LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: A soon-to-be bride and influencer has faced severe backlash after announcing her plan to cut her mother's vintage wedding dress and transform it into purses for her bridesmaids. Emily Mariko, 31, who resides in California, regularly shares updates about her everyday activities on social media, offering a glimpse of her life to her 1.3 million Instagram followers.
Mariko became famous for her salmon bowl recipe, which she shared with her audience, and has been providing her fans with a behind-the-scenes look at her personal life ever since. However, the bride-to-be has stirred up controversy lately by announcing her plan to cut up her mother's vintage wedding gown and turn it into handbags for her bridesmaids, leading to criticism from viewers.
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Who is Emily Mariko?
Emily Mariko is a social media influencer who rose to fame on TikTok for her cooking videos, which have amassed over 12 million followers. Prior to her success on the platform, she gained a following on her self-titled YouTube channel by posting fashion and skincare content. Emily studied neuroscience at Columbia University before pursuing a career in social media. Her most viral TikTok video features a salmon lunch recipe that has garnered over 40 million views. Emily is half-Japanese and half-American, and she got engaged to software engineer Matt Rickard in October 2021. In addition to her social media work, she also reviewed boots from fashion designer Stuart Weitzman in 2016.
'I'm having her dress re-purposed into clutches'
Emily, who is getting married soon, revealed her plans to cut up her mom's "traditional vintage Japanese" wedding gown from the '80s in a viral video that garnered over 2.2 million views on TikTok and over 800k likes on Instagram. "My mom got married in the '80s and her wedding dress is made out of traditional Japanese Kimono fabric, and I'm having her dress re-purposed into clutches for myself, my mom, my grandma, and my entire bridal party," Emily explained.
During the video, Emily shared that she would take her mother's gown to the tailor and repurpose it into handbags for her bridesmaids. She also displayed the dress, which had embroidered details, delicate beading, shoulder pads, and buttons on the sleeves and back. The influencer even twirled around in the gown and praised how "beautiful" and "elegant" it was. "Aw, I love it. It's so elegant. I love it so much, I feel really beautiful in it," she said as she posed in the vintage number.
'That dress needs to stay in the family'
Emily's plan to cut her mother's vintage wedding gown into handbags did not sit well with viewers, who expressed their horror at the idea of destroying the gown. One person commented, "It’s a no for me! That dress needs to stay in the family not as gifts to bridesmaids," while another added, "Not in love with the idea of chopping that up for these girls to use as a purse one time." A third offered an alternative idea, saying, "Cinch it, shorten it, take out the sleeves and you get a beautiful rehearsal dinner dress. The leftover fabric can be used for clutches for you, Mom and Grandma. Way more special. Best of both worlds." "Years later you may not even have those women in your life. The fact that their clutches were made out of your mom’s dress will mean nothing to them years from now. I agree with so many of the other posters," said one, while another shared the sentiment, adding, "DO NOT DO THIS!!!! That dress is toooo beautiful and special. Wear it for one of your wedding parties or wedding weekend events! Have clothes made but just buy that fabric."
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