Travis and I have had the pleasure of working with Lindsay Kenna for a number of years and she has always provided our brides with a keen eye and an honest opinion when it came to selecting their wedding dresses. With her newly published manifesto, Lindsay is sharing her industry knowledge with the world and we couldn’t be happier to promote the book and Lindsay!
Now that she’s a published expert, we thought we’d try to wring just a little more information out of her. Take a look at the full interview below, conducted by our assistant, Tina, with the author herself.
Lindsay, your book is so comprehensive, it appears you’ve been in the wedding industry forever! Have you held any other jobs within the bridal industry? How did it compare to being a gown stylist?
I have been working in the bridal industry for almost 8 years. I started working for a bridal shop in California while I was going to college at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. It began as just a job to pay my rent but I quickly fell in love with the excitement (and sometimes drama) of helping a woman through such an emotional and memorable process. I truly feel like I have the best job in the world! I get to work with happy people, and I get to make someone’s dream come true literally almost every day. It is such a gratifying career, and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
Throughout my time as a stylist working for various bridal shops I have had the responsibility for many other parts of the business other than selling dresses. I have been in charge of merchandising, I have been a buyer (and invited to attend bridal market in NYC), and I have also been the executive producer of many fashion shows. Most recently, I was the producer of the Vera Wang segment for Seattle Fashion Week and I had the time of my life. We even had Olympic Gold Medalist Apolo Ohno walk in our segment! I would say that being a fashion show producer for the bridal industry is my favorite thing to do when I am not busy helping brides shop for their dream dress.
Working on a runway show must be an exciting experience. Have you ever consulted on every day fashion?
I have consulted on every day fashion for various photo shoots and events but it really can’t compare to the emotional gratification of the look a bride gets on her face when she finds “the dress”. When everyone begins to cry and clap and hug each other, gosh, it makes me want to cry every time! Bridal fashion is more thrilling to me
because it has an element of intensified drama and fantasy to it. Bridal fashion is a dream, a fantasy that every little girl dreams of experiencing someday. As a little girl I was constantly playing dress-up, styling my friends, and putting on fashion shows. My mom would sew these beautiful gowns for me made of pink tulle and creamy chiffon and sparkly jewelry and I would pretend I was a princess… Let’s be real here, sometimes I still do! Ha! My point is that I still feel like that little girl playing dress-up with my girlfriends, only now I am playing with $10,000 gowns and getting paid for it. I am doing what I have always loved to do and I think a new bride shopping for her dress appreciates my excitement. When I help a bride find “the dress” I feel like I am discovering a hidden treasure. When the right dress is slipped on to the right bride, a spark of magic happens, the dress comes to life, and everyone has their breath taken away at the same moment. It’s a very magical moment, and I never take for granted being part of that time in someone’s life.
I can’t believe anyone would make an appointment to try on a wedding gown without being engaged! Have you ever “caught” a woman trying on dresses only to find out she isn’t even a bride??
Oh my goodness, you wouldn’t believe the types of people I come across in this business! I am pretty good at getting the truth to come out and usually the girl will confess to me that she isn’t exactly engaged yet but that she wants to find her dress because she knows it is going to happen soon. And in my experience, the girl buys the dress, and never gets engaged. A couple of times I have even sold dresses to girls who didn’t have a boyfriend! It’s sort of heartbreaking to see the desperation in a girl’s eyes when she is shopping for a dress without even being engaged. A lot of girls want the wedding, not the marriage. It’s important to take your time with love, rushing things will only get you further from your dream.
You have an incredibly positive attitude toward a woman’s dress style, and give such down to earth advice. Was there someone in your family, history, that influenced you on the idea of authenticity?
I think I am so lucky to have had so many positive female role models in my life. My mother was the first influence and the most powerful. She is an artist and actually started her own advertising agency when she was only
23 years old. She did the design and illustration for “Polyester Is the Devil”. My mother always gave me the freedom to express myself in whatever way I wanted. From art projects, to putting on plays and wearing crazy miss-matched outfits, to painting each nail a different color, she was always there to support and inspire me. I had such a fun childhood growing up! My mom gave my little sister and I an entire walk-in closet filled with dress-up clothes, masks, wigs, costume jewelry, and we would while away the hours putting on shows for anyone who would watch. My dad was very supportive as well. He would always be my fashion consultant when I was planning my outfits (weeks in advance) for school and he would always tease me that, “Lindsay, you know, we are just going grocery shopping, Safeway is not a runway show.”
My parents taught me to be myself and never apologize for who I am. I was always surrounded with love, humor, fashion, art, music, theater, and creativity. I feel like my whole life I never fit in, I always stood out from the crowd and was worried about what other people thought of me. As a child that is a scary feeling to have, but it really was my parents who kept telling me I was special and meant to do something amazing. Whenever I am unsure of myself, I think of my parents, and it gives me the courage to go out and face the world, exactly as I am, and know that I am enough.
Your book should be recommended reading for all brides! It’s such a comprehensive reference, is there anything you left out?
Thank you so much! I really do believe every bride must read this book before she goes shopping for her wedding dress. There are so many things brides aren’t prepared for when they begin the planning process and they end up getting so stressed out over things that could have been avoided if someone would have told them. I wrote this book from a girl-to-girl, best friend perspective. I tried to give brides real life advice that is straight-forward and honest. I write about my top tips, insider secrets, what to do to prepare for your appointment, how to survive a crappy shopping experience, when to buy, and how to look like the best version of themselves. I explain the four key factors every bride must know about in order to find the perfect dress: Fit, Authenticity, Quality, and Style. Everything I wrote in that book is what I would tell my best friend if she were getting married. My insiders advice is meant to save brides time, money, and heartache. Every bride deserves an amazing shopping experience and unfortunately that doesn’t always happen. My book is every brides secret weapon to having a fabulous experience and finding the dress of her dreams!
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If you’re engaged and looking for some help with your gown, you can hire Lindsay as a personal bridal fashion consultant to get the best advice while you search for the perfect dress! Contact Lindsay directly for her availability and hourly rate at www.luxebride.net or via email at lindsay@luxebride.net. Her book is available online at Polyester is The Devil, as well as Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Swink Style Bar in downtown Seattle.
