07/24/2026
We started a substack as a space to share 20 years of acquired knowledge, perspective, and opinions about everything we've survived and what we've learned- read an excerpt from our first entry and click here https://andreasvintagebridal.substack.com/p/our-humble-beginnings for the rest (it's free)!
My mother, Andrea, went out shopping for a wedding gown with her best friend and came home crying. The process was not intuitive; it was not organic, personalized, or, frankly, respectful. She was petite but plus sized and middle aged- a damning combination in terms of perceived retail support. She had a decent budget, but that didn’t actually matter - all that mattered was a lack of inclusivity and creativity on behalf of the bridal industry. She eventually had her dress custom made, and along the way started collecting vintage wedding gowns. Her intention had never been to open a space to sell them, they simply served as creative inspirations for the rest of her artistic projects. But alas, what could she do with a room full of vintage wedding gowns? She eventually realized she needed to sell them and opened a small boutique in the basement of Hopkins Antique Mall. The rest is history, quite literally - we grew and expanded and evolved into larger and smaller spaces, larger and smaller business models, landing in our current incarnation as a private off-street boutique focusing on bespoke service and garments. Because our focus is true vintage, the great irony of our business is that we continue to struggle with size accessibility - we have an incredible seamstress who helps us stay flexible with both width and length, which is necessary as Minnesotans are one of the tallest populations in the United States - and we are very grateful for this collaboration.
... click here https://andreasvintagebridal.substack.com/p/our-humble-beginnings to read the rest of our origin story 💗