01Bridal boutique, Chelsea, New York
Wedding dresses by designers New York has not met yet.
SPINA Bride is a bridal shop in NYC's West Chelsea selling gowns by emerging international designers: small ateliers from Europe, the Mediterranean, Latin America and East Asia. You try real samples in a private room, one bride at a time, and the gown is cut to your measurements.
02The room
One bride in the room. Never two.
A wedding dress shop in Manhattan usually means a shared floor and a timer. Ours is one room with a platform, a tall mirror and a grey linen sofa.
90min
An appointment is 90 minutes. Most brides know by minute 50. The rest is for the second look at the one you keep walking back to.
3guests
Bring two people whose opinion you actually want. Three at most. The sofa seats three, and a fourth voice has never once made the decision easier.
1bride
We do not book two brides at once. Nobody is changing behind a curtain next to you, and your stylist is not splitting the hour.
1sample
The rail is edited by designer. Each one is represented by a small number of shapes, chosen for how they sit on a real body rather than how they hang on a hanger.
The stylists run the floor themselves. The seamstress works in-house, in the back of the same studio, so the person who pins your hem at the first fitting is the person who sews it. Every label on the rail belongs to a designer early in their career who works outside the big bridal houses. You will hear who cut the gown and where.
If you have already done the department-store salons and seen the same six gowns on every feed, this is the appointment to book next. Read how the visit runs on the appointments and fittings page, or how we pick designers on about the rail.
Silk crepe shows every seam, so we fit it twice before anyone touches the hem.
03Silhouette index
Designer wedding dresses in NYC, sorted by shape.
Four silhouettes, a handful of designers behind each. Prices are never listed here as a quote: each shape is priced on what drives its cost, and the figure is confirmed with you in the salon.
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A-line and ball gowns in silk tulle
Silk tulle over a corset-built bodice
This is the tulle ball gown wedding dress NYC brides ask for when they want volume that moves. Layers of silk tulle sit over a structured bodice built on a real corset base, boned and cupped, so the skirt's weight hangs from your waist and not your shoulders. Nylon tulle is cheaper and stiffer. Silk tulle is softer, drapes closer and creases if you sit on it carelessly; we will show you both so you know what you are paying for. Suits a bride who wants a waist and does not mind a gown she has to steer through a doorway.
- Fabric
- Silk tulle, layered; lining in silk or cotton batiste depending on designer
- Construction
- Boned corset base under the bodice, skirt cut to order
- Best for
- Evening receptions, larger rooms, brides who want a defined waist
- Lead time
- 16 to 24 weeks from order to first fitting
Price basis: quoted by designer and number of tulle layers, confirmed in the salon
Book an appointment
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Column and sheath in silk crepe
Bias and straight-grain silk crepe
The silk crepe wedding dress in NYC is where good cutting shows and bad cutting cannot hide. There is no lace, no layer of tulle, nothing over the seams. Cut on the bias, crepe skims and moves with you; cut on the straight grain it holds a cleaner line and forgives a little more. We fit it twice before anyone touches the hem, because a quarter inch at the hip reads from across the room. Suits a bride who wants line over volume and will stand up straight in it.
- Fabric
- Silk crepe, bias or straight grain, heavyweight in most cases
- Construction
- Minimal seams, cowl or open backs, short to chapel train
- Best for
- Modern rooms, city ceremonies, brides who dislike volume
- Fittings
- Two passes on the body before the hem is marked
Price basis: quoted by designer and length of train, confirmed in the salon
Book an appointment
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Fit-and-flare in re-embroidered lace
Corded lace, appliquéd by hand over nude tulle
Our lace fit and flare wedding dress in New York is corded lace, re-embroidered and appliquéd by hand onto nude tulle, so the motifs look as if they sit on skin. The flare starts at or below the knee. Higher is easier to walk and dance in; lower is more dramatic and asks more of your hips. Hand-appliquéd lace can be moved at a fitting, which machine lace sewn into the seam cannot, and that is often what fixes a neckline. Suits a bride with a clear waist-to-hip line who wants detail you notice at arm's length.
