Months into matrimony, my wedding dress hangs packed in a vintage forest green garment bag in the back of my closet with the rest of my ensemble from the big day. The Chanel slingbacks I scored on The RealReal rest in their dust bags somewhere under the sweaters. The glossy red Mark Cross box bag (also pre-owned) has only made a few postnuptial appearances, paired with distressed Levis and mini skirts for dinners out. I recently hung a pair of boxy Bode-style shorts nearby, the latest addition to my wedding wardrobe. These, I wear (or plan to wear) regularly.
With the help of my beloved tailor Luis at Bode, I turned a risky eBay bet into the dress of my 60s-style dreams. Since we chopped the dress to a mini style, we were left with yards of satiny white fabric, laced in a flowery trim. The remains practically begged for life beyond a donation to the textile bin at the farmer’s market. “What are we making with this?” asked Luis as he lifted the leftovers above his head. A shirt felt too precious. But shorts—a little oversized, almost boxer-style—felt cheeky and wearable. I tried on a few styles from Bode, found a pair I loved, and the process was underway. I picked up the new shorts on a sunny afternoon before lunch. Their silhouette cinched at the waist like a pair of gym shorts and I was delighted by the sweet trim he added to the back pocket and legs–the perfect compliment to the frilly white top I already had on.
Intrigued by my own re-imagination of the “bridal wardrobe,” I started asking other brides how they wore their wedding wardrobe beyond their nuptials. Hayley Leibson, Founder & CEO of Astrapilot, wore one of her signature pieces, a faux leather jacket from just after university, on her big day. “I knew I wanted the complete opposite of a traditional patriarchal wedding,” she remembers. The iconic piece’s rebellious symbolism resonated with her. Still a trademark of her personal style, that same leather jacket now accompanies her to meetings, dates, and everyday errands.
“I remember getting my wedding shoes (white Maryam Nassir Zadeh ballet pumps) and treating them so preciously,” says Nancy Satola, a buyer for a boutique in Brooklyn, “keeping them in the box and with all the original tissue paper and really thinking to myself that they were my ‘wedding shoes’ and ‘wedding shoes’ only.” Now, the once-cherished shoes are part of her weekly rotation. Even beaten up, scratched, and worn-in, Satola sees beauty in their ordinary evolution. “They’ve walked me pretty rigorously through my first couple years of marriage.”
Some people opt for opulent jewelry, a departure from their everyday style, but that wasn’t the approach of Melody Serafino, co-founder of No. 29. Her mom shopped Serafino’s favorite shop upstate, Pippin Vintage, for a pair of iridescent rhinestone earrings from the 1940s/1950s; a gift for the bride. Since then, she’s dressed them both up and down. “Most recently, I wore them to a New York Cares fundraiser paired with a black velvet top thrifted from Housing Works and a bronze ruffle-hemmed skirt that I found on a work trip to Kyrgyzstan,” says Serafino.
Writer Abigail Glasgow prioritized a re-wearable ensemble that felt like her from the start. “I work in prison reform and am a freelance reporter—deciding to spend thousands on a dress was a big investment (and a privilege). I wanted something that I could wear at least twice a year for quite literally the rest of my life.” She and her husband have been legally married for two years and aren’t the down-the-aisle type. Instead, they’re celebrating with a mini ceremony at Win Son in Brooklyn. Wearing white was an immediate “no” thanks to its archaic, heteronormative roots, but seeing a friend get married in Danielle Frankel negated every vision she had of herself in a colorful suit. The brand’s Mae dress just felt right. After the wedding, Glasgow plans to dye the dress red or black for maximum life beyond her celebration. Plus, she transformed the dress alongside Jeeves, a specialty garment care company, into a single-breasted style; it can now function as a blazer or long coat in addition to a dress.
Just as there’s no one way to get married, there’s no singular path to preserving the memory of the day sartorially. The process is as personal as selecting an outfit to wear down the aisle or opting for the institution at all. And imagining lives for your clothes past your wedding can feel as casual as grabbing your favorite jacket as you walk out the door or slipping into shoes you know and love. Shorts, in my case, were the ideal balance of wearable and joyful, an apt celebration of the everyday commitment I made to my partner.
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