When Danielle Hewitt got engaged, she went straight to her parents’ attic to dig out her mother’s wedding gown. The dress, in all its early 1990s glory—crinoline, poofy sleeves and all—was, shockingly, in perfect condition, seemingly waiting for this modern bride to transform it into something spectacular for her own 2024 wedding festivities.
“I know the father gets to walk you down the aisle and do a special dance, but my mom is so important in my life,” says Danielle, a pre-K teacher who lives in Toms River.
Gown in hand, with permission granted from her mother to reconstruct it, Danielle, 30, began the gown reimagination process. She turned to her sister’s childhood friend Melanie Gibson, who owns the popular shop Lola’s in Manalapan, for help. Although Lola’s is mainly a destination for prom and bat mitzvah dresses, Melanie had confidence that the store’s talented seamstress would be up to the task of revamping Danielle’s mother’s gown.
So, for the next several months leading up to Danielle and husband Tyler’s April 2024 wedding at Clarks Landing Yacht Club in Point Pleasant, the dress began to take shape. Lace was removed from the neckline, which was cut into a modern sweetheart shape. The elbow-length poofy sleeves were removed and cut down, then made detachable (and fashion-forward). The silhouette was altered to hug Danielle’s body closer, and the length was shortened drastically to above the knee. The result? A one-of-a-kind rehearsal dinner dress that kept the integrity of the 1990 original but felt like Danielle’s own at the same time.
The icing on the cake came when Danielle’s 28-year-old sister, Sara Bradley, got married at the Crystal Plaza in Livingston just eight months later. She, too, decided to wear their mother’s dress to her rehearsal dinner. But Sara put her own personal spin on the already-reconstructed dress by asking Lola’s to design a straighter silhouette and add spaghetti straps.
Whether it’s for sentimental reasons, sustainability or social media bragging rights, brides in New Jersey are embracing the growing trend of bridal gown reconstruction. Melanie Gibson, who owns Lola’s, says that while Danielle (in late 2023) was the store’s first client to transform her mother’s gown, business has since boomed; Lola’s has now made similar creations for about 100 brides. “I wish I got to do it for my wedding, but my mom made her dress into my christening outfit 27 years ago,” Melanie says.
Some brides, like Danielle and Sara, get mom’s dress made into an outfit for their rehearsal dinner, while others create getting-ready robes or slips to wear the morning of their wedding. Others go all in and wear a reimagined gown as their primary wedding dress or as a reception look.
Alexis Malek, of Neshanic Station, is one such bride. She wore her mother’s 1990s gown to her own wedding reception at HollyHedge Estate in New Hope, Pennsylvania, in December 2024. She also had a beautiful getting-ready robe made from the rest of the fabric. For Alexis, reimagining her mom’s wedding dress created an opportunity like no other to honor both her mother, Diane Tosti, and her late father.
“My mom and I are incredibly close,” says Alexis, 31. “My dad passed away when I was 11, so she’s really all I’ve had growing up. She really takes on the role of two parents.” Additionally, Alexis says of wearing the dress, “Not only was I closer to my mom, but my dad as well. I was paying homage to their marriage.”
A year before her wedding, Alexis, who works in the financial services industry, began chatting with Claribel Vidal, owner and founder of Brielle’s Boutique in Bergenfield. The gown, which had been sitting in a box for the last three decades, fit Alexis perfectly. She knew that she wanted to keep the integrity of the dress intact, including the beautiful lace and detailed bead work, but modernize it to suit her own sense of style. That included cutting it to a mid-thigh length.
While her mother’s gown had long sleeves of satin and lace—with rounded, voluminous poofs at the shoulders—Alexis’ reception dress featured sleek long sleeves of mesh and lace. (The original sleeves were turned into purses.) Much of the beading on the bodice was kept, as was the lace, and the illusion neckline became a bit more streamlined when Alexis wore the dress.
It takes a lot of work to reconstruct a gown. Allowing enough time is a key element, says Melanie, of Lola’s. She recommends that brides come into her shop at least five to six months in advance. Inspiration photos are helpful.
Cost-wise, Lola’s typically charges a $1,000 flat rate for dress reconstruction services, whether a bride has three fittings or 15 fittings.
“The whole point of it is that you want it to look like your mom’s dress and still modern at the same time,” says Melanie.
Jenna Sobieski, of Jamesburg, is getting married in summer 2025 in her mother’s wedding gown, which Lola’s is updating for her. Jenna’s mother passed away in 2020.
Jenna found the gown only by chance. A few years ago, while sorting through the family’s possessions as her father prepared to sell her childhood home, she found a beaten-up old box amid the school projects and junk that had accumulated there over the last 30 years. It was her mom’s wedding gown, in perfect condition.
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To make it her own, Jenna decided to add a new bustle to the long, dramatic train; remove some of the lace applique from the basque waistline to emphasize the lovely silhouette; remove the sleeves and add spaghetti straps; and trade a high neckline with a lace choker for a more modern sweetheart style.
“I wanted to keep the essence of it; I wanted to recognize the dress,” says Jenna, 28, who, for sentimental reasons, kept every scrap of fabric the seamstress didn’t use. She may even use the extra material to make pocket squares for her four brothers to wear at her wedding.
“I couldn’t bear the thought of this beautiful thing staying in a box for the rest of time,” says Jenna. “Things like this are worth bringing out to celebrate and give new life.”
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