major success with discount retailers like Target and H&M, Vera Wang might be the most multi-faceted when it comes to affordable collaborations. Wang released a mattress collection with Serta in 2006, she sells Simply Vera, an affordable collection (which reportedly remained profitable even during the recession), at Kohl's, and she's about to release her first David's Bridal collection, which includes wedding dresses under $1,500. Oh, and she designs floral arrangements for FTD. But she isn't stopping there. After dresses and flowers and mattresses, what could be next? The future is looking sparkly.