At This New Jersey Library, Brides Can Check Out Wedding Dresses
At a library in New Jersey, visitors pop in for more than just books — brides also visit to try on and check out donated wedding dresses. The collection of gowns is curated by Adele Puccio, the director of Maurice M. Pine Free Public Library in Fair Lawn who started collecting dresses 20 years ago. “I always enjoyed vintage fashion,” Puccio told the Today show.
But rather than keep her bridal finds for herself, Puccio lends them out to brides-to-be. Her collection started as a word-of-mouth passion project, but “things exploded” earlier this year after a local paper published an article about Puccio and donations started pouring in.
Her once-typical stash of around 10 dresses has since expanded to an ever-growing collection of 100-plus gowns, as former brides from across the U.S. send in theirs in hopes of giving them a second life. “The sheer number of dresses that have gone out of here this year is incredible,” said Puccio.
Of the many dresses Puccio has donated over the years, one is particularly special: her very own from her 1985 nuptials to her late husband. “It should live again,” she said. “It’s better than sitting in a closet for all those years.” See brides try on the gowns.