We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kennedy Bingham a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kennedy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

When I was considering what to name this venture, and how to brand myself, I knew I wanted it to be: fun, punny, and not overdone. In bridal you often see people playing off of “white” or “bride” but both of those felt too traditional to me. I didn’t want to promote just wearing white on your wedding day, and I definitely didn’t want people to think I only dressed cisgender brides.

When I was growing up my parents would always play Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” and I loved how simple the lyrics were. It really describes the simple joy in love and how you don’t need much more than that to leave a lasting impact. Which is exactly how I feel about bridal!

I’m just a simple girl, who loves gowns, and loves sharing them with everyone. Thus: Gown Eyed Girl was born.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I fell into my career the way most people did during COVID: by accident. I was in a bridal showroom with not much to do as there weren’t any weddings happening, and decided to make videos styling wedding gowns. People loved it, and I realized there was an intense need for in depth styling resources in the bridal industry.

The biggest issue with bridal, is there isn’t a lot of information out there. Most of the time, you don’t know anything about bridal until you’re getting married and are forced to confront the industry head on. I wanted to take some of the mystery away from the process. I also wanted to show people that there was something interesting to watch in this space, even if you weren’t getting married any time soon. There is an idea in fashion that we can only appreciate it if we can participate in it, and I think that’s such a sad way of approaching such a vast and beautiful creative field.

My favorite compliment to get is, “I was never interested in bridal before your page!” The central goal to my platform is to create an innovative space that challenges our preconceived notions of what bridal ‘should be.’

I adore working with clients who aren’t afraid to ask for what they really want and push for something that feels really indicative of what their style is.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

The most frustrating thing about discussing fashion is that most people will assume their own dislike for something is sufficient enough reason to deem something as ‘bad.’ For example, if I don’t like Crocs, then Crocs must be ugly.

But fashion is not so definitive. What someone may find ugly, another may think is the most amazing thing they’ve ever seen. And both can be right! Fashion is more like favorite colors, everyone has a preference, and everyone is valid and right.

I wish there was more openness to allowing people to do things you wouldn’t personally do. Instead, it seems like if I say I like something someone doesn’t, they take it as a personal attack on their own taste. In fashion, style is not a zero sum game. A minimalist and a maximalist can both walk into Vogue and both have a feature done on them saying they are the epitome of style.

This is especially relevant in bridal. I cannot count the amount of times a bride has fallen head over heels for a dress, only for someone in their bridal party to say, “Well *I* don’t like it.” As if that’s reason enough for someone to give up something they love!

Trends are about looking good to others, which is why it’s every evolving and impossible to keep up with. Platforms like TikTok have given us access to more opinions, more voices. In turn, these voices are constantly telling us what to do and what not to do. It’s exhausting!

Style is about looking good and feeling good: to yourself. Once you find how to do that, it lasts forever.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Being really honest, and saying no at the right times. The hardest part when you’re first starting out in a new business is wanting to say yes to everything. And you should say yes to a lot! But I found that when I took on clients I knew weren’t the right fit, I spent a lot of time and energy working with them that could have been better geared towards either working with the clients I felt really matched my energy OR finding a client that was a better fit.

I try to take a quality over quantity approach to my clients. It makes for a harder start, but in the long run you’ll thank yourself.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.gowneyedgirl.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gowneyedgirl/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8vhNQ8bbTKKD7DwcxHx8-g
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@gowneyedgirl?lang=en

Image Credits
Sofala Mai, Weiss Photo and Film, Catherine Marie Taylor, Katie Harless