On this day in 1984, local designer Judy Johnson was highlighted for launching her own bridal studio in Minnesota, utilizing her New York fashion training to create custom wedding gowns.
Here is the complete story as it appeared in the paper that day:
A special gown for that special day
By KATHY HOESCHEN
Staff Writer
HOFFMAN, Minn. — Judy Johnson’s business is making brides radiant. She designs wedding gowns, hats and veils out of her studio, Judy’s Bridal Designs, in Hoffman.
Johnson studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York through North Dakota State University’s professional merchandising program. After receiving a bachelor of science degree in textiles and business at NDSU and a fashion merchandising degree from FIT, she stayed in New York to work at a buying office in the garment industry section.
Working among the New York designers taught her more than watching the latest fashion trends, she said.
“It helped me have the guts to do this (open her own design studio). If I had stayed in Minnesota and never gone to New York, I probably would have never dared.”
But dare she did, and now she has her own line of wedding gowns in stores in Fargo, Minneapolis, St. Paul, St. Cloud and Little Falls.
Although the designs are hers, Johnson constructs only the first pattern for the line. After that, her assistant designer, Chellie Vorverk, cuts the pattern in other sizes.
Construction of the gowns takes place in a “cottage industry” manner. Four seamstresses assemble the pieces in their homes. Usually one woman does all the work on one dress, rather than in a factory-line approach.
Brides can order gowns from Johnson’s line or they can go to her with an idea and she’ll work with them to produce a wedding gown.
Women who have had Johnson design a gown for them “have either brought me pictures,” she said, “or they’ve brought in a garment that they’ve liked, and I’ve gone by that.”
One client brought Johnson a picture of a dress where she liked the bodice, but not the full skirt. “She wanted a very narrow, simple skirt,” Johnson said. They worked from the picture and with the bride to make the gown.
Another client didn’t have trouble finding a wedding gown, she just couldn’t get the bridesmaids’ dresses in the color she wanted. She brought in pictures of the dresses and Johnson did the rest — making the dresses in peach.
“You can come in with any idea. You can come in with a sketch of your own or a picture from a magazine,” she said. From there, Johnson will draft a pattern.
She has also done wedding gowns for brides-to-be who are not able to find the proper size in stores. “There is some work that we do for customers who have fitting problems,” she said.
The 10 bridal gowns in Johnson’s line range from $188 to $640.
The least expensive is an all-lace dress with a taffeta underlining. The narrow pegged skirt ties high on the waist with a ribbon in the back. Delicate spaghetti straps top the bodice. Over this drapes the lace jacket with long puffed sleeves, a ruffled neckline and two back buttons.
The $640 gown is a sheer chiffon lined with taffeta. Lace-trimmed flounces encircle the off-the-shoulder bodice and the hem of the skirt. The abundance of ribbons, lace and ruffles, plus yards and yards of chiffon in the skirt and the hours needed for construction make it the most expensive of Johnson’s line.
Hats, headbands and veils can be made out of matching material to complete the look. Johnson’s hats range from $29 to $65 and are made with basic hat forms she purchases.
“Once you get the (hat) forms,” Vorverk said, “you can shape them any way you want. And then you just begin adding laces, pearls, ribbons, flowers and the veil until the hat is complete. And you have to have a comb in there so it stays on.”
Women need to know how much money they plan to spend when they visit Johnson. She works with them choosing laces, material and ribbons and gives them a price estimate.
“And if it’s too high or too low, we can rearrange where they get cheaper lace,” she said, “or vice-versa with fabrics too. If they want to spend more, we can find an expensive lace.”
They also modify plans for a custom gown by eliminating some ruffles or using a fabric that is heavy enough not to require lining, Vorverk said. “Chiffon has to be lined, satin doesn’t.”
Although Johnson does use satin and silk, many of her wedding gowns are made of polyester.
“Some people get confused with their polyester,” she said. “They think it’s all bad.” A high-quality polyester not only makes a beautiful wedding dress, she said, it also cuts down drastically on the price.
“Most bridal gowns are made out of polyester… nobody can afford silk. Silk is going to run you at least $20 a yard,” and in some wedding gowns, the upper layer alone is nine yards of material, Johnson said.
Dresses from her line take about six weeks for delivery. They can be ordered through stores carrying the line. Johnson said she likes to get the woman’s measurements as well as her size.
Delivery time on custom work “depends on how available the girl is,” she said. “A lot of times the girls either live a distance away, or their parents live around here and they don’t any longer, so it takes me a while just to get them in for fittings. I’m sure I could get a dress done in one month, if the girl is available once a week for a fitting. But most aren’t, so it takes a little bit longer, like two or three months.
“I like to have two or three months, but at the same time,” Johnson said, “if we’ve got the time, I’ll still take the girl and try to do the best I can with the time limit.”
Brides who want to look their slimmest should lose any extra pounds before being measured for a gown.
She said when she hears, “I’m trying to lose weight before my wedding,” I tell them after the second fitting if they lose any more weight, whatever alteration I have to do, is their problem. I mean in terms of money and everything, because we’re doing specialized work where you’re fitting a body.”
As for the 10 gowns in her first line, Johnson said her idea was to “make a saleable item. I have to make a name for myself, so I guess I try to keep to somewhat conservative and good body-type things, like that V-neck with a ruffle. People like to have a lot of ruffles.”
Even though she concentrated on making her first line one that would appeal to many people, getting it into stores wasn’t easy. She took a three-week selling trip “where I just pounded the streets with my little garment racks and all my dresses,” she said.
The success of her selling trip depended on how buyers reacted; some were encouraging. “I’ve had such good reactions and helpful people,” she said. “They were so receptive and they wanted the whole line in their store.”
Others were receptive yet skeptical. “I was a newcomer and they didn’t want to take me yet. They wanted to see if I’m still around another season.”
And some were just plain skeptical. “People are somewhat afraid. And I’m young, so they think my father gave me a lot of money and I’m just doing this for fun.”
“I think this is going to work,” she said of her venture into the bridal design business.
