Today we’d like to introduce you to Aimée Barigian.
Hi Aimée, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
Of course! My name is Aimée and I am the founder of Aimée Nicole Bridal. The journey of how I got to where I am today is quite unique. It all started in the midst of the pandemic when I really needed a new pair of jeans. While shopping, I soon had a realization that the store had changed their size chart and even their largest size didn’t fit me. I left the store completely devastated. As a plus-size woman, I felt unseen and unheard. I knew something needed to change so I bought a sewing machine that next day and started making my own clothes. I never wanted to feel the way I felt in that store again.
I am not your typical fashion designer. I only took one sewing class while I was in college. I had a natural talent for sewing, but I was drawn much more to design. I have always been creative. When I was younger, my sister and I designed t-shirts with just markers, ribbon, and scissors. Little did I know this talent would turn into something so much bigger!
How did I get into bridal? Well, one day my friend asked me to alter her wedding dress. My immediate reaction was NO. But I felt the nudge of the Holy Spirit leading me to do it. So, I decided to help her out, and this was the beginning of a journey! Little did I know God had bigger plans than I ever imagined. He guided my hand into designing dress after dress. The four dresses we are launching to the public are two years in the making. I am so honored to be able to share these designs with the world.
Aimée Nicole Bridal is a size-inclusive bridal design house. We strive to help women feel beautiful no matter their shape or size. Our goal is to fight against size discrimination one dress at a time. We do this by our unconventional size chart. Instead of using small, medium, larger, or 2, 4, 6, we use beautiful attributes of a woman as our size labels. Some of our sizes are Kind, Gorgeous, Worthy, Confident, and much more.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have been many lessons learned over the last two years of building my business. I have to work with multiple suppliers and sometimes there are items that are not available or are backordered. We’ve had to pivot multiple times in order to work with what was in stock and what was available at the yardage we needed. We are still learning, and in this business, we have to remain flexible with the suppliers! If something isn’t working, I brainstorm with our suppliers to find a good alternative. To be honest, most of the changes we’ve had to make have made the dresses even more incredible!
We’ve been impressed with Aimée Nicole Bridal, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Aimée Nicole Bridal is a size-inclusive bridal design house. We are launching our first collection this year. What makes us unique is our unconventional size chart. We do not use small, medium, large, or 2, 4, 6. Instead, we use beautiful attributes of a woman for our size labeling. Some of our sizes include Kind, Gorgeous, and Worthy.
We strive to fight against size discrimination and our goal is for every woman to feel beautiful no matter her shape or size. We want to show the public that you don’t have to be a certain size or look a certain way to be beautiful. You are beautiful just the way you are!
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up.
I grew up riding horses, and some of my most precious memories are days spent with them. My first horse was a lot to handle, and he didn’t like many people because he did not have a good experience with humans. At first, he barely tolerated me, but I was a determined young girl and wanted to win his affections. He was so rambunctious that he bucked me off 35 times during the course of our training together! I kept getting back on him, determined to make friends with him.
After many months, he started to warm up to me, and then we became best buds. As soon as he realized I would not hurt him, he finally warmed up to me, and we connected on such a deep level. He would whinny at me from across the stables when he heard my voice. His personality really blossomed. He was such an amazing horse. He was there for me during some of the most important developmental years of my life. I would come to the stables so emotional after a hard day at school and he would put his head on my shoulder and just be there for me. I will never forget the love that I felt being around him. I always knew we were meant to be together since we both had accents in our names, Aimée and Ttouché. So many people say that I saved him, but I feel like he saved me. He will forever be my first love.
Pricing:
- Our gowns will retails around $2k-$3k
Contact Info:
- Website: https://aimeenicolebridal.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aimeenicolebridal/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aimeenicolebridal
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@aimeenicolebridal
Image Credits
Natalie Forsythe
Rachel Stone
Keelie Graff
Haley Simmons Hastings
Hayley Cooper
Averi Beddingfield
