When I decided to get married at 40, I couldn't find a dress with the modernity or sophistication I wanted. That's when I saw the opportunity for a wedding gown business.

When brides ask me, "What's the best advice you can give me on my wedding day?" I always have the same answer: "Be yourself." Someone's marrying you, they love you for who you are, and they don't want you to be someone else.

Fashion offers no greater challenge than finding what works for night without looking like you are wearing a costume.

All I did my first year at Vogue was Xerox.

I like the gritty parts of fashion, the design, the studio, the pictures.

I was the girl who nobody thought would ever get married. I was going to be a fashion nun the rest of my life. There are generations of them, those fashion nuns, living, eating, breathing clothes.

The intricate engraving, fine lines, beading and milgrain accents echo an era defined by elaborate embellishments.