For a boutique, keeping up to date with the latest fashions is a necessity, for brides-to-be are usually acutely aware of design trends. "They know what's in vogue and what is outdated," Wu said. To keep up to date, she scours fashion magazines every month, looking for ideas to pass on to her contracted designers, who together put out about 50 new designs every month.
The extreme expressions of individuality reflect the fact that more and more brides are also returning to the custom of purchasing and keeping their wedding dresses, instead of renting them, Huang said.
Lin Chang-hui (林常惠), assistant manager at Julia Wedding Boutique, is capitalizing on that shift by focusing on personalized wedding dresses. "The so-called e-generation does not accept `set meal' offers any more. They stand by the idea that, as long as they like it, why not?" Lin said.
Julia Wedding Boutique rents out about 70 wedding dresses every month in a market that sees more than 10,000 Taipei area couples marry each year. The boutique expects an increase in the number of brides who choose to buy their dresses, instead of rent, even though the cost can be double the amount of rental. For a wedding dress matched with accessories, such as gloves, a handbag, necklace or earrings, to total can come to about NT$100,000.
"It's a nostalgic thing to return to this age-old tradition of keeping and storing your wedding dress at the bottom of the chest for fond memories," says Huang. "But it goes well with the e-generation's demand for uniqueness."
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