Brides, meet Grace + Ivory! They provide beautiful, made-to-measure wedding dresses at real world prices for kick-butt women. Their collection of dresses is carefully curated and every design can be customized. Dresses are made-to-order with quality in mind with fabrics like soft tulle, fine cotton lace, Italian crepe and Japanese mid-weight silk satin. With hand-beaded and hand-sewn details, every dress is one-of-a-kind. For our brides who are dress shopping while social distancing, Grace + Ivory offers a try-at-home program. Need we say more?
Read all about Grace + Ivory from the experts themselves, below!
Hello, we’re Grace + Ivory!
As an online e-commerce bridal brand with roots in Washington, DC and Chicago, we create beautiful, custom, made-to-measure wedding dresses for the modern bride. As a women-owned shop, we’ve partnered directly with our dressmaker, and cut out layers of distributors and retailers to offer gorgeous dresses without the mark-up (all of our designs are under $2,000). We believe in bridal done differently, and create our high-quality dresses in three to four months. Every dress is carefully sewn and lovingly made for a bride, focusing on proportions and possibly saving on alteration costs. As our mission is about women supporting women, a portion of every dress purchase goes to programs helping girls and women in need. We’re currently supporting Plan International’s The Girls’ Fund, which has programs around the world focusing on eliminating child marriage, keeping girls in school, women’s health and empowerment.
Our Try-at-Home Program
We’re excited to introduce Grace + Ivory’s Try-at-Home (TAH) Program which our Founder, Tina Wong Zysk, created so brides have another option when shopping for their wedding dress. We will deliver the dresses to your door and you can try them on in your own home. We suggest popping some champagne and Facetiming relatives… or don’t! It’s all up to you.
We have streamlined the ordering process!
You can order sample dresses directly off our website, from each specific dress collection page, using the “Try on at home!” buttons. After you click the “Try on at home!” button you can select your size range and the three days you would like to have that specific dress. Then add it to your cart and checkout online. It’s just that simple! After you’ve ordered, a dedicated bridal stylist will reach out via email to confirm and send you tracking information.
Once you’ve tried our dresses, mail back the samples within three days using the prepaid shipping label. When you’re ready to move forward, order your wedding dress right off our website! The cost of your try-at-home experience is credited towards the purchase of your dress, so double check you receive a credit code. Our dress pricing is also all inclusive of dress customization and shipping costs. Once purchased, we follow-up for measurements and custom options. Your dress will be crafted and delivered in just three to four months. We advise that you order five to six months before your wedding so we can ensure you have the dress six to eight weeks before your big day.
For more details about the TAH and FAQs, visit our website! Check out our video about it here.
About Our Founder – Tina Wong Zysk
I’m a proud Chicagoan and I’m so excited to bring Grace + Ivory home! From personal experience and feedback I’ve received from friends in the area, try-at-home and made-to-measure options in the Chicago area are limited. I am so happy to be able to give brides a different bridal option and for them to know that they’re supporting one of their own.
It’s important to me to be back working in my own community and to give back not just globally but locally. We hope to get more involved with local community efforts and explore how we can also support and collaborate with other small businesses, especially women-owned.
I was born in Hoffman Estates, grew up in Algonquin, which is in the NW suburbs. My parents are both from Chicago – they both grew up in Rogers Park. I spent lots of time as a kid in the city with my grandparents; fishing off the Loyola Beach pier, playing in the park, visits to the beaches, Cubs games, shoveling snow, Christmas walks on Michigan Ave…. I could go on and on. My friends from elsewhere get very annoyed with me because I’m a very proud Chicagoan.
I attended and graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance – I loved living in the city and exploring Chicago at that time. After I graduated, I moved to DC to pursue a career in foreign aid. I worked in business development for organizations that implemented USAID programs globally across a variety of social areas, such as economic development, healthcare, women and girls rights, education, etc. It’s amazing and fulfilling work; this is where my heart developed a love for social enterprise and looked at how we could combine the private sector and our social causes. This is why Grace + Ivory is a social enterprise.
I lived between Beijing and the US from April 2016 – December 2019. It gave me the unique opportunity to work directly and build a close relationship with our dressmakers. Personally, it has also allowed me to explore Asia. I love to travel when I can and I try to stay active for my health and to destress.
I’m now living near the Medical District/West Loop area and working on Grace + Ivory full-time. I’m excited to be back in Chicago and to reconnect with my favorite city!
Order a dress sample to your home, today! These dresses can be ordered right off this website.
Credits
Try-at-Home Shoot in Washington, DC:
Photographer: Sarah Bradshaw Photography (@sarahbradshawphoto) | Make-up: Anna Breeding (@annabreeding) | Models: @brittnoelle.co, @fecha_2 | Producer: AdeOla Fadumiye (@crysandtiana)
The Hotel Shoot at Midtown in Chicago:
Videographer: Jeremy Fuder (@jayfeud) | Photography: Sarah Crost Photo (@sarahcrostphoto) | Venue: The Hotel at Midtown (@thehotelatmidtown) | Grace + Ivory: Tina Wong Zysk, Allison LeClair (@grace_and_ivory_) | Hair: Tamara Holden Hair (@tamaraholdenhair) | Make-Up: Torie Conn (@torieconnmua) | Models: Oneka Amara (@oneka_amara) Hannah Carlson (@hannah.r.carlson)
