Many women keep their wedding dresses in the hope that their daughters will one day wear them. But this practicing attorney and also a lifestyle content creator in New York City took a different route—by chopping off her bridal gown.
Taylor Popik, who shared the transformation her wedding gown into a mini-cocktail dress, went viral on TikTok.
Taylor got married last August in a Tony Ward Bridal Gown, which she purchased from Kleinfeld Bridal. The mermaid gown has beading and a romantic floral applique. It also features a plunging collar. Taylor says it was love at first sight.
“When I went into Kleinfeld, another girl was trying on the dress, and my mom, who didn’t even know that I liked the dress, told me that I needed to try it on,” she told Insider of finding the gown.
“It was one of those destiny things. I tried on three dresses, but I knew the Tony Ward was the one, and we said ‘yes’ on my first fitting.”
The dress was so loved by the lifestyle content creator, she wanted to wear it again in Italy for her honeymoon.
“It’s the best-fitting dress I’ve ever owned, so why not wear it again?” she said.
She shared in a video that her wedding dress was over $5,000 and that she was ready for it to be altered into a minidress, after it had been sitting in her closet for almost a year. She captioned the clip, “This is your sign to CHOP IT girls!!!”
Taylor took the gown to her regular seamstress. After receiving the final product, Taylor decided to film it and share it with her followers.
“I love the way it came out. I’m so happy with it,” said Taylor, who noted that she would also probably wear the shortened dress on their anniversaries.
The content creator’s TikTok showing the chopped dress caught the attention of many TikTok users. It has been viewed more than 3.8 million times to date.
“I shared the process with my audience because I always encourage them to do what feels right for them, and this was an example of that for me,” Taylor told “Good Morning America.”
Taylor created a slideshow that shows before and after pictures of the dress. This was in response to requests from her followers. In another video, Taylor showed how she planned on styling the cocktail dress. She wore a cream blazer and silver lace-up heels.
The lifestyle content creator, TikTok, explains why she chose to reduce her wedding gown.
“I was debating preserving it but I have a feeling my daughter, if I have one one day, will not want to wear my 35-year-old wedding dress,” she said. “I decided to repurpose it [and] chop it short so I can rewear it.”
Her mother actually kept her wedding gown, but despite her best efforts to preserve it, the dress didn’t withstand the test of time.
Taylor is now looking for ways to reuse the material left over from her gown’s bottom.
“I have so much fabric left that I think I’m going to save some of it and then I’m going to do something else with the rest of it,” she told the outlet.
Taylor received hundreds more suggestions from TikTok users. She even suggested donating to a company that recycles wedding gowns to make dresses to be worn by stillborn babies and other charitable causes.
“I hope that I can inspire other women to always do what feels right for them, even if it goes against the grain of societal expectations,” Taylor said. “If even one bride repurposes her wedding gown so that she can wear her sentimental dress while creating new special memories, I’ll be happy.”
She also hopes that her story motivates other brides to allow themselves to have more fun with their bridal wardrobe and “think more sustainably in general.”
Taylor is a “recipe developer, food photographer, and skincare concierge” who runs The Wellness for Life Blog dedicated to “providing recipes, recommendations, and inspiration for leading a life of true wellbeing.” You can also follow her on Instagram for more lifestyle tips.
Here’s a before-and-after video of Taylor’s wedding dress.
@wellnessforlifeblogYou’ve been CHOPPED♬ Amour plastique – Videoclub
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