This Vintage Bridal Salon Owner Re-wore Her Grandmother’s 1940s Satin Wedding Coat

As a lifelong vintage and secondhand enthusiast, when Sophie Madorsky was planning her wedding to Benjamin Rubin, the “something old” adage was bound to set the tone. In fact, it served as the entire framework. With the exception of Ben’s tuxedo shirt, “every article of clothing and jewelry worn by the both of us from Friday to Sunday was vintage or secondhand,” she tells Vogue. The couple married at the Highlands Mansion and Gardens in Philadelphia this past September, a Georgian-era estate that echoes the same nostalgic spirit threaded through their entire wedding weekend.

Photo: Aubrey Elizabeth Photography

In addition to her work as an actor, Sophie is the owner of a vintage bridal salon in Manhattan, and Ben is the co-founder and CEO of a climate tech startup centered around energy efficiency. In other words, their careers find common ground in sustainability; a value that naturally lends itself to a pre-loved wedding wardrobe.

Sophie’s knack for curating impeccable vintage is no secret among the brides-to-be crowd—from Christian Dior skirt suits for the courthouse, to exquisite gowns spanning several design decades. (Do yourself a favor and watch her restore this 1940s curtain skirt dress.) But for her cocktail hour look, Sophie didn’t have to search far for source material.

Photo: Aubrey Elizabeth Photography

Photo: Courtesy of Sophie Madorsky

“When I was 16, my grandmother Reneé decided it was time to show me the satin wedding coat she wore when she married my grandfather in 1949,” Sophie says. Despite never being someone who fantasized about what she’d wear on her wedding day, when Sophie tried on the coat, she knew it wouldn’t be the last time. “It was preserved with some sort of chemical that made the silk very rigid and there was a lot of oxidation, so I made the risky choice to hand wash it in my bathtub in an attempt to regain its original luster and feel.” Luckily, it worked. She used a seam ripper to remove the sleeves and took them to Pinpoint Bridal on the Upper East Side to repurpose the fabric to make a bowtie for Ben. “My grandmother passed away in 2021, but I know that she would have gotten a kick out of this ‘whole ordeal,’ as she would have called it.”