- Fabric
- Corded re-embroidered lace on nude tulle, crepe or satin underlayer
- Construction
- Motifs placed by hand, flare set at or below the knee
- Best for
- Defined hips, fitted bodices, brides who want texture
- Adjustable
- Motifs can be lifted and re-set at the fitting
Price basis: quoted by designer and lace coverage, confirmed in the salon
Book an appointment
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Separates and short civil dresses
Crepe bodices, silk skirts, knee-length crepe
The City Hall wedding dress NYC couples actually need is short, sits well in a taxi and still photographs as bridal. Here that means knee-length crepe dresses, jumpsuits, and the two piece wedding dress New York brides book for a second reception: a structured crepe bodice with a high-waisted silk skirt. Separates are fitted piece by piece, and a skirt that fits a size different from the bodice is normal, not a problem. Suits the courthouse bride and anyone who has decided a train is not for her.
- Pieces
- Bodice and skirt pairs, jumpsuits, knee-length dresses
- Fabric
- Silk crepe bodices, silk skirts, crepe for the short dresses
- Best for
- City Hall ceremonies, second receptions, outfit changes
- Fitting
- Each piece measured and fitted on its own
Price basis: quoted per piece, confirmed in the salon
Book an appointment
Most of our designers cut to order. Count backwards from your date.
Order. You confirm the designer, size and changes in writing. The clock starts when the designer confirms the cut, not when you leave the room.
Cut to order, 16 to 24 weeks. The range is the designer's, not ours. Hand-appliquéd lace sits at the long end. Crepe and separates are usually shorter.
First fitting, 8 weeks before the wedding. The seamstress pins the gown, then quotes the alterations.
Final fitting, 2 weeks before. Hem, bustle and the veil, belt or hair piece are set together.
Collection. You take the gown home and have 7 days to inspect it and tell us about anything that is not right.
Booking the first fitting three weeks out. Book it eight weeks out. Three weeks leaves no room if the designer ships late or the bodice needs a second pass.
Plan on 16 to 24 weeks from order to the first fitting, and ask us before you set a date that is closer. We do not promise a delivery date before the designer confirms the cut. If your wedding is sooner than that, say so in the form and we will tell you straight which pieces can make it.
How each fitting runs05Included and extra
What the hour and a half covers, and what is quoted.
No prices are quoted online. Everything on the right-hand list is priced in writing before you agree to it.
Included
- The room to yourself for 90 minutesNo second bride booked alongside you.
- One stylist, start to finishShe pulls, laces and clips every sample herself.
- Seats for up to three guestsThe sofa seats three.
- The designer and atelier behind each gownWho cut it and how long the atelier takes.
- Measurements if you orderTaken by the stylist and sent with the order.
Quoted separately
- The gownBy designer and the basis listed on each silhouette.
- Design changes the atelier agrees toAdded sleeves or a different neckline. Priced by the designer.
- AlterationsAlways quoted after the first fitting, never before.
- Veils, belts and hair piecesFitted with the gown at the final appointment.
Who should look elsewhere
A wedding inside eight weeks, in a long gown
Cut-to-order silhouettes need 16 to 24 weeks before the first fitting. Short civil pieces sometimes move faster; ask before you book.
A sample to take home today
We will not sell you a sample as new. If it has been tried on, we tell you, and most of the rail is not for sale off the hanger.
A shared floor with a big party
If eight people are coming, a larger salon will suit you better. Ours is built for three.
A firm delivery date on the day you order
We do not promise one before the designer confirms the cut. The confirmation usually lands within two weeks of the order, and you hear it the day we do.
Alterations on a gown bought somewhere else
The seamstress works on gowns ordered here. Her week is planned around those fittings, so outside work is not booked.
Book an appointment in the Chelsea room.
Rather call the salon?
- +1 646-630-7052
- [email protected]
- 132 10th Ave, New York, New York 10011
Appointments are 90 minutes with up to three guests. To move one, tell us at least 48 hours ahead. Full terms are on the terms page, and directions are on contact.