How Wedding Dress Tariffs Are Impacting Brides' Choices

Helping a bride select her dream wedding dress can be an intimate process, says Christine Greenberg. You're physically in someone's space, helping them in and out of a dress, talking about childhood dreams and big-day emotions.

But tariffs have now entered the bridal fitting room. Couples are discovering that almost all U.S. wedding dresses are made abroad — even if they're designed in the States. And China is where most are stitched and embellished. According to the National Bridal Retailers Association, China accounts for a whopping 90% of the bridal gown market.

For a while, those Chinese-made wedding dresses faced a new tariff of 145% set by President Trump, which is now temporarily cut to 30% until July 9. The two countries are still negotiating, and brides are starting to pay up.

Jessica Kaplan from Boston arrived at her bridal appointment to a warning from store staff: all gowns now carry a tariff surcharge of 10% to 15% depending on the designer and their supply chain. Kaplan's A-line dress with a sweetheart neckline and a long tail ended up on the lower end, but still cost an extra $150.

Unlike clothes bought off the rack, wedding gowns are usually special order. When someone buys a dress from Claire Landgraf's Finery Bridal Chic in Rochester, Minn., the order may take six or eight months.

It's not just gowns arriving from China, but also trims and crystals, veils and hair pieces, hangers and garment bags. Most designers, including the popular Grace Loves Lace and Revelry, have decided to simply raise prices across the board to cover new tariff costs. Some by as much as 30%. Many store owners have followed suit.

U.S. brides — outside of big cities — on average spend less than $2,000 on a wedding dress, Landgraf and Greenberg estimate. American-made dresses tend to start around twice that price.

One of Trump's arguments for tariffs is to jump-start more American manufacturing. But U.S. textile and garment-making prowess faded decades ago. It would take many years to train enough technicians in lace work or embroidery to dress legions of American brides.

The price uncertainty has more brides hesitating to say yes to the dress. Shoppers used to visit once or twice before buying their gowns, Landgraf says. Now she's seeing more 'multiple-visit brides,' as people shop around longer.

Brides are commiserating on social media, reassessing their wedding finances and trying to think outside the box.

'It does give me a little anxiety,' Ritchie says. 'I try not to overly think too much about it, but it's already been such a year for people, I mean, we can barely afford eggs, let's be honest. And now it means that I need to budget more just in case.'

According to the source: NPR.