What’s In Your Cart?: David’s Bridal CEO Kelly Cook on cool leather jackets, TikTok trends and her favorite red lipstick
Welcome to “What’s In Your Cart,” a new series from Modern Retail where executives at some of the world’s biggest brands and retail companies tell us about their personal shopping habits — from their favorite finds and guilty shopping pleasures to most regrettable buys and impulse purchases. First up was Doug Sweeny, CMO at Oura Health. Up next: Kelly Cook, CEO of David’s Bridal.
When Kelly Cook was named CEO of David’s Bridal in April, she marked the occasion with an unorthodox splurge: a red leather, punk-rock men’s jacket covered in tiny spikes.
“If my grandmother saw it, she would think I was going into a dungeon somewhere,” Cook joked. “But [I’ll wear it] with, like, a little cotton frilly dress and some Converse.”
Cook, who previously served as president of brand, technology and finance at David’s Bridal, described her new role as a “dream job.” She said, “It’s very hard to not be incredibly passionate about this industry, because it’s about love.”
In her new role, Cook leads the largest wedding dress retailer in the U.S. David’s Bridal says it sells one in three bridal gowns in America. But her appointment also comes at a pivotal moment for the company, which has filed for bankruptcy twice in five years, most recently in 2023. With nearly 200 stores across the U.S. and Canada and around 5,000 employees, the retailer is betting on a new strategy dubbed “Aisle to Algorithm.” The AI-driven push aims to expand the company beyond gowns into a digital marketplace for all things wedding-related.
The job may be romantic, but Cook’s style is far edgier and more eclectic than the frills, satin and pearls typically associated with weddings. Here’s what she’s buying these days and how her cart reflects her unique approach to leadership.
One-of-a-kind finds
Cook collects black leather men’s jackets — by her own estimate, she owns at least 17 — and she’s constantly on the hunt for one-of-a-kind vintage pieces, especially from secondhand stores like Buffalo Exchange. “Every time I’m in New York, without fail, I go to that store,” she said. “I’ve probably bought three or four jackets from there.”
When it comes to finding unique pieces, Etsy is Cook’s go-to retailer. “I love Etsy. I love handmade products.” Her recent Etsy splurges include ostrich feather dresses (“I think I bought one in every color”) and a $300 clay teapot (“It’s absolutely outrageous, but I had to get one because the craftsmanship is beautiful”).
Impulse shopper
Her passion for craftsmanship extends to the items she shops for online, occasionally influenced by influencers she sees on social media. “I am the quintessential social media impulse shopper. A thousand percent,” she said. “When I see one-of-a-kind unique pieces, I will immediately stay up and search for that until I find it.”
That includes a white cotton dress she recently bought from TikTok Shop, the first piece of clothing she’s purchased from the social media company’s e-commerce business.
“I was extremely pleasantly surprised with the quality,” she said. Still, Cook noted that the growing prevalence of shopping content on her feed is starting to impact how often she uses the app. “It’s bad. Every three or four videos are now either a shopping live or an influencer,” she said. “It’s actually started to change my behavior. I’m hopping off because I don’t want to be shopping all the time.”
Cook has been reading more on her Kindle in her free time, mostly true-crime books. She is in the middle of “The Acid Bath Murderer,” a book about a British serial killer who was active in the 1940s. “I’ve always been fascinated by the psychology of that. How does that happen?” She added, “Ninety-five percent of everything I read is nonfiction.”
Can’t live without it
Cook’s favorite under-$25 product is Maybelline SuperStay Matte Ink lipstick in the shade Innovator. “It is the best lipstick on the planet,” she said. “I think it’s, like, $14, and I’ll buy 20 at a time and put them everywhere.”
Despite her love of shopping, Cook said she remains a practical gifter. Her go-to present for newlyweds is simple: $100 in cash.
“I think we had a couple hundred bucks in our checking account the day we got married,” she said, recalling her own wedding 31 years ago. Cook, who affectionately refers to her husband as “Scooby Snack,” still remembers one guest giving them cash instead of a traditional gift. “It was the most pragmatic thing,” she said. “A little money in their pocket for the honeymoon or whatever it may be.”