What Kitty Chen is known for
The back. Most gowns are designed from the front, but Kitty Chen designs for the view your guests actually have for most of the ceremony, and for the photographs taken as you walk away. The illusion back is her signature: sheer tulle engineered so the back reads open and bare while the bodice underneath stays fitted and supported. She was building them into her collections before the rest of bridal caught on, and the detail is now everywhere. Around it sits sculpted corsetry that cinches and shapes, hand-placed crystal, bold dimensional lace, and mermaid shapes cut to celebrate a figure rather than conceal it.
The artist behind the label
Kitty Chen was born in Suzhou, the Chinese city known for centuries as a center of silk weaving and embroidery, and she trained as a fine artist long before she cut a gown — placing third nationally in a Chinese painting competition as a teenager. She launched her first bridal collection from Southern California in 2004. That training is visible in how she uses lace: placed as composition rather than scattered as decoration, with large-scale motifs that frame the body and read from across a room.
Designer options versus in-house alterations
Two different things get called personalization, and they happen at different moments. Designer-ordered options are chosen when you purchase your gown — we request them from Kitty Chen when we place your order on your behalf — and more is possible than most brides realize. You can add a train or take one off, lengthen it, change the neckline, add cap sleeves or long sleeves, add beaded spaghetti straps, swap a zipper for a lace-up back or the reverse, add beading or have beads and appliqués removed, change the embroidery, reshape the skirt, line the bodice, or shift the shade of the illusion tulle. Extended sizes can be ordered too. Not all of it is offered on every style, so your consultant checks the gown you choose with the designer at the time of purchase. All of it is decided then rather than afterward, which is why it pays to arrive knowing what you would change.
In-house alterations come after the gown arrives: the fit, the hem, and the careful work an illusion back and hand-placed crystal ask for. Our master seamstresses bring 40+ years of alterations expertise, in-house, and a beaded illusion panel is exactly the kind of construction that rewards hands that have opened one before. Either way, the gown is ordered in a standard size from Kitty Chen’s own size chart and fitted to you in-house, never made to your exact measurements.
Worth the drive for Kitty Chen
A Kitty Chen gown is not something you will find on most bridal floors, and brides come to Greenville, SC for it from across the Carolinas. There is a plain reason it is worth the trip: a gown designed around its back cannot be judged from a photograph of its front. You have to stand in it, turn, and look over your shoulder — and then have it fitted, in the same building, by the people who will finish it.
The whole celebration, coordinated
The bride who wants the room to turn usually wants the people standing near her to belong in that photograph. That part is handled on the same floor. Your mother can choose from our 350+ mother-of-the-bride and mother-of-the-groom gowns — Jovani has the presence to stand beside a gown like this — with champagne bridesmaid dresses chosen to complement rather than compete, and a slim tuxedo for the men. The fabrics get held side by side before anything is ordered. Most bridal shops carry the gown and nothing else, which leaves the rest to chance. Here the party is coordinated, not just matching.
What brides ask about Kitty Chen
Are Kitty Chen gowns made to my measurements?
No. We measure your bust, waist, and hip, order the size that best fits your largest measurement from Kitty Chen’s own size chart, and our master seamstresses complete the fit in-house. A gown drawn and built from scratch is a separate service, and one we also offer.
What is an illusion back, and will it stay put?
It is a panel of sheer tulle, cut to the tone of your skin, that lets the back look open while the bodice keeps its structure. It stays put because the support is engineered into the gown rather than borrowed from a bra. Sit down in one at your appointment, then stand and walk — that is the honest test.
Are Kitty Chen gowns good for curvy brides?
They are built for the bride who wants her figure celebrated rather than covered. The shaping is engineered into the gown — sculpted corsetry, contouring lace placement — so a curve-following silhouette holds you rather than asking you to hold it. Extended sizes can be ordered; bring the styles you love and a consultant will confirm the range for each.
What if my wedding date is close?
Ask before you rule the gown out. Kitty Chen can sometimes accommodate a rushed order, and we also have gowns on the floor ready to go. Call, tell a consultant your date, and she will tell you honestly what is still possible.
What are your payment options?
We offer payment terms with no finance fees. If you need more time, a gown purchased from our floor can go on our Layaway Plan, and a gown that has to be special ordered has its own Special Order Payment Plan. Ask a bridal consultant at your appointment and she will walk you through what works for your gown and your date.
What should I try if I love Kitty Chen?
Ask to see Enzoani for hand-applied beadwork and dramatic trains, and Stella York for sparkle with a lighter touch. Both can be tried beside Kitty Chen in one appointment.
See a Kitty Chen back in person
For 30+ years, Dimitra Designs has dressed three generations of families across the Carolinas. A gown designed for the moment the doors open is not one to judge from a screen — it should be seen in person, and fitted by the people who will finish it. Book an appointment in Greenville, SC, or browse all wedding gowns